MELBOURNE, Australia — The Melbourne Convention Center has earned a 6 Star rating under the Green Star certification system of Green Building Council Australia.
The building opened in June as an addition to the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, which is billing the new facility as the greenest convention center in the world.
"The Victorian government set out to raise the bar another notch, to build a center that defied all earlier definitions of green," said Leigh Harry, chief executive of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, in a recent statement announcing the rating.
"We`re confident we have achieved that goal."
The facility has 32 meeting rooms, a banquet hall and foyer that can hold 8,400 people, a 5,000-seat auditorium that can be partioned into three auditoriums, and smart lecterns that enable audio-video and other technology to be controlled within rooms equipped with the lecterns.
Energy efficiency, water conservation, green materials and other eco-friendly features in the new building include:
• Displacement ventilation to provide effective air flow and high indoor air quality without consuming a lot of energy.
• Solar hot water systems that fulfill more than 40 percent of the building's general hot water needs and 100 percent of the hot water required by public amenities in the facility.
• A black water treatment plant that reduces water consumption 50 percent by processing the building's waste water as well as some storm water. The treated but non-potable water is used for toilets, irrigation and cooling towers.
• Water efficient fixtures and fittings, including urinals that flush using a chemical system instead of water.
• Radiant slab heating and cooling in the foyer.
• Building controls that include carbon dioxide monitoring.
• Carpets, paints, adhesives and sealants that are low in Volatile Organic Compounds.
• Use of Forest Stewardship Council timber.
• Eco-friendly furnishings and floor coverings.
• All foods and wine sourced to local, sustainable or organic providers or Victoria vineyards.
The new convention center is the showpiece of a AUD $1.4 billion effort to revitalize Melbourne's South Wharf district.
The facility has won several design and green buildings awards. Its 6 Star rating is the highest in the Green Star system, in which points are earned for various environmental attributes and tallied. The total score is the basis for a rating, which can range from 1 Star to 6 Stars. However, certification is awarded only for the three highest levels: 4 Star, which signifies the building is an example of best practices; the 5 Star rating designates a structure as an example of Australian Excellence; and the 6 Star rating is accorded to a building deemed a "World Leader."
The new building is the only convention center to earn the highest level of certification from Green Building Council Australia. The organization is conducting a tour of the site later this week.
Image courtesy of Green Building Council Australia.