We have been busy working on a variety of projects for NCC section J compliance and NatHERS ratings. We worked on ratings for townhouses at Victoria Parade, Section J assessment for the new module of food and beverage block at the Mars Stadium. This was followed by the Elgin Boulevard project. It involved working on the DTS assessment for the north and south block. It had some intriguing facade geometry and assemblies, which made it interesting to perform the DTS building fabric assessment. We conducted our preliminary section J assessment and are now waiting to hear back on the same.
One of the projects that we worked on was the Benalla Depot for JV3 assessment. It was quite interesting as this project is an existing building considered for retrofit and is part of an adjoining existing block. We first modelled the building on the IES VE software and did the DTS assessment to identify the energy performance of the building. We also worked out the effect on heating and cooling loads considering the infiltration losses through building fabric. We worked this out on the Macroflow, one of the features in the IES VE software to identify the flow of air from outdoor to indoor through the windows. We will later be identifying the proposed fabric and system for the project and compare the energy consumption to the reference building.
We also had an opportunity to attend a presentation on Gallina Polycarbonate and Glulam Timber materials used for building. This presentation was conducted by Light & Space Gallina Polycarbonate Australia. It was interesting to learn the different properties of Gallina polycarbonate material that can be used as a roofing material. Various properties of the polycarbonate like the strength, colour and types were explained in detail. Also, Timber being sustainable and a carbon-neutral material has a wide application. They took us through the various projects that have successfully implemented the Gallina polycarbonate and Glulam Timber material. It was interesting to learn the innovative application of Timber material as a load-bearing structure in the buildings.
It is sad that we are now just left with 1 week, our internship is about to end…stay tuned to know our progress in the last week.