Sustainability Checklist Q&A with Australian Institute of Architects Victorian Chapter

This year, the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects has strengthened its commitment to supporting projects that provide a sustainable built environment for future generations of Victorians with the introduction of a new Sustainability Checklist for all entrants across the 10 direct categories that make up the Victorian Architecture Awards. We sat down with Daniel Moore RAIA, Victorian State Manager of the Australian Institute of Architects, to learn a little more about the checklist.

What is the aim of the sustainability checklist?

The Institute recognises that every building contributes to climate change, and any award-winning building should achieve higher than standard environmentally sustainable credentials. Every award submission entry in this year’s awards program was required to fill out and submit a sustainability checklist outlining the environmentally sustainable design considerations in the project. Any architect planning to enter the Australian Institute of Architects awards in the future should prepare to include information about sustainable design in their awards submission.

What extra details are you asking from architects about the sustainability of their projects?

• What has the practice put in place to address climate change in their office? (e.g. SAP, Certification Systems for their projects)
• Have land protection and ecological systems been considered in the project’s design?
• How has the project been sited to take advantage of passive environmental design strategies? (e.g. cross flow ventilation, solar gain)
• What design strategies have been implemented to maximise energy efficiency and minimise resource consumption?
• What building materials and systems were selected to lower the project’s impact on the environment or carbon production?
• Does the design consider the improvement of human connections through developing community and improving the quality of people’s lives?

Do you expect it will have an effect on the way architects design buildings in the longer term?

The best Australian architects have been designing with ESD principles for decades. Building and planning regulations mandating energy efficiency have grown stricter each year, and architects continue to meet and exceed those requirements. The juries who participate in the Australian Institute of Architects award process will now consider not only what projects are the most beautiful but also the highest performing. Now that the checklist has been introduced, more architects and clients may begin to prioritise ESD in their design processes if they hope to win an accolade in the peak architecture award program in the country

LEARN MORE: Victorian Architecture Awards Program Launches With Bold New Sustainability Benchmarks