Sponsored by NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment

Winner Division C, Overall Winner

Waverley Council: Future proofing residential development to climate change
This project sought to identify threats to the resilience of residential housing in Sydney’s eastern beaches by modelling the effect of projected climate change on houses approved under existing NSW building controls and to identify implementable climate change adaption measures.

All compliant dwellings that were assessed failed the regulated thermal comfort requirements for cooling by 2030, and by 2070 cooling loads increased on average 308% above the baseline year. This Waverley Council project demonstrated the need to incorporate building fabric improvements now to deliver cooler, safer homes over the lifetime of the dwelling, otherwise dwellings approved today would be unsuitable for occupation by 2070 without extremely high levels of mechanical cooling.

Read more in the case study

Highly Commended Division C

Cumberland City Council: UV smart cool playground: Memorial Park
The UV Smart Cool Playgrounds project has transformed an existing hot playground into a climate-ready play space.

Cumberland Council and Western Sydney University, supported by a consortium of experts in the private sector, undertook research and monitoring of the thermal and heat performance at the playground and worked to design and construct a climate-ready playground prototype. Ongoing monitoring of the playground will continue with council already working to share and disseminate findings, design strategies and outcomes across NSW.

BACK TO MAIN PAGE