Andrew Carre

Applying Life Cycle Assessment

Life cycle assessment (commonly known by its acronym LCA) is a useful sustainability tool and has many applications to support packaging decisions. In LCA, environmental impacts of product and packaging systems can be quantified in line with internationally accepted methodologies. With this knowledge, strategies can be identified and adopted that achieve the most effective and efficient environmental outcomes, and packaging design can be optimised. This chapter provides a general introduction to understanding and getting started with LCA, in particular for its application to product-packaging and packaging-system design. One important insight is that LCA studies have the potential to dispel common myths about packaging and sustainability issues. Packaging LCAs sometimes show that ‘rules of thumb’ or ‘common sense solutions’ simply do not apply or work in practice.

A Feasibility Study and Assessment: Distributed Solar System in High-Density Areas

Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy has emerged as an innovation for greenhouse gas reduction in the building and construction industry due to the calculable advantages it possesses. Although there is evidence supporting the inclusion of small-scale roof-mounted PV systems in detached houses, limited studies have been conducted on the implementation of PV in the commercial sector especially within high-density urban areas. This study conducted a detailed value assessment to optimize the cost of applying PV systems in a high-density city area of Melbourne. The Net Present Value results evidence the feasibility to apply roof-mounted polycrystalline PV products in the case study buildings. This research supports investors’ decisions by understanding the financial values of prefabricated PV systems in high-density regions and provides suggestions to building professionals on value-for-money design.

Urban Climates in the Transformation of Australian Cities

Climate change is set to significantly impact cities and those who live and work within them. This chapter reviews the changing climate in Australia and its consequent role in the transformation of Australian cities with emphasis on the impact to the built environment. Following this, a discussion explores the application of strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change on buildings and cities. While these strategies will be important for a transition to a low-carbon future, there is still a requirement for innovative research and developments that would pave clearer directions to achieve a lower carbon society.

Acoustic performance of contemporary public libraries: an evaluation of public libraries in Melbourne, Australia

ABSTRACT Contemporary public libraries play an important role in modern society providing a wide range of community services in addition to the traditional function of affording access to written art and information. Libraries have experienced increasing usage as they have developed into multipurpose facilities, adapting to changes in technology and society. Despite these changes, study and reading areas with good acoustic conditions have remained important for concentrated learning and work. This study investigates the acoustic conditions of seven public libraries in metropolitan Melbourne using objective measurements. Reverberation time measurements were undertaken in the State Library of Victoria which has the highest number of users of the libraries considered. The results showed that the noise levels under operating conditions were generally higher than expected. The reverberation time was high and other measures such as speech intelligibility were poor. Even though some noise management strategies were being employed to enhance acoustic conditions, indoor noise levels in contemporary public libraries are concerning. Noise generated from footsteps on hardwood floors, people talking, equipment operation and noise from traffic were the main sources of noise observed. Recommendations for improving acoustic conditions include application of absorptive materials for the floors and walls and appropriate noise insulation for façades.