International Gates, Melbourne Airport

Location: Melbourne

Country: Australia

Client: Melbourne Airport

Architect: Architectus

Services Provided: Structural, Civil, Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, ESD Consultancy

Melbourne Airport wanted a flexible, cost-effective solution that was easy to operate and maintain with a highly sustainable outcome. The focus was on enhancing the passenger experience, reducing energy use and improving operational costs.

Initiatives included in-floor heating and cooling, rainwater harvesting and displacement ventilation.  But the real value comes from the building modelling of the heating and cooling system, which combined façade, thermal and daylight analysis to focus on qualifying the results and benefits this could achieve for indoor environment.

We undertook analysis to inform the evidence based design process which included detailed energy modelling, Daylight modelling, CFD analysis and Thermal comfort analysis to demonstrate compliance with green star assessments and requirements.

Modelling showed that the Predicted Mean Vote PMV range achieved by the design was -0.5 to +0.5 (based on ISO7730) for 99% of the standard occupied hours, thereby demonstrating that the design would achieve high level of thermal comfort.