• Centralised Chiller Set for Residential & Commercial Air Conditioning (Eco Coolant Supply)
  Air Conditioning represents up to 75% of the energy consumed in standard high rise apartment buildings in Darwin.
  To reduce this impact, two large Centrifugal Chillers have been installed at basement level. These chillers circulate 'Eco Coolant' (super chilled water on a closed loop) to ALL air conditioners in ALL properties within the building.
  This negates the need for air conditioning inverters for more than 200 properties within the building, as well as removing the heat load that inverters generate and push back into areas we're trying to cool. 
  This system heavily reduces power use in the building as a whole, and offers residents and commercial tenants peace of mind, knowing that their environmental impact is greatly reduced with absolutely no effort on their part.
  Users can further reduce their impact by staying at an efficient temperature (24c +), turning AC's off when not in use, using timers for night time A/C use, closing doors & windows and using fans to circulate air around their property. When used at efficient settings this can save users on their overall utility costs. 
   

• Cooling Tower infrastructure
  "Taking a tip from Mother Nature" - The Cooling Tower is essentially a man-made "waterfall". When chilling Eco Coolant for air conditioning, the Chillers produce a great deal of heat. To disperse this heat from the building, water heated by the chillers is piped to the cooling towers (located beside the cafe at the front of the building) and cascades 2-storeys past large fans blowing air across the water droplets, before returning to the Chiller plant and beginning the cycle again. Between 2 - 4 degrees of heat is dissipated using this process. 

 

• Co-Generational Centralised Hot Water System (Water Heating Service)
  Another high user of power in residential properties in particular is hot water generation. Standard residential hot water systems use most of their power in keeping water hot when it's not in use during the day. The precinct's centralised hot water plant is located in basement and circulates heated water to all properties. Users are only charged for the service of heating the water (and a minimal monthly fee for storage), not for the water itself, which is paid by Body Corporate. The Co-Generational design means heat produced by the Chillers is also used to subsidize heat production and large storage tanks ensure the cost of heat-keeping is shared amongst all 200 properties within the building. This reduces storage costs without losing heat throughout the day.
   

• Reduced Tenancy Power Use / Infrastructure
  As a result of the two main power users (Air Conditioning & Hot Water heating) no longer being powered through the individual properties' power supply, residential and commercial properties have smaller load requirements. Users will see tremendous reductions on their power bill and the load-share amongst tenancies to run the centralised plant also means less requirement for power onsite as a whole, giving measurable proof of the Precinct's reduced power-use footprint. 
   

• Solar Powered Plant & Common Areas
  Our ongoing commitment to sustainability has seen the installation of a solar panel field on the roof of the building in 2019. The solar array is used by the Body Corporate to power common property (lighting, A/C fan motors, general power consumption, running of common plant items like pumps, equipment, etc). And a separate set of panels are in place to reduce power consumption to run the Chillers & Hot Water plant during the day - meaning even less environmental impact for individual properties for air conditioning and heating. As an added benefit the panels represent further insulation to the buildings expansive roof area.
   

• Recycling Facilities
  The Avenue's original recycling goal was to see only 10-20% of all waste produced being taken to landfill. To achieve this each Apartment was designed with in-built waste sorting facilities - includes triple colour coded bins (BLUE for Paper/Cardboard, YELLOW for Co-Mingle (recyclable containers) & RED for General Waste). These bins can be emptied into recycling stations located immediately adjacent the central lift wells at both basement levels. Standardised bin liners are available for purchase at reception made of materials that break down naturally.
   

• Urban Village design
  The generation of economies of scale allows for the precinct to take advantage of the theme “Everything you need for your day to day life within walking distance”. Limiting peoples requirement to travel for services and products is possibly the single largest energy saving strategy available to the precinct.
  The key village services include;

  • Multiple residential homes accommodating more than 500 people (Hastings and The Avenue)

  • Large scale office space accommodating of 1000 people

  • The NT’s largest childcare centre, accommodating 130+ children

  • A Health / Medical precinct (Dental, Optical, Chiropractic, Diagnostic/Pathology)

  • Beauty & Wellbeing Services (Barber, Beautician, Cosmetic Clinic)

  • Cafes & Restaurants (Health Cafe, Restaurant, Pizza, Indian Food)
     

• Edible Gardens
  The Avenue boasts extensive Communal veggie gardens at Podium level. These edible gardens are free for the use of Residential Tenants and contain more than 40 varieties of vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices. Giving residents renewable resource at their fingertips. 
   

• LED Lighting
  Downlights for all common areas and apartments are fitted with LED lamps. This represents a reduction in direct power usage as well as the reduction in heat generated by the fittings. This ensures that common areas & apartments alike have a far lower heat loading, leading to large reductions in the air conditioning demand.
   

• High Level Lighting Control
  With over 1500 common areas lights, multiple strategies exist to ensure that these areas are appropriately lit with usage costs minimised;

  • Low wattage selection of fittings for common areas​

  • Use of sensors to dim or turn off fittings when areas are not in use for long periods of time

  • Use of time switch controls for common areas that change seasonally to suit sunrise and sunset times

  • Scheduled lighting and air conditioning control for business hours and Public Holiday provision
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• Cycling support
  Multiple strategies are in place to support cycling in the precinct. This includes

  • Full bike storage spaces for commercial premise users. Including showers, toilets & changing rooms

  • Full bike storage spaces at lower basement for residential premise users.

  • High quality bicycle paths constructed through the entire street linking the existing arterial bikeways adjacent Stuart Highway and Gilruth Avenue.
     

• Easy access to public transport
  The location of the Precinct means residents and visitors have easy access to public transport both inbound and outbound from the City with bus stops located at each end of Salonika Street. 
   

• Tesla / Electric Car Charging Facilities
  The increase in electric cars on the market has lead to an increased need for charging stations for both occupants and the general public who use the precinct. Tesla stations are located in the main parking area and rear loading zone with 17kw charge, and a collection of electric car charging points have also been installed in private basement levels for the use of residents and commercial tenants with electric vehicles. 
   

• Ceiling fans
  Ceiling fans are fitted in every bedroom and living area of each apartment as a standard part of fit outs. Ceiling fans remain the lowest cost, lowest energy method for air movement which leads to improved occupant comfort.
   

• Shading structures to all Glazing
  The curved spandrels on the towers serve multiple purposes. They form the underlying architectural style for the development but through sizable overhangs below soffit levels, they also provide shading to all windows.
  At the ends of the buildings (where our unique Magpie Geese design is located) are large scale screens to protect windows and precast walls from receiving direct exposure to the sun.
   

• Streetscape shading (The 'Avenue' streetscape design)
  A long-term goal of the precinct is to shade Salonika streetscape. The upgrade of Salonika in 2014 saw the planting of more than 120 x Allocyncarpia Ternata gumtrees, positioned along the street, to one day provide the ultimate heat protection/dispersion using natural shade to reduce the heat produced by bitumen. Extensive landscaping throughout the ground level and podium levels of the precinct contribute to the shading of the building and its amenities, as well as improving air quality and aesthetics all round. We're not just green, we are GREEN!
   

• High level of insulation
  All roofs in the development are fully insulated. On the top floor there is a full concrete roof with a separate steel roof with insulation above. Combined with the solar panels, the multiple layers produce high levels of insulation.
   

• Water efficient fixtures & fittings
  All fixtures within the precinct common areas & properties have been carefully chosen for the water usage ratings.

  • Toilets are all dual flush

  • Hansa shower heads are fitted throughout with roses designed for minimum flow & maximum coverage

  • Vanity tapware are 4 star rated for minimum flow
     

• Pump-free storm water removal
  With over 15,000m2 of basements at a depth over 6m, significant volumes of groundwater will be generated.
  A traditional engineering response to this issue is to construct large collection pits and place pumping stations to lift this water into the localised stormwater system. The Avenue project invested heavily in completing a 250mm lined ground bore that runs from the lowest point on the site at a gradient of 3% for a distance of 143m under the adjacent school oval at a depth of over 8m into nearby ravine. Whilst almost all developments with basements include the installation of costly and energy consuming pumps to remove water, the resultant effect of this ground bore infrastructure is to save some 40,000kwHs of power every year for the remainder of the buildings life span.
   

• Efficient Street Lighting
  Salonika Street underwent extensive re-design during the build of Spirit on The Avenue, as part of the masterplan design - Upgrades included the complete restructuring of the street and associated streetscape and the installation of 30 new LED Thorn street lights. At the time of the development LED streetlights had not been used in Darwin and works were completed collaboration with Powerwater as a pilot program for future development

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