Penrith Council was recognised in two categories of the prestigious Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment Awards, announced at Sydney Olympic Park last week.
The Jordan Springs Community Hub won the Sustainable Infrastructure category, and the Climate Adapted People Shelter in Kingswood was Highly Commended in the Climate Change Action category.
Penrith Mayor, Ross Fowler OAM said it is great to see Council’s commitment to the environment and sustainability being recognised once again.
“It will come as no surprise to anyone who has visited the Jordan Springs Community Hub since it opened in April 2018 that it is being recognised for excellence in sustainable building practices,” he said.
“Council and Lendlease worked closely together and with the community to design a flexible space that was as useful, comfortable and efficient as possible for all users.”
Some of the building’s sustainability features include cross laminated timber construction, geothermal heating and cooling, a 20kW pv solar system, energy efficient lighting, and water efficient fittings. To help keep it cool, the building features passive design principles to expel hot air, light coloured roofing, effective insulation, high performance window glazing, and landscaping that includes light coloured materials and maximises shade cover.
The innovative Climate Adapted People Shelter (CAPS) bus shelter was installed near Nepean Hospital in Kingswood in November 2017.
This unique pilot project was developed as a partnership with the then Parramatta, Ashfield and Canterbury Councils, along with the University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) Institute for Sustainable Futures, U.lab and Centre for Management & Organisation Studies, the NSW Climate Adaptation Research Hub and the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University. It was also assisted by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, and supported by Local Government NSW through the Building Resilience to Climate Change funding program, with additional project funding provided by Penrith Council.
Key features of the bus shelter include a special roof shape, roof insulation, extended shade coverage, cross flow ventilation, and integrated solar panels and LED lighting.
Subsequent monitoring of the shelter by UTS demonstrated significant improvements in temperatures compared to a traditional bus shelter, and highly positive feedback from users about its comfort and appearance.
These awards recognise Penrith Council’s reputation as a leader in sustainability in the local government sector. Both projects contribute to making our region a better place to live for our residents, and help to deliver outcomes in line with our Cooling the City Strategy.
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