Monash University’s new student accommodation, Gillies Hall, built by Multiplex, is the first large scale building in the southern hemisphere to achieve Passive House certification.
Located at the University’s Peninsula campus in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston, Gillies Hall comprises 150 single units set over six levels.
Completed by Multiplex in March, Gillies Hall is more than three times more efficient than existing residential halls at Monash University.
Designed by Jackson Clements Burrows, Gillies Hall includes communal kitchens, games rooms and apartments with a total floor area of 6,000 sqm.
Graham Cottam, Multiplex’s regional director in Victoria, hails the “progressive” student accommodation, which he says has “set a new industry standard for environmentally sustainable construction”.
Passive House is the world’s leading standard in performance-based energy efficient construction and focuses on occupant comfort, health and ultra-low energy use.
The project was also Multiplex’s first foray into cross-laminated timber construction, which can halve the embodied carbon in a building when compared with concrete structures.
AECOM drove the Passive House certification process. Airtightness is a critical factor in certification, and Gillies Hall’s project team has created a highly-efficient building that maintains a constant temperature throughout the year.
Gillies Hall is 100 per cent powered by renewable energy in line with the University’s net zero carbon emissions strategy. This was achieved with the help of rooftop solar panels, an all-electric design and Monash’s power purchase agreement with Murra Warra wind farm.
Gillies Hall also includes a rainwater harvesting tank and water sensitive urban design, notably the creation of a landscaped dry-creek bed that provides additional opportunities for recreation, manages storm water flows during high rain events and connects into the natural waterways of the campus.
Bradley Williamson, the University’s executive director of buildings and property, says the building will “enhance Monash University’s status as a university of choice”.
Multiplex also delivered Monash University’s $145 million student accommodation precinct in 2016, which includes 1,000-plus studio apartments across four new residential buildings, as well as retail and student informal learning spaces.
“Gillies Hall will deliver an outstanding experience for its residents through a high quality thermal indoor environment and plays a significant part in the University’s Net Zero initiative through its all electric design,” Williamson concludes.