First Delta Group has commenced work on a development in the heart of Melbourne’s Southbank.
The Bank Apartments represent the first 6 star residential tower in Victoria. Designed by architects Urban Design, the project comprises 360 apartments, with apartments commencing on the eight floor.
The development will include a fully equipped gymnasium, 25m pool, sauna, communal lounge, landscaped garden terraces, business centre and seven levels of undercover car parking.
The demand for mechanical heating and cooling has been minimised by avoiding a fully glazed façade, thus balancing views and energy efficiency, and by providing external shading devices to northeast and northwest windows. Analysis of external shading options was undertaken with the objective of optimising summer shading to the NE and NW facades with horizontal blade louvres. The arrangement selected will provide an effective summer shading coefficient of 36.3 per cent, significantly reducing the demand for mechanical cooling.
Domestic hot water at the development will be provided by a centralised solar boosted system comprising a solar preheat system designed to provide up to 25 per cent of summer hot water demand; solar panels located on the roof; an efficient central gas boosting plant; and a highly insulated circulating loop to minimise parasitic heat loss.
A rainwater harvesting system will also be installed, comprising rainwater harvesting from the entire roof surface, with a total storage volume of 40,000 litres. Swimming pool top-up will be reused, along with the reuse of harvested water for toilet flushing for common facilities on level eight.
