It is the biggest urban renewal project since the Olympic site was built at Homebush Bay, but Barangaroo is also likely to be the greenest.
The Barangaroo Delivery Authority’s goal is to make the precinct the first of its size in the world to be ”climate positive”. That means the site will generate more renewable energy than it uses. It will also recycle and export more water than it uses and recycle more waste than it generates.
The Green Building Council of Australia expects the $6 billion Lend Lease development will be the benchmark by which similar projects could be measured in the future.
“Barangaroo is one of the largest developments Australia will see over the next 20 years, and Lend Lease is showing real leadership in its commitment to sustainability,” Romilly Madew, the chief executive of the building council, said.
Just over half the site will be dedicated public space, which will include a 2.2-kilometre foreshore walk. Every plant in the site’s headland park will be an Australian native, 90 per cent of which will be common species.
When completed, the site will provide office space for 23,000 workers as well as 800 residential apartments.
The delivery authority and developer Lend Lease have planned the site with long-term sustainability in mind.
It will generate enough solar energy to serve the public areas of the site. There will be a recycled water service and a waste recycling service. Only recycled water will be used for flushing toilets, irrigation and fire sprinklers.
Conventional cars will be discouraged with electric car power stations in the car parks, walking and cycling networks through the precinct and strong public transport links.
Tenants will be required to have their airconditioning set at the most energy-efficient level.
Even the building phase will be promoted as environmentally sound, with workers sorting and separating waste, then recycling or re-using where possible during construction.
