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City of Wollongong

Helping to build a greener future, together

Friday 7 January 2022

Image: Site inspection with UOW students on 15 March 2021 at Ribbonwood Community Centre.

It is hoped that the next generation of architects and engineers will be inspired to build a greener future by working together through a local education program, which is supported by Wollongong City Council.

Earlier last year, Council joined an educational project, led by University of Wollongong (UOW) and part-funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), that provided student engineers and architects with hands-on-experience during their tertiary studies.

Council was the client in this project and requested students to develop and review a strategy for the upgrade of Dapto Ribbonwood Centre’s air-conditioning systems and develop recommendations that align with Council’s organisational commitment to net-zero operations by 2030.

Students were asked to address matters such as energy modelling and emission calculations, improvements on the value of renewable energy, life cycle, review nominated options and provide details of their recommendations. The students’ reports discussed the building’s environmental impact as well as improving its energy efficiency.

“UOW approached Council in October 2020 and our Infrastructure and Works department were happy to get involved and provide support. The Dapto Ribbonwood Centre is undergoing a major retrofit, so it was an ideal case study for them. We started with a client brief and went from there,” Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said.

Council provided in-kind support through a client brief, continued feedback, on-site tours and visits, and reviews of their presentations. The support was consistent with Council’s focus on supporting up-and-coming professionals and 10 students undertaking third-year, fourth-year and post-graduate studies at UOW were involved.

“The objective of this partnership was to provide a learning opportunity where students gain real-world experience with a client. This meant acting as a genuine client but also providing valuable feedback where appropriate,” Cr Bradbery said.

“It has been a great experience for Council, especially in supporting our commitment to sustainable designs, and there is a desire to assist with another.

“This project is a great example of the multi-faceted partnerships Council has with UOW and provided a win-win outcome whereby Council connected with aspiring and innovative up and coming engineers and was also a win for students to learn and grow and to have real-life practical experience.”

This recent project with UOW is one of many programs where Council supports on the job learning with educational studies in this field of work. We employ civil engineering cadets as part of Council’s annual intake of cadets, apprentices and trainees as well as an annual intake of civil engineering students through a 12-week internship and civil engineering graduates within our Infrastructure and Works Department.

University of Wollongong Associate Research Fellow James Roth said students embraced the nine-month project and the range of benefits that came with it, such as working with Council as a client.

“Architects have a strategy to make buildings more efficient and so do engineers, but they don’t always align and there can be some conflict. Our aim was to bring student architects and engineers together to design buildings that marry the best aspects of both skill sets,” he said.

“It was incredibly beneficial to the students as working practically isn’t something they have done before. The idea is to run through real world projects in an environment where students can make mistakes. By taking the class, students got to work on a real project, with a real client and project brief, ask questions and receive feedback.”

You can read more about the Integrated Design Studio (IDS’s) project, including the final findings, on the i-Hub website. The project was led by University of Wollongong with Wollongong City Council, Stantec, MIEngineers, COX and ARUP as participants, while the Australian Institute of Refrigeration Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) provided support as the overall i-HUB coordinator.

This Project received funding from ARENA as part of ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program.


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