After ten years of constructing hermetically sealed, fully air-conditioned buildings, Macquarie University has made a breakthrough in the design of the mixed mode commerce building E4A/E4B.

The new high-rise 9000 square building currently under construction will be home to the Division of Economic and Financial Studies and is due for completion by the start of the 2006 academic year. Student teaching laboratories will be located in the connected low-rise wing.

The brief was to engineer a comfort conditioning system for the building using enhanced natural ventilation when appropriate, targeting efficiency in energy consumption and reduced green house gas emissions.

It is this design that has brought acknowledgment for architects DEM, along with Macquarie University, with the presentation of a Bronze Medal in the Green Buildings Awards 2003. These awards, conducted by The Architecture Show Magazine, in conjunction with The Francis Greenway Society, recognised the environmental sustainability of the project.

"We have tried to be as innovative as possible in the design of this building," said Director of Buildings and Grounds Robert Kelly. "Breaking away from the fully air-conditioned concept was important. We looked very closely at sustainability and climate control issues and ended up with a compromise solution which is a significant step forward for the University."

"It is the first building in over a decade that has windows that you can actually open," says Kelly.

The whole facade is built on a louvre system that is semi automated. Up to 26 degrees the occupant can control the environment by opening the windows and adjusting the louvres. As the internal temperature gets beyond 26 degrees, the louvres close automatically and the air conditioning kicks in.

"The operating costs of running a building over its lifetime can be as much as ten times the capital cost of building it," Kelly says. "People tend to focus on the up-front costs. From that perspective we will be able to better manage the running costs, meaning there will be more money for teaching and research."

The positioning of the building was also very important. With the Waterloo Road entrance set to become the main gateway to the campus, the commerce building was designed to provide a gateway to the University. After the 2008 completion of the Epping to Chatswood rail link it is hoped that many students will travel by train, with the building a directional node from the station.

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics Glenn Jones says the new building will greatly enhance the facilities available to the Division's staff and students.

"Computing facilities for both undergraduate and postgraduate students will be improved, and postgraduate research students will all be able to be accommodated within the building with dramatically improved facilities and privacy," he says.

"Importantly, all EFS staff will be able to be accommodated within the one building," he adds.