Thinking green cities

The Think Green Cities started yesterday and runs until 7 March 2012 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. The conference, co-hosted by the Green Building Council of Australia and Property Council of Australia, is bringing together the industry’s leading green thinkers, industry experts and manufacturers for three days of green building conversation, innovation and collaboration.

Opening keynote speaker Mary Ann Lazarus is an architect and biomimicry expert. She talked about how taking cues from nature can transform the future of our built environment. Biomimicry is a word which is made up from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, to imitate. Mary Ann says it’s how we can use nature for inspiration and design products, buildings and cities that are resource efficient, adapt to changing conditions and are locally attuned. Buildings and cities can be inspired by flora and fauna species that have adapted to the environment; for example, wind turbines have been designed to mimic the humpback whale to reduce drag and some shopping centres have water capture features that mimic how a flower captures water.

This presentation was followed by Nils Kok, sustainable property academic and advisor, on the undeniable proof that building and investing in sustainable properties pays financial dividends. Location, location, location is still important when investing in property, he says; however, research has shown that rents can be 3% higher in a green certified building, occupancy rates are higher and the transaction prices when the property is resold can be up to 13% higher.

The free trade show area also includes some interesting stands. Laros Technologies is there featuring ‘solar technology on the wall’ with its Therm aluminium curtain wall system.