Appendix A - Urban Form Analysis: Canberra's Sustainability ...

Urban Form Analysis - Type G
International Example - Dockside Green, Canada
DOCKSIDE GREEN is located in the City of Victoria, British Columbia,
Canada. This mixed-use harbourside precinct is designed to be a greenhouse gas
(carbon) neutral development.
Land Use Comparison Land Use Map
Built Form v Open Space
Building footprints range in size but all are at an urban scale with
no single detached dwellings. Smaller apartment blocks arranged
in narrow linear bands lie close to the harbour and larger mixed use
buildings distributed opposite an open space corridor.
Green Space
A naturalised creek and pond system or ‘greenway’ runs the length
of the site, terminating in a public amphitheatre. This integrated
storm water and urban ecology system uses native and adaptive
species. Green roofs are also provided on site.
Building Footprint - 26%
Typical Dockside Green development including high density residential built form.
Private Open Space - 13%
Semi Public Open Space - 9%
Road Verge - 9%
Road - 12%
Public Open Space (parkland) - 31%
Private Space v Public Space
Emphasis is placed on shared public spaces. Buildings sit within
a network of larger grain semi-private spaces (building courtyards)
and public open spaces. Private open space is minimal. Mixed use
street frontages encourage outdoor activity within the public realm.
Building Height and Road Reserve
A perimeter road provides access to the site and reduces the need
for on-site road land take. A mix between medium rise and high rise
building heights achieves a high density within a modest site area
whilst still providing a high ratio of public open space.
DOCKSIDE GREEN seeks to be a world-leading model for holistic, closedloop
design, functioning as a total environmental system in which form,
structure, materials, mechanical and electrical systems are interrelated and
interdependent and largely self-suffi cient. When completed, Dockside Green
will showcase energy generating technologies which sustain mixed-use
residential and commercial development including affordable housing, public
open spaces, public art, a mini-transit system, local shops and offi ces. It
achieved LEED Platinum accreditation for stage 1.
SNAPSHOT
Suburb Dockside Green, British
Columbia
Area of tile study 6.05 Hectares
Residential dwellings 1100
Study area population 2200
Year of initial development c. 2006
The following comparison is based on two types of available data: 1. actual performance
data for completed phases of the development and 2. aspirational performance
targets which are planned for but which are not yet completed or data verifying their
performance is not yet published.
COMPACT LAYOUT AND
EFFICIENT LAND UTILISATION
Performance indicator Unit of measurement
Population density 288 residents per ha urban area
Gross dwelling density 144 dwellings per ha developable land
Net dwelling density 144 dwellings per ha residential area
Occupancy rate 2 number of occupants per dwelling
Developable land 48% of the overall urban area
Building footprint 26% of the overall urban area
Private open space 13% of the overall urban area
Semi public open space 9% of the overall urban area
Road reserve 21% of the overall urban area
Road 12% of the overall urban area
Verge 9% of the overall urban area
Public open space 31% of the overall urban area
URBAN ECOLOGY, ENERGY AND WATER
Performance indicator Unit of measurement
Annual residential greenhouse gas emissions 0.2 tonnes CO2 per year
from onsite building operation 0.4 tonnes CO2 per dwelling
Annual residential energy use 7 GJ per resident
15 GJ per dwelling
Annual residential potable water use 37 kL per resident
73 kL per dwelling
Energy concept for the development
A biomass gasifi cation plant will make Dockside Green the fi rst large community-scale
development in North America to be “greenhouse gas neutral” or better from a building
energy perspective. The process uses wood waste recovered from local mills and
woodworking shops, as well as tree trimmings and deadfall from the region.This will
offset emissions created onsite from electricity and the delivery of waste wood to the
site. Excess heat produced by the biomass plant will be sold off-site to neighbouring
businesses.
Building features providing optimised energy performance include passive building
design (shading and daylighting), insulation, low E double-glazed windows, heat
recovery technology to pre-warm incoming fresh air by capturing the heat from
ventilated air being exhausted, a four-pipe fan coil system for domestic hot and cold
water supply system (providing free cooling), photovoltaic and solar hot water products
and wind turbines recycle or reuse 90% of construction waste on site.