Project update – April

It’s been a busy month for the Ginninderra project team as we continue to explore how the rapid pace of technological change is shaping our cities and how we can best incorporate this into our planning.

Several members from the project team attended the Green Cities Conference in Sydney to meet industry leaders and to canvas the latest thinking on liveable, sustainable and resilient cities. Co-hosted by the Green Building Council of Australia and the Property Council of Australia, Green Cities is Australia’s premier sustainability conference for the built environment.

While high-density inner-city living is not applicable to CSIRO Ginninderra, the concept of a mixed-use development that encourages work, recreational and social activity and reduces off-site travel needs, most certainly is. Having a deliberate plan and design for the right mix of housing densities and open space, among all the other social, commercial and environmental features, will be key to creating such a vibrant, healthy and sustainable community at Ginninderra.

With the recent release of the State of the Environment 2016 Report, we also explored how we can deliver a high quality built environment that promotes clean air and the health and wellbeing of residents and visitors.

To maintain excellent air quality across the Ginninderra property, CSIRO plans to work closely with a future joint development partner and the community on initiatives such as reducing car use and designing buildings to reduce the energy requirements for heating and cooling.

This month we also reported on how CSIRO has been working with Aboriginal communities over the past few months to find and salvage artefacts and protect Aboriginal heritage values.

CSIRO and Environmental Resources Management (ERM) were joined on 19 December 2016 by traditional custodian group representatives to salvage artefacts from two paddocks within the Ginninderra site ahead of the proposed future development. Artefact salvage, together with conservation measures in the landscape, are important for protecting heritage features and strengthening the connection between Aboriginal communities and their heritage values.

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