Designing for the Future: A Conversation with David Mahony of Hip V. HYPE.
The Canopy on Normanby has been designed with distinct principles that will allow it to add real benefit to the local community.
- By Gamuda Land
- 3 July 2023
As part of Australia’s largest urban renewal project, Fisherman’s Bend, we knew how important it was to take the project’s sustainability features to a new level.
We enlisted the trusted services of Melbourne sustainability consultants, HIP V. HYPE to provide their unique expertise in how we could transform The Canopy on Normanby into one of Melbourne’s most sustainable residential developments.
HIP V. HYPE was engaged quite early in the development process alongside architectural practice, Hayball and Landscape Designers, OCULUS to provide the sustainability framework for the development.
Embedding the principles very early in the design process, HIP V. HYPE also helped inform the project’s passive design elements. The orientation of the building, window locations, optimising shading, and the inclusion of natural ventilation and daylight intrusion into the building work together to achieve the project’s targeted 7.5 Average NatHERS rating.
We recently explored the topic in more detail with the help of HIP V. HYPE’s, Head of Better Buildings, David Mahony.
“The approach to The Canopy on Normanby has been to integrate both an energy-efficient outcome, but also a health and well-being outcome for the project’s residents,” David explained.
“From a health and well-being perspective, the integration of natural greenery and landscaping throughout the development not only offers residents the opportunity to reconnect to nature but also improves air quality, focus and reduces stress and fatigue.” A further aspect of improving the health and well-being of residents was the careful selection and promotion of healthy material choices within apartments.
David explains how HIP V. HYPE educated the project team to incorporate health-conscious materials in the project.
“Choosing woods, carpets and paints with low emissions in terms of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), which are known to be harmful to our health, helped us to promote a healthy internal environment.
“This decision also improves indoor air qualities within apartments, improving sleep and overall health,” said David.
Apartments in the project have been carefully designed to perform significantly better than code, translating into lower energy bills for better internal temperatures.
Balancing these elements creates a low-energy apartment that is comfortable to live in while also providing health and well-being benefits through the inclusion of natural light.
HIP V. HYPE is also playing an integral role in the delivery of some Melbourne-first innovative energy solutions to the project that will see residents save significantly on their energy bills.
“Due to the unique soil conditions found in South Melbourne, our team at HIP V. HYPE was able to help identify this as a feasible option to provide one of the largest of its type here in Victoria,” explains David.
We are extremely proud of the local team we have cultivated here in Melbourne to help bring the vision of The Canopy on Normanby to life.
With demolition underway, we are excited to begin the process of realising this vision to welcome residents to the site in 2025.
To learn more about The Canopy on Normanby click here