Leading the sustainable school revolution, Floth Sustainable Building Consultants has been awarded four and five green stars (Australian Best Practice and Excellence ratings) for designs on three new Queensland primary schools.

Woodlinks and Augusta State Schools were awarded four stars and Coomera Rivers State School awarded five stars under the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Green Star Education Version 1 rating tool.

Floth project manager Mr. Sanjeev Erriah said it had been a great result all-around, especially securing a five star rating for Coomera Rivers State School lifting its status to ‘Australian Excellence’ in environmentally sustainable design and construction.

“We started the projects with our focus on designing three schools which were environmentally sustainable, energy and cost efficient,” Mr Erriah said.

“A number of environmental targets were reached using extensive computer modelling throughout the design process, which enabled us to minimise the energy output of the projects and be cost efficient.”

The designs used on Coomera Rivers State School saw the total consumption of potable water by the school reduced by over 80 percent, greatly contributing to its five star rating.

“With recycled water supplied by Gold Coast Water we were able to maximize the use of recycled water for both internal and external use.

“Our contract with Broad Constructions stipulated the delivery of a four star rating on the school, but the team saw an opportunity to raise the bar and achieve a five star rating for Coomera Rivers instead.

“As always our primary objective was to reduce the buildings’ carbon footprint by adopting good design principles.”

Floth have enjoyed previously successes when Peregian Springs and Thornlands South (Bayview) State School projects were the first schools in Australia to be awarded four stars under the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) Green Star Education Version 1 rating tool.

“Our philosophy has always been that the future of building services must be cost effective and integrate sustainability with practicality,” Mr Erriah said.

The project was a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the Queensland Department of Education and the Aspire Consortium, which has seen the development of six new primary schools and one new high school across South-East Queensland. The Aspire Consortium is led by Leighton Contractors and the Commonwealth Bank.

Floth has provided engineering and sustainability services on a number of high profile projects including: Green Square, HQ, 400 George Street and King George Central in Brisbane.