First sod turned for Tyree Energy Technologies Building
06 December 2009

The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, and philanthropist Sir William Tyree, OBE, have turned the first sod for the University of New South Wales' new flagship sustainable technologies building.

As winners of the design competition, fjmt have developed the Tyree Energy Technologies Building to be a ‘gateway’ building at the entry of the main UNSW campus, accommodating and showcasing state-of the-art leading edge research in clean energy including photovoltaics, carbon capture, trading and storage. 

The 16,000sqm building will be the focal point for the University’s Centre for Energy Research and Policy Analysis (CERPA) and will also house the School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE), the Centre for Energy and Environmental Markets (CEEM), the School of Petroleum Engineering (SCOPE) and the laboratories of the ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence and the ARC Centre for Functional Nanomaterials.

Facilities include wet and dry research laboratories, teaching laboratories, post-graduate write-up spaces, multiple raked theatres, a range of informal learning and collaborative spaces, showcase/exhibition space, a rooftop experimental space, and prototype carbon trading office.

The building will be a leading example of sustainable construction, targeting a 6 Star Green Star building rating, featuring a gas-fired tri-generation plant, low energy displacement cooling, heat recovery systems, two thermal labyrinths with 1,100sqm of roof-mounted solar panel array utilising the latest UNSW solar cell technology.

Due for completion in early 2012, the $125 million project will support industry collaboration and provide a formal learning space for 300 engineering students.