Continuing on with my discussion of Green Buildings, I did some research and discovered that one of the major drivers of green building standards and designs for Australia was the winning bid by Sydney for the 2000 Olympic Games.
One of the major reasons why Sydney won the Olympics was that it promised a 'Green Games'.
(which can be seen in the video below).
The decision to be more sustainable in the hosting of a global event was stimulated by the UN Earth Summit in 1992, which highlighted the importance of a move to sustainable development. The strategy devised at this summit was to "use, conserve and enhance the communities resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained, and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be increased" (Ecologically Sustainable Development Steering Committee, 1992.).
Thus, the focus for the infrastructure of the Games was that of sustainability, as well as being a pure and competitive sporting event, which was evident in this post http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/olympics/
What I found interesting was that the Athlete's Village next to Homebush, became the world's largest solar suburb. The Village was designed with:
- A recycled water supply,
- The recycling of construction materials
- Solar cells were installed on the top of every house in the Village, as shown below.
A number of other initiatives were carried out during the games, the most impressive of which was that Homebush, the site of the Sydney Olympics, was an ex-industrial site which became completely rejuvenated. (more info can be found here http://www.unep.org/sport_env/about.aspx)
However, what is disappointing is that after the Olympics, Homebush was effectively left to its own devices. What started as a fantastic environmental initiative, began to fade as the Olympics were forgotten.
Only recently, with the revitalisation of adjacent industrial sites in Rhodes and Wentworth Point, and the rezoning of a number of areas within Homebush to create a greater residential presence, has this area come back to life.
While a number of 'green' market mechanisms and organisations were created out of the 'Green Games', it would appear that the momentum generated from the Olympics in terms of sustainable development and a focus on renewable energy, was lost.
Does that mean that Sydney took advantage of the 1990s focus on sustainability to design a Games with green initatives that would reap the financial rewards of the Olympics? I would have liked to have seen Homebush and a number of its green initatives continued after the Olympics and into other sites.
For my next post I want to continue the discussion on Green Buildings with an investigation itno High Rise apartment buildings, whether they are sustainable and if they are the future for city housing.
For further info, check out these sites
http://www.sopa.nsw.gov.au/our_park/environment
http://architectureau.com/articles/sydneys-green-games/
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