The new building’s all-electric status mitigates the release of an estimated 1886 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, the Government of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT Government) reports. This amounts to the removal of 760 cars from Canberra’s roads and assists the project in leading the way nationally in environmentally sustainable health infrastructure design.

The first of 21 massive heat pumps have also been delivered to the Critical Services Building site. These replace traditional gas boilers as the source of hot water for the building, which will include more operating rooms, more treatment spaces and more intensive care beds to expand the overall capacity of Canberra Hospital – the expansion of which is designed by architects BVN with Multiplex as building contractor.

Early designs for the Critical Services Building achieved a four-star Green Star rating, but a formal submission has now been put to the Green Building Council of Australia for an upgraded five-star accreditation, supporting the ACT’s Climate Change Strategy (2019–2025) and the Government’s target to have a zero-emissions ACT Government health sector by 2040.

A high-performing facade glazing of thermally broken double-glazed units help minimise the cooling required in summer, and the heating needed in winter. The facade is said to achieve this by minimising air changes and by seasonal manipulation of solar heat gains. The facade also features other energy-efficient elements, including solar shading.

Other key sustainable design aspects include energy-efficient and intelligent heating, ventilation and cooling systems; a holistic building management and control system, supported by an analytics system that provides insight for more efficient operations; and the regulation of building features, such as humidity, temperature, air quality and oxygen concentration, lighting quality, and access to natural light and greenery. The landscape design showcases open courtyards and green spaces with plants suited to the local environment, while recycled water is used for irrigation purposes.

Environmentally conscious decision-making has also been at the forefront of the Critical Services Building throughout its construction process.

During demolition of the site’s former buildings, 96 per cent of the materials were salvaged and repurposed for other projects. Concrete for the new building includes locally sourced, low-carbon concrete, which has a reported 40-per-cent reduction in carbon content when compared with standard concrete mixes. Its application has eliminated more than 2000 tonnes of embodied CO₂ on the project to date – the equivalent amount of carbon removed by more than 30,000 tree seedlings grown over ten years, the ACT Government notes. Use of electric cranes has also helped eliminate pollution and noise during building construction.

Construction of the new facility began in 2021 and is expected to be completed in 2024.