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The Award winning Ecovillage at Currumbin

Located on the Gold Coast within the picturesque Currumbin Valley with world heritage rainforests providing a lush backdrop, The Ecovillage at Currumbin, developed by Landmatters, aims to create a community that will have as its core - Living Sustainably - in harmony with nature in a meaningful community. Landmatters’ vision is to “inspire sustainable living and development practice awareness” by creating a world-class ecologically sustainable village.

Promoting a model for change in the development industry, The Ecovillage at Currumbin has been acknowledged by Government, regulatory bodies and industry peers, winning a number of prestigious awards - in particular the first residential subdivision to achieve full 6 category accreditation with the Enviro Development Accreditation programme, a scientifically-based independent certification of the sustainability credentials of a development. Other awards include: • Best Environmental Development – Australian Property Institute (API) • Gold Coast Business Excellence Award in Manufacturing and Construction • Queensland’s Best Ecologically Sustainable Development – Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Queensland’s Best Sustainable Subdivision – Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) • Queensland’s Best Small Residential Subdivision – Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) • Special Merit: Ecologically Sustainable Development Master Planning – Planning Institute of Australia Sustainability Intended as an aspirational model to the development industry and the broader community, the EcoVillage at Currumbin recognises environmental, social and economic sustainability over time.   •  Environmental - Approximately 80% of the EcoVillage site is Open Space and approximately 50% of this is flora/fauna reserves with conservation status in perpetuity. Other core environmental principles of the development include minimising impact and change to air, soil and water in the local and global environments and minimising consumption of resources and energy both now and in the future.   •  Social - The development strives to maximise health, safety and comfort of the built environment to provide enduring quality of life and promote awareness and education of ecological issues including sustainability.   •  Economic - economic viability of The EcoVillage is promoted through excellence of design, ensuring enduring component life cycle (allowing for future changes in design, infrastructure and planning), property value growth and minimisation of maintenance and operational costs over time. Complementing Boral’s philosophy of creating better living, Landmatters’ goal is to preserve and enhance the current exquisite beauty of the site, improve its biodiversity and nurture the regeneration of the land into a leading example of sustainable community living by creating an Ecovillage that exemplifies World’s Best Practice in design, construction and accompanying processes. To this end, Boral Concrete has produced a concrete product for the Ecovillage that embodies innovation and excellence. Eco-concrete or ‘green concrete’ – an environmentally sustainable concrete specification was used in the construction of the interpretive centre both internally and externally. Boral Concrete has also been used in homes to provide significant thermal mass for energy efficiency (cool in summer and warm in winter) such as combined water storage/floor slabs, recycled exposed concrete flooring and concrete wall features. In keeping with the Ecovillage vision, Boral Concrete helped Landmatters staff define an ‘eco-spec’ for concrete with more sustainable concrete production methods and materials including; • Steel fibre reinforcing instead of standard mesh reinforcing as supplied by Degussa steel fibre recycled steel • Using Degussa paper pulp admixture to reduce water usage • Using recycled aggregate and sand including coarse sand manufactured from crusher dust (negates need to dredge sand from water courses) • Reduced cement content (40%) augmented with a maximum amount of fly ash (by-product of coal combustion) and slag (by-product of steel manufacture) • Using locally sourced material and nearby plant facilities • Ensuring water recycling and washout recycling during construction • Using left over concrete for making useful items – pavers, furniture, kerbing etc. Boral green concrete Boral green concrete maximises the use of recycled materials and requires less energy to produce high thermal mass so important for energy efficient homes. It has a variety of uses including foundations, paving, house slabs and higher strength applications, and promotes the sustainability of resources by minimising natural resource use, instead using recycled aggregates and supplementary cementitious materials and recycled water. Boral green concrete will meet stringent structural criteria - producing compressive strength results according to specific building design specifications and is environmentally friendly without compromising strength, workability, setting time and performance. Boral green concrete is available in a range of product strengths and applications. It can contribute to the material element of the EnviroDevelopment sustainability rating system (by the Urban Development Institute of Australia) as well as up to the maximum of three (3) green star credit points in the Green Star sustainability rating system designed by the Green Building Council of Australia.

Boral Plywood Boral Plywood is also used extensively in the Ecovillage for cabinetry, doors and ceiling panels. Its ecological specification and low toxicity ensures it is a great product for the 144 healthy and comfortable homes being built in the village. Other benefits include: • Produced from 100% renewable and sustainable plantation resource timber • Sustainable, economical and environmentally friendly manufacturing process • Low thermal mass - heats up and cools down quickly - houses built utilising plywood require less heating and cooling to sustain an optimum internal environment • High uniform strength and low shrinkage - engineered surfaces maintain durability and longevity without sacrificing style or flexibility • Versatile, lightweight and impact resistant Sources: http://www.theecovillage.com.au/ http://www.envirodevelopment.com.au/