WestWyck News

One sunny winter day in July the Owners' Corporation organised most of us out into the shared garden area to plant out the fruit trees on to the espalier lines.

The photo shows a hive of activity and we anticipate even more action when harvest time comes round.

The community planting included both the fig tree near the
barbecue decking (it is a 'Black Genoa' Fig) and the fruit tree planting in
the espaliered garden area.

The fruit trees planted included a 'three-way apple' and a single apple, a
double-planted pear, a 'three-way plum', a 'three-way apricot' and a
'three-way stone fruit'.'

Labels: food, garden

The bike shed has been fabricated from lightweight material and translucent cladding. The finish is the trademark WestWyck rusted steel of course.

The see-through look is deliberate as it provides permanent interior views of the shed (even at night when the solar lights kick in) and adds a level of security for the bikes, but it also highlights the bikes, putting them on display and making the statement to visitors that bikes are important at WestWyck.

Photos show the interior, exterior and an action shot of Mike wheeling his bike out of the shed.

Labels: bike shed, Bikes

Two anemometers have appeared on the WestWyck site in September. These temporary wind measurement structures have been installed as part of a Melbourne-wide study of wind harvesting potential and we were pleased to offer up WestWyck as a test site. There may be another nine sites around Melbourne that are part of the same project, providing data on wind harvest potential. In the long term, the aim of the project is to provide better data about the performance of micro-wind generation facilities and where they can be placed in order to obtain maximum performance. This is an important piece of renewable energy research for Victoria and follows work done on small wind turbines in Europe.

WestWyck has two anemometers in place and the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) has chosen these sites to measure different types of wind harvest. If the results are favourable then WestWyck is keen to look at the applicability of different types of turbines for WestWyck Stage Two, but that’s another story and a long way off.

The ATA is conducting the tests in conjunction with the State Government and they have selected sites across the city to enable them to make a detailed wind resource assessment. These sites were selected and approved through a process agreed to by the State Government. The trial is in line with and supported by the Victorian Government’s Wind Energy Guidelines (2003).

These photos show the two anemometers, one sitting on the peak of the southern face of the former school building and the other located on the former playgrounds.

Labels: Anemometers, ATA, wind

The final touch to complete the WestWyck townhouses was the long overdue fitting of the balconies. These had been held up through a supplier problem.

The photos show Joe applying the finishing touches and the long-awaited finished product.

Labels: Balconies

The Moreland Energy Foundation Limited (MEFL) was engaged by Szencorp and Sustainability Victoria to undertake an assessment of the potential to develop and offer a program of organised tours of Victoria’s green buildings.

One of the findings of the study was the need for a central online information source and contact point for Victoria’s sustainable buildings that would also provide information on each building as well as the capacity to book tours of these facilities.

This website has now been developed through a partnership between: Moreland Energy Foundation Limited, City of Melbourne, Szencorp, Building Commission and the Victorian Government Architect.

The website, which features WestWyck, can be found here

Labels: MEFL, Sustainability Victoria

Sustainable Buildings 08 is an international conference that has found its way to Melbourne, a real coup for the city and for Sustainability Victoria and its predecessors which have been arguing for a long time that Melbourne boasts some of Australia's most impressive sustainable commercial and residential buildings and that the city should be highlighting these.

SB08 attracted around 1500 attendees, 20 auspicing societies, $550k in sponsorship and a number of VIP speakers. Victorian Environment (& Climate Change) Minister Gavin Jennings officially opened SB08 with Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett on Monday 22nd September.

As part of the conference, a Melbourne Sustainable Building Tours model has been developed in preparation for SB08 and will continue after the event.
WestWyck was selected as one of the Melbourne sites.

The photo shows conference attendees visiting WestWyck on Sunday 21st September.

Labels: SB08, tours, visitors