Cool Future for Norwest Business Park
Mulpha, the parent developer of Norwest Business Park, has set a target to reduce the urban heat in Norwest by two degrees.
The Urban Cooling Guide released by Mulpha and University of NSW Built Environment School marks the culmination of two years of monitoring and analysing Norwest’s microclimate from a network of 15 environmental sensors around the Norwest precinct.
The ground-breaking plan targets the reduction of urban heat in Norwest by two degrees through smart building, infrastructure and landscape design.
Urban Heat islands form as vegetation is replaced by asphalt and concrete for roads, buildings, and other structures which absorb and re-radiate the sun’s heat, causing surface temperatures and overall ambient temperatures to rise.
The target of the Urban Cooling Guide is to lower the local Urban Heat Island Effect and deliver significant cost savings and health benefits to the businesses, residents and visitors… create a more liveable environment and address the challenges of climate change at a local level.
Dr Negin Nazarian, Scientia Lecturer, UNSW Built Environment, said: “Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and severe, which has serious consequences for public health, liveability and functionality of urban environments. Heatwaves in Australia kill more people than any other natural disaster.
“With the increased rate of urban development, city and precinct scale climate is dramatically changed, resulting in additional warmth brought about by the urban heat island effect.
“It is paramount that we understand and closely monitor not only the climatic factors, but also the urban design characteristics that impact human health and well-being in the face of such heat events, and further promote smart city strategies to address this.”
Mulpha has adopted an urban heat response to minimise heat build-up in its Norwest developments, including its zerocarbon development Norwest Quarter. The buildings have been designed to use light coloured materials throughout for high solar reflectivity, as well as using awnings, screens and external shading structures.
There is also substantial rewilding planned, with a high percentage of deep soil planting and canopy cover, tree planting in both private and public spaces, and water features established throughout the precinct.
Tim Spencer, Head of Developments, Mulpha said: “The design considerations adopted at an early-stage in any development will have a major impact on the climate variability and liveability in urban environments such as Norwest.”
“We are excited to be collaborating with some of the leading thinkers and bright young minds of UNSW to really understand the Norwest micro-climate and how we can influence it with good planning and design.
“Effective collection of on-the-ground data and analysis by world leading experts is central to our vision for Norwest as a Smart City that leads the way in urban design.
“Only through collaboration are we going to be able to realise a liveable precinct, so by sharing this knowledge we hope other developers and even homeowners will take steps to assist in lowering the urban heat in Norwest.” 
