WHO IS INITIATING THIS PROJECT? The Australian National Sustainability Initiative is a collaboration of many individuals and groups. It is a project of the Australian National Biocentre which was founded by Nature and Society Forum. Members include scientists, artists, and professional people of all ages sharing the goal of healthy people on a healthy planet. The proposed Centre and Network will be independent, publicly-owned entities. The project is currently being managed by the Board of the Australian National Biocentre. Patrons Professor Frank Fenner, AC: Microbiologist and Virologist and the recipient of many science awards including the Prime Minister's Scientist of the Year for 2002. Dr Stephen Boyden, AM: Biohistorian, co-convenor and founding member of the Nature and Society Forum. The Current Australian National Biocentre Board Co-presidents Janis Birkeland is professor of architecture at QUT. She has a transdisciplinary background concerned with built environment design. She was an artist, advocacy planner, architect (registered), urban designer, city planner and attorney (registered) in San Francisco. She developed many tertiary and professional development units on built environment and sustainability. She has written over 100 papers and over 100 talks on the subject, and initiated the concept of net Positive Development. Her books include: Design for Sustainability: A Sourcebook of Integrated Eco-Logical Solutions, Positive Development: From Vicious Circles to Virtuous Cycles Through Built Environment Design. David Hood is Adjunct Professor in engineering at QUT. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer, Fellow of Engineers Australia, and has a consulting engineering practice. He was responsible for commissioning of Australia's Parliament House in Canberra, and was later National Manager, Defense and Aviation, Maunsell Pty Ltd. He served as National Director Engineering for Engineers Australia, and is now Deputy President of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, Chair of Australia's College of Environmental Engineers, and accredited presenter of Al Gore's Climate Project. Treasurer Mr. Geoff Pryor has successfully been in business for 15 years. He has run has own consultancy business, been a Director of a company utilising remote sensing technologies and been on the Boards of a variety of organizations. Upon completing his first degree in Applied Science at Melbourne university, Geoff has travelled and worked overseas. He has lived in Japan and worked with the Japan External Trade Organisation, been an Australian Trade Commissioner in Europe. He has worked at the highest levels of Government including being a senior adviser to Cabinet Ministers and a State premier. Geoff Pryor has a strong and successful background in advising upon, developing and managing strategic planning and research-based sustainable development processes for a broad range of organisations, in both the private and public sector. Geoff is a leading exponent of community and regional development and addresses a wide range of sectors including local sustainable business growth. Secretary David Nielson will work on virtual modelling to test the environmental performance of the design prototypes, especially the green space wall. He was a Lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, and is now a research fellow and lecturer at QUT in virtual prototyping for performance optimisation and BIM. As a PhD student, he is modelling double skin technologies, which will inform the technical issues of double skins containing biospheres. Other board members Peter James has worked in several organisations, in numerous job functions and in diverse locations, including the UK, Ireland, Germany, Guatemala, Malta, New Zealand and Australia. In brief, his career spans building services design, project management, facilities management, property consulting, and ESD consulting. His sector experience includes commercial offices, retail, hotels, prisons, hospitals, laboratories, defence, mining, water infrastructure, sports and leisure, and aviation. His experience in building maintenance and management that remains his main source of inspiration in conceiving practical, cost effective and sustainable solutions. Jim Mcknoulty is Chairman of Conics, a consultancy assisting industry and government to meet the challenges of growth management, infrastructure delivery and climate change throughout Eastern Australia. Jim is Immediate Past President of Greening Australia, and was founding President of The Australian Green Development Forum. He was one of five national finalists in the 2004 Prime Minister's "Environmentalist of the Year Awards" for his work in advancing the adoption of sustainable development practices in Australia's property industry. His leadership role in Growth Management and Sustainable Development in Queensland has been recognised by the Queensland Premier's Award for Leadership in Business Sustainability in 2007. Jim is a member of the Queensland Premier's Climate Change Council and Chairman of Brisbane City Council's CitySmart Committee which are responsible for guiding initiatives in responding to Climate Change and Energy challenges facing Queensland. Wendy Rainbird is an educator who has taught at Secondary level, teaching geography, and mainly in Primary Schools when she moved to the Australian Capital Territory, teaching across all key learning areas. Her on-ground conservation work has been as a ParkCare (like Bushcare) Coordinator on the Farrer Ridge Nature Park. She represents this group as a member of the Southern ACT Catchment Group, which has links with the Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment. She been a member of the Australian National Biocentre Board for many years, Convenor of the Education Committee, and on the Steering committee of the Feasibility Study for the Australian National Sustainability Centre/Initiative. She has worked on a number of projects facilitating sustainability education and is a board member of the Nature and Society Forum. Yasu Santo is a lecturer of architecture and interactive design at QUT. He has been engaged in researching, lecturing and running workshops in an overlapping field of architecture, interactive systems, industrial design, multimedia and rapid-prototyping. His research focus is in designing a systems to provide participatory, interactive and adaptive architectural spaces that ultimately provides highly sustainable environments for all. David Smith is the 'New Buildings' Facade Team Leader in Brisbane of ARUP. He is responsible for the delivery of new-build facade projects. David has been in the Facade Group for 12 years and has worked in the Sydney, London and Hong Kong offices. He has particular expertise in tension structures, specialised glazing systems, curtain walls, and other cladding systems. David aims to provide practical advice to achieve fully integrated facade solutions. Past board members Valerie Brown, AO, BSc MEd PhD, is currently a Visiting Fellow in the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University. Moss Cass, Chair. First Federal Minister for the Environment (1972-75), convener of the Scientists and Engineers Network for a Sustainable Environment. David Eastburn, educator and communicator; facilitating rural community capacity realisation, co-convenor of the Nature and Society Forum. Gerard Gillespie, waste and environmental officer; works on the return of organic matter and nutrients to agricultural soils. Robert Gourlay, environmental scientist, working on natural resource analysis. John Harris, ecologist and environmental educator engaged in promoting field-based learning. Petar Johnson, sustainable industry professional and human ecologist; president of the Australian Environmental Labelling Association. Konrad Knerr is currently an executive director and Chief Operating Officer of the Centre for Australian Ethical Research (CAER). Brendan Mackey is Professor at The Australian National University, Canberra focusing on the science of ecological integrity in terrestrial ecosystems. John Reid, visual artist working on the artistic interpretation of the Australian landscape and its people. John Schooneveldt, enterprise consultant and researcher. Robin Tennant-Wood, director of the Canberra Environment and Sustainability Resource Centre and visiting fellow at the ANU. Joanne Warren-Wilson was the Senior Energy Planner for the ACT Government - with respect to Planning and Land Management. ANSI Brisbane QUT Design Team This project welcomes design input, criticism and suggestions from anyone. You can make your responses on our blog space. Janis Birkeland (Co-president of ANSI) is professor of architecture at QUT. She has a transdisciplinary background concerned with built environment design. She was an artist, advocacy planner, architect (registered), urban designer, city planner and attorney (registered) in San Francisco. She developed many tertiary and professional development units on built environment and sustainability. She has written over 100 papers and over 100 talks on the subject, and initiated the concept of net Positive Development. Her books include: Design for Sustainability: A Sourcebook of Integrated Eco-Logical Solutions, Positive Development: From Vicious Circles to Virtuous Cycles Through Built Environment Design. Robin Drogemuller is Professor of Digital Design at the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. Prior to joining QUT in 2007 he was a team leader for the Urban Informatics/Integrated Design Systems team within CSIRO, the Australian Government's national research organization. Prior to this he worked as an academic at James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, and the Northern Territory University, Darwin. Before entering academia he worked as an architect in the public sector in the Northern Territory and in the private sector in South Australia. Rosemary Kennedy is the Director of the Centre for Subtropical Design (a partnership between QUT, the Brisbane City Council and the Office of Urban Management) and Senior Lecturer in QUT’s School of Design. She is an Architect and Environmental Manager and has been a director of Mulder + Kennedy Architects since 1993. She is a member of Brisbane City Council’s Independent Design Advisory Panel. Rosemary convened the inaugural Subtropical Cities international conference in Brisbane in 2006, and currently is planning Subtropical Cities 2008 for this coming September. She is also the State Director of the 2008 RAIA Queensland Awards. Gini Lee is a landscape architect and interior designer and Professor of Landscape Architecture at QUT. Until recently she was researching and lecturing in spatial design and cultural landscape studies, with a particular focus on remote arid and indigenous environments, at the Louis Laybourne Smith School of Architecture and Design, University of South Australia. Prior to ten years in Adelaide, she taught in landscape and interior design and at the Centre for Design at RMIT University, and practiced as a design consultant to a number of landscape, interior and graphic design companies in Melbourne and nationally. Susan Loh is a lecturer at the School of Design, Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. She has also worked as a researcher at the Centre for Subtropical Design, QUT. She graduated in architecture from Ottawa, Canada and has worked for ten years in Canada and Australia on aged care, commercial and residential buildings. Her main research interests and teaching topics are in ‘living walls’, sustainable and climatically responsive buildings. David Nielson will work on virtual modelling to test the environmental performance of the design prototypes, especially the green space wall. He was a Lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, and is now a research fellow and lecturer at QUT in virtual prototyping for performance optimisation and BIM. As a PhD student, he is modelling double skin technologies, which will inform the technical issues of double skins containing biospheres. Yasu Santo is a lecturer of architecture and interactive design at QUT. He has been engaged in researching, lecturing and running workshops in an overlapping field of architecture, interactive systems, industrial design, multimedia and rapid-prototyping. His research focus is in designing a systems to provide participatory, interactive and adaptive architectural spaces that ultimately provides highly sustainable environments for all. Supporters Supporters of the Centre will be listed here with an explanation of their current sustainability initiatives. Please consider how your organisation can further its objectives and support the establishment and evolution of the proposal and the current programs of the Centre. You are invited to contact our secretariat to discuss how to best structure your proposal to the Board. Last updated 14 December, 2009