ACE proves a popular choice
22 July 2009
Kids were enjoying the sausage sizzle at Melbourne's Open House.
More than 400 people snapped up the opportunity to visit Kangan Batman TAFE's Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) at last weekend's Melbourne Open House initiative.
The doors were open, the sun was shining and the sausages were sizzling as the ACE turned it on for an appreciative crowd.
Kangan Batman TAFE general manager Phill Murphy said the event was a great opportunity to showcase the ACE's cutting-edge design.
"We're extremely proud of our facilities at the ACE, so we jumped at the chance to take part in the Melbourne Open House event," he said.
"We've got a fantastic building here delivering world-class training in the automotive sector, and with Stage Two of the facility currently under construction, there's plenty to be excited about."
In just its second year of operation, the Melbourne Open House initiative has again proven a resounding success. As an integral building in the Docklands landscape and a leading example of environmentally sustainable design and construction, the ACE was invited to participate in this year's event which attracted a record 50,600 visits to the 32 open buildings taking part.
Volunteers from the Bahay Tuluyan organisation raised over $800 for Filipino street children.
"Events like these don't just happen - we are lucky enough to have some fantastic staff members who volunteered their time to show visitors through the facility, and we also used the opportunity to fundraise for one of our community partners, raising more than $800 for the Bahay Tuluyan project in the Phillipines," Phill said.
"I'd like to thank all our volunteer guides from Melbourne Open House, Lyons Architects and ACE staff, in particular John Nicholas, Neil Marshall, Chris Barnes, Vince Panozzo for bringing in his stunning handmade Morgan replica, Graham Taylor, Adam Russell, Jorge Chaname and Elena Tsapatolis for making the event so successful."
When it was officially opened in 2006, Stage One of the ACE signalled a watershed moment in the construction of TAFE training facilities. Designed to reflect the Institute's commitment to promote sustainable practices, the building has become a nation-wide leader in delivering innovative automotive training programs.
It has received wide-ranging recognition for its inventive sustainable design, including the National Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Award for Sustainable Architecture, the Melbourne Awards for Sustainable Design and Innovation and the Premier's Sustainability Awards Public Sector Excellence Award.
"The ACE currently consumes only half of the average energy consumption of a typical Melbourne office building, which reduces greenhouse pollution by around 103 tonnes per year - the equivalent to planting 155 trees annually," Phill said.
"The next stage of development will continue this award-winning design with a range of environmentally-sustainable building features such as solar panels for renewable energy, CO2 monitoring and water-sensitive urban design elements."
