We could write a small book about the toxicities in common building materials but we’ll focus on three that were banned from this centre. Vinyl flooring and wall coverings, laminates used for internal cabinetry and wood treatments for sealing timbers, all of which are known human carcinogens. Most of these products also affect air quality, and trigger asthma and lung irritation. Our staff have estimated it has taken roughly 50% longer to find product substitutes to achieve the Living Building rating. To reduce this time, we need more operators and designers to ask our manufacturers to disclose the contents of their products.

The most nebulous aspect of designing sustainably is the argument that clever design can reduce operational costs. We can only explain this using examples. After years of back of house (BOH) staff asking, ‘what’s it like outside?’ the center now requires all BOH areas to have a skylight or window for staff to access daylight. This easy design inclusion has resulted in less staff turnover for the businesses. Another example is Woolworths’ open air refrigerator aisles. It should come as no surprise that these aisles were too inefficient for the center, and they enforced closed door refrigeration. Woolworths worked with a supplier to invent a new type of glass that doesn’t fog in the process, and the savings on energy are so significant that they are now rolling the fridges out across Australia. The list goes on, but most importantly the impacts are bigger than savings made, improving conditions for human occupation has knock on effects in health and happiness, increasing dwelling time in retail areas.