Assessment and Selection of Materials for Melbourne City Council House 2

This paper highlights the role of material selection in the development and contribution toward environmental excellence in the building project Council House 2 (CH2). The paper focuses on the assessment of material and the strategies used by the design team in CH2to ensure the best environmental result. The paper then goes on to explore in a case study the application of these strategies in the selection and specification of concrete on CH2. The purpose of the paper is to explore the difficulties and rewards of careful research of manufacturers' claims and the relative benefits of different materials. The paper concludes that the process of material selection adopted on this project has increased the education of architects and manufacturers alike as well as being environmentally beneficial.