The brief for the design of Shelly’s new verandah was to transform the building’s façade from its original “foreboding castle-like appearance” into an appealing, contemporary look – and do so with a strong environmental element. Shelly’s believe they came up trumps. The $3 million verandah fronts the eastern and northern facades of the original club and provides the club with an additional 1,500 square metres.

Big Switch Projects, Caroline Pidcock Architects, Richard Goodwin Architects and Shelly’s management collaborated to build the verandah, which incorporates photovoltaic (PV) solar panels that generate up to 22 kilowatts of electricity in full sunlight and feed electricity back into the grid. BP Solar manufactured the PV panels, which generate about 25,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year.

The building also incorporates a rainwater capture and reuse system. Six water tanks hold 156,000 litres and feed the toilets on the Eastern end of the building and the Air Conditioning Cooling Tower. Shelly’s Managing Director David Whyte says that in a bad month - where there is very little or no rain – water savings are 20 per cent, while in a good month water savings are 50 per cent. An industrial sized worm farm underneath the club handles up to a tonne of waste per week, helping reduce landfill.

At a club by the sea, the verandah is an important social space. To keep it patron-friendly, the verandah is naturally ventilated and lit mainly by high-efficiency 70 watts (W) metal halide lamps directed at the lightly coloured ceilings to reduce glare and effectively disperse the light. Without air conditioning, the verandah contributes greatly to lowering the club’s emissions. Shelly’s estimates that to air condition an area the verandah’s size would typically consume 375,000 kWh per year, producing around 370 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

Shelly’s says that the development proves that despite the PV and rainwater systems, the project was not more expensive to construct than a typical club extension, partly because it didn’t need walls or air conditioning systems. The project was also designed and built in a shorter timeframe than most comparable constructions and generated minimal waste during construction. The project took only 12 months from the Club Directors’ selection of the preferred architectural team to occupancy in late April, 2003.

Mr Whyte says that the best thing about the energy efficiency upgrade is being able to promote the club as an environmentally responsible business.

“We even went to the point where we cut out all plastic bags within the club for such things as meat trays and take-away food and bottle shop purchases,” he explains. “The slogan here was ‘No more plastic. Shelly’s that’s fantastic!’”

The Club is currently embarking on a program to place sensors in areas where the lighting can be controlled.

“Everything we have done has been positive both for the club in saving us money and also to maintain our image as a ‘clean, green business’,” says Mr Whyte and the response from the community about the club’s ‘greenness’ has been good.

“It has been very satisfying being a leader in that respect, both in our local area and in the Club Industry,” he adds. “Myself, the Board of Directors and staff are all very proud that we have taken that stand and we will continue to travel down that path with any future changes to the Club.”