A method, not a scrapbook
Environment Design Guide case studies were written so a designer could steal a process, not a façade. The useful move in a 2026 report is to name the decision the project made, the climate it made it in, and the instrument you will use to test the same decision now.
Five lines that belong on page one of the appendix
- ID and title — e.g. CAS 36, The integrated design process of CH2.
- Place and climate — Melbourne CBD, cool-change summers, heating still real in July.
- The decision — integrate architecture and services before sketch design freezes the floor plate.
- What was measured later — Green Star Design is not NABERS Energy. Say so.
- What you will do differently — one sentence. If you cannot write it, you are decorating.
A simple table for tutors
| Temptation | Better line |
|---|---|
| “CH2 proves 6 Star is easy” | “CH2 is a documented integrated-design experiment; later reviews discussed operational complexity.” |
| “Docklands solved WSUD” | “CAS 46–48 show a precinct palette — raingardens, tree pits, wetlands — and the maintenance question.” |
| “Copy the product” | “Copy the sequence: brief, workshop, model, commission, measure.” |
Worked examples live on the CH2 note, the Armstrong Mobbs house, and the Docklands overview. Pair each with a design strategy so the report has a verb as well as a noun.
Australian assessors — planning officers in the City of Melbourne, NSW councils running BASIX, Queensland subtropical codes — do not mark you on how many historical PDFs you listed. They mark the climate logic. Use EDG IDs as a disciplined bibliography, then open the current NCC clause.
Students: cite the historical note, this rewrite’s access date, and the agency page you actually relied on for compliance. That triangulation is the academic version of commissioning.
Questions, answered first
- What is this insight for?
- How to use EDG case studies in a design report is an original Environment Design Guide editorial — not a historical EDG note — written to help Australian students and practitioners use the catalogue.
- Does this replace the NCC?
- No. Insights point to notes, papers and current Australian agencies. They are educational.
Sibling notes
This independent editorial guide is not affiliated with the Australian Institute of Architects or any ratings body. Historical Environment Design Guide note IDs, titles and authorship are cited for attribution only. Summaries are original educational rewrites — not a substitute for the original peer-reviewed notes, current NCC / NABERS / Green Star documentation, or professional advice. Trademarks remain with their owners.