Knox Hockey
Achieving high sustainability standards in designing sport field
Victoria

The Knox Hockey project faced several significant challenges:

• Sustainability requirements: the project needed to meet Knox City Council’s Sustainability Management Plan objectives, including a 40% efficiency improvement in water and energy use, a 70% recycling target for demolition and construction waste, and 100% compliance with Best Practice Environmental Management (BPEM) stormwater targets.
  
  
• Recycling and waste management: achieving a high rate of recycling (70%) for demolition and construction waste, and ensuring a minimum of 5% recycled content in civil concrete works.
  
  
• Stormwater management: designing a system that would not increase stormwater discharge volumes post-development, aligning with the Council’s environmental policies.

SPORTENG devised several innovative solutions to tackle these challenges.

First, the proposed use of a Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) approved tier two (2) dry sand-filled artificial grass system eliminated the need for irrigation, significantly reducing water usage. Plus, the reduced maintenance requirements of synthetic turf compared to natural grass lowered ongoing energy consumption.

The design included a sophisticated stormwater management system featuring a vegetated swale drain, a bio-infiltration basin within a detention basin, and a Raingarden, capable of treating runoff to achieve reductions in suspended solids (80%), phosphorus and nitrogen (45%), and litter (70%).

To meet the 70% recycling target, excess spoil from site cuts was repurposed to create an earth fill viewing mound, which was then hydroseeded. SPORTENG also recommended including key performance indicators in contractor documentation to ensure ongoing waste minimization.

The project proposed the use of recycled crushed concrete for segmental paving, covering approximately 700 square meters, or 9% of the total development area, surpassing the 5% minimum recycled content requirement.

A detention basin was designed to manage stormwater discharge, ensuring no net increase in runoff volumes from pre- to post-development.

The Knox Hockey Facility project successfully met all specified sustainability targets.

The facility achieved over 40% efficiency improvements in water and energy use, largely due to the adoption of the synthetic grass system and reduced maintenance needs.

The project met the 70% recycling target for demolition and construction waste, with effective reuse of site spoil and stringent contractor waste management protocols.

The stormwater management system fulfilled 100% of BPEM targets, ensuring significant reductions in pollutants and maintaining stormwater discharge neutrality.

The incorporation of recycled crushed concrete in the segmental paving surpassed the 5% minimum target, demonstrating the project’s commitment to sustainable construction practices.