ECOPACT DRIVES AUSTRALIA'S SUSTAINABLE SPORTING SUCCESS
Building sports infrastructure sustainably is a trend that major sporting organizations and design firms are increasingly embracing. The new South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) Headquarters in Adelaide, Australia, is a great example of how performance-focused design and low-carbon materials are shaping next generation community infrastructure.
As the leading partner for sustainable construction, Holcim supplied ECOPact Active concrete range for the construction of this building, demonstrating how innovative material technology meets the needs of a changing built environment.
More than 30% CO2 reduction in concrete mix thanks to ECOPact
One of the first projects in South Australia registered under the new Green Star Buildings tool
First project in South Australia to use ECOPact concrete across the entire structural build
Reducing Embodied Carbon with ECOPact
The SASI Headquarters, designed by KBR (structural engineer) and COX Architecture (architect), set out to achieve a 5 Star Green Star Buildings rating and is one of the first projects in South Australia registered under the new Green Star Buildings tool. The guidelines require a measurable reduction in embodied carbon, which necessitates selecting low-carbon construction materials.
Structural elements account for the largest share of embodied carbon in most buildings, so reducing the impact of the concrete mix presented the greatest opportunity. The project team needed to achieve a reduction of at least 20% reduction in embodied carbon while maintaining high early strength, durability and long-term performance.
Building contractor Hansen Yuncken chose Holcim’s ECOPact Active, a high-performance, low-carbon concrete mix specifically calibrated to the engineering and sustainability goals of the project. Key benefits included:
- A minimum 30% reduction in embodied carbon compared to standard Portland cement concrete
- Exceptional early-age strength, supporting efficient construction sequencing
- Lower shrinkage for improved structural performance
- A tailored mix design suitable for post-tensioned slabs, walls and architectural finishes
For the SASI headquarters, we needed a reduction of at least 20% in embodied carbon across the whole project, and using ECOPact went a long way towards helping us achieve this.
A New Benchmark for Civic Buildings
In practical terms, the ECOPact mix reduced the carbon intensity of the post-tensioned concrete from approximately 340 kg CO2/m3 to around 270 kg CO2/m3, without compromising workability or finish quality. Exposed columns, stair cores and other elements requiring tight tolerances achieved high-quality results.
The SASI Headquarters is the first project in South Australia to use ECOPact concrete across the entire structural build, reflecting the confidence in advanced low-carbon materials.
Onsite, ECOPact delivered the same workability, pumpability and finishing performance as traditional mixes. The construction team reported excellent results across all critical elements, including exposed surfaces and fire stair slabs requiring strict flatness tolerances.
By using ECOPact, the project team met embodied-carbon reduction requirements while maintaining the required strength, durability and architectural finish. The outcome reflects the project’s ambition to set a new benchmark for high-performance, low-carbon civic buildings in South Australia.
Holcim really delivered on getting a concrete mix that achieved everything we needed: carbon reduction, which helped us get the points we needed for the 5-Star Green Star rating, while maintaining durability and long-term performance.
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