As the Australian Opal Centre (AOC) building's Mechanical Engineer, Mark Henderson is responsible for designing the new facility's mechanical ventilation systems. The building will use a clever combination of passive and mechanical ventilation systems to keep it comfortable in extreme conditions, while using less power than a conventional building of its size. The systems will include malqaf wind towers and air conditioning with a water filled pipe ground loop heat exchange system.

“I started my career in Brisbane in 1982 with a major consulting practice, and worked for them over the next 28 years in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Honolulu, including a year in Portland, Oregon on exchange. After that, I started a small practice with two colleagues but ultimately established SEiD, a building services consulting engineers practice, in 2012. 

“My roles have included drafting, engineering, services project management, and team, discipline and business management. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to work on many projects through my career, including some with innovative and sustainable technologies such as Waterfront Place (Brisbane), Crown Casino (Melbourne), NIDA (Sydney), 30 The Bond (Sydney), NOAA (Honolulu) and now the AOC in Lightning Ridge.

“The new AOC is different to other projects I’ve worked on as it incorporates harsh environmental conditions with a variety of critical and comfort space conditions whilst challenging the design team to deliver a low energy sustainable solution.

“It’s a very important building as it will display leadership and engineered sustainable solutions as part of providing a significant research, tourist and public facility, which will be the first of its kind featuring the Australian opal industry and region.

“The most interesting components of my work in the new AOC are the active elements of the passive cooling system, ground loop integration, misting cooling, and system controls. Most of my work will be hidden in plant rooms, ceiling spaces and in and under floors, however you might see some ductwork and you will see some floor and ceiling air outlets as well as thermostats and an information screen displaying some of the buildings systems operational information.

“It’s been a pleasure to be a part of this project. I’ve learnt a lot about how opals form and are found, but also other interesting elements including the fossils discovered in the search for opal and their importance, as well as how the opal industry is a community.

“When the building is finished, I’m most looking forward to walking through the internal garden and generally experiencing the completed space. I also look forward to spruiking and visiting this excellent facility in the future.”