MEDIA RELEASE November 8, 2010 Australia leading the way in ‘green’ pool designs – Brisbane business takes out international GOLD award. For the second year in a row, a Brisbane-based swimming pool design and construction company has won the GOLD award in the green category at the GAVA: Global AquaTekture Visionary Awards.
Out of 48 finalists from the United States, Europe and Central America - Stuart Bevan Pools was one of three Australian companies to take home GOLD at the awards night on November 2 in Las Vegas. “Last year we were the only Australian company represented at the awards. This year two other Australian businesses made it to the finals and all three of us took home GOLD awards in different categories. It’s a credit to the creativity of our local pool industry when Australian companies are recognised at such an international level,” Stuart said. His award winning pool is part of “The Hill End Eco House” project, based in Brisbane’s West End. Stuart said there are a number of elements that make this particular pool so ‘green’. “It’s one of the first pools in Australia to use a special type of concrete which not only requires less energy to manufacture – but there’s a unique additive in the mixture which allows the concrete to absorb, rather than release carbon as it sets. “We also had very strict parametres when it came to power usage. There’s no point designing an eco house if the pool filter chews through electricity so we had to create a filtration and chlorination system that was energy efficient,” Stuart said. As for water conservation, Stuart believes Australian pool designers are leading the way. “It’s strange being here in Las Vegas and seeing how things are done. This place has been constructed with no consideration for the desert environment. They’ve built these huge resorts that use so much power and then put in all these massive swimming pools. I hate to think how much water they go through to keep the pools full,” he said. “Our Hill End pool is just 3 x 3.5 metres in size and has been designed so that the ratio of the pool’s surface area is lower than the volume of water to avoid evaporation. We also store and recycle water as part of the pool system,” he said. Stuart believes durability is just as important as sustainability when it comes to environmentally-friendly designs. He says ‘being green’ is more than just installing a power saving pump. "I think the reason we are being recognised on an international scale is because we are a company that takes the short-term and long-term environmental impacts into consideration. There’s no point saving our customers money on their energy bill if the actual construction of the pool is weak. There’s nothing ‘green’ about having to resurface a pool every few years,” he said. Other Australian businesses who won GOLD at the awards night were Brisbane company Aquatonic and Polar Pools from New South Wales. The philosophy behind Stuart Bevan Pools’ green agenda is “sustainability through durability” and this concept has been gaining strength over the past few years as more and more homeowners embrace the benefits of ecological design. From well-constructed structures, using only the best materials, to carefully planned hydraulic installments and the provision of energy saving equipment, Stuart Bevan Pools is at the forefront of sustainable swimming pool development in Australia. | 
