A new Indigenous-designed urban food production farm in Sydney’s inner city Redfern – believed to be the first of its kind in Australia – is a prototype that its creators hope will be replicated by other people, especially other Indigenous communities.

The infrastructure boom is creating serious skills shortages and this is challenging one company to find new ways of prepping Australia’s future work force.

There might have been 70 parties kicking around to buy the Strongbuild prefab lightweight construction facility at Bella Vista in Sydney after it went into voluntary administration late last year.

The traditional professional, trade and governance demarcations in construction are no longer relevant. They are dysfunctional and there are too many cracks that can no longer be papered over.

Despite the wailing of design consultants about the implications of the Lacrosse judgement and the Opal Tower engineering report, the importance of a viable Design and Construct constructor in these cases has proved critical to a way forward.

The fallout from poor building practices in high rise continues to leave a trail of unintended consequences that are spreading beyond the impact on the people that bought into or live in the buildings.

In the lead up to International Women’s Day, The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) has released a paper exploring why so few young women are joining the construction industry. 

Co-working giant WeWork is dipping its toes into education, opening a primary school last year focused on educating children through play and interacting with their environment.

If you ask most people what the difference is between low carbon and low energy buildings they generally give you a blank stare.

The 47-level Collins Arch mixed use project on Melbourne’s Collins Street will be kitted out with high efficiency airconditioning and other low-impact technologies thanks to a $100 million investment from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

There have been more brickbats than accolades in response to the band aid solutions and ministerial tag team that has followed last week’s Opal Tower press conference.

The recent Building Ministers Forum in Hobart was noteworthy for its consistency in for declaring more red tape, more checkers checking the checkers, and avoiding any policies that would make a genuine difference.

One bright note from last week’s Building Ministers Forum was an agreement to progress work to increase the energy performance requirements for residential construction under the National Construction Code for the planned 2022 iteration.

NSW, we think, is the standout on taking action on dodgy building, but for the rest of the nation…we’re still waiting.

Clients and their consultants are at the front of the bus, in a broken industry.