We need homes with built-in energy efficiency
More new homes spring up every year, and for an ever-growing number of people, these homes are apartments.
Construction & Development
Property pay yet to slump, young guns still sought after
Pay rises in the property industry have not yet taken a hit from the coronavirus pandemic, but future remuneration increases are likely be “modest” as the “year of the virus” unfolds, according to Avdiev’s latest remuneration report.
Samantha Peart: Development Victoria’s new sustainability recruit on the big opportunities
For Development Victoria’s new sustainability manager Samantha Peart, there are big opportunities to reset and improve best practice sustainability in the development sector, especially in the wake of the current pandemic.
How we can re-build our economy after COVID-19 through social procurement and construction
At the Westmead Hospital Redevelopment project Multiplex Construction’s innovative Connectivity Centres created 129 new jobs for the long-term unemployed, including 102 Indigenous people and 10 refugees.
CRC for better buildings gets under way
The Australian government has provided $28 million in funding to a 30-partner collaborative initiative to revolutionise the way buildings are designed and built in Australia.
International Women’s Day: A few wins on the board for women in the built environment
It was International Women’s Day (IWD) on Sunday and while breakfasts, cupcakes and criticisms from some quarters that it has strayed far from its radical roots still featured in the 2020 edition, the annual event provides an opportunity to highlight the hard work being done to advance women’s rights, including females working in the built environment.
Buildings news round up: Mirvac, Central Precinct, Kathmandu
For the past year, a “typical” Australian family has been living in a prototype home by Mirvac designed for zero bills.
Futurebuild showcases the technology; we just need the will and the finance
This year’s Futurebuild expo at the ExCel Centre in London was packed with over 450 exhibitors and thousands of visitors coming together under the slogan “Responding to the emergency”. There’s no longer any doubt about the need to go net zero; the effort centres on how to get there.
ISPT tops NABERS Indoor Environment charts
Quality air and daylight is no longer a nice-to-have for office workers, according to ISPT’s Alicia Maynard, who says tenants now expect health and wellness in the workplace. Maynard, who heads the sustainability and technical services team at the company, says when looking to sign a new lease, tenants want to “make sure the owner […]
Let’s ditch multiple “powder rooms” and return to the days of the thunder box
Throne rooms, powder rooms, the WC… let’s talk basics. Australian homes are being built with too many toilets and its wasting precious resources.
Lendlease and Monash taking the carbon footprint out of building buildings
The process of construction – transporting materials, pumping concrete up several floors and trucking away waste – is a source of greenhouse gas emissions that’s often overlooked.
Sydney Olympic Park hasn’t lost its edge as a green high achiever
Thanks to sustainable foundations at the site of the first ever “green games”, Sydney Olympic Park has managed to achieve a 6 Star Green Star Communities rating.
What you always wanted to know about the prefab business
It’s risky business innovating in construction but for Hickory Group’s George Abraham, the inclusion of modular and prefab has been worth it
Great green building intent – pity about the execution
HOLIDAY RENTAL REVIEW: A key part of sustainability is good, useable design and specification so the buildings we create
serve us well from the outset and don’t present us with reasons to want to change them – because changes cost resources and resources cost the earth.
Meet the cities working towards zero carbon construction
Cities in Europe and North America are shifting public procurement, green finance and community engagement to meet the demands of the climate emergency.
London is calling it early – net zero by 2030, but architects and UKGBC not happy with the roadmap
This is a two-decade leap from the UK government’s legal commitment – to reach this target by 205 but the building regulations are lagging way behind.
GREEN GIGS: Gov office hunts, cladding help, Tassie eco tourism and renewable rescue Sydney Water
TENDERS AND OTHER WORK: There’s something to tantalise all spirits this week in tenders and other Green Gigs, from new office buildings for the government in Melbourne and Adelaide to renewables to help out Sydney Water and a new eco tourism project in lovely Tassie.
David Chandler wants educators, the digitally savvy, and the young to “join the conversation”
NSW needs to broaden the conversation about how to fix the building industry by including voices from the education sector, the digital economy and even students embarking on a career in construction, says the state’s building commissioner.
Frasers and Winten at Macquarie Park, Floth “game changer” and confusing Wagners
IN BRIEF: Frasers Property Industrial and Winten Property Group say their new Community Business District near the new metro station at Macquarie Park in Sydney’s north west will become a “viable alternative to city locations, with seamless connections” to other areas and a well being and sustainability focus. The $750 million project Macquarie Exchange will […]
Buildings are not lifeless objects, it’s time to treat them as such
In our obsession with newness, we can easily forget that the narrative of sustainability is not merely about technical longevity, but also about cultural sustainability, an expression of our city’s identity and thus a continuation of our collective memory of place.
If you’re a dodgy builder in NSW get set for a new risk tool that will expose you
NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler is making promises for change in 2020 that he intends to keep.
Beyond business as usual – how Hacer Group built Burwood Brickworks
Developers and architects can plan a Living Building Challenge project, but it takes a builder to meet what is widely regarded as the world’s toughest green building test.
Carbon neutral, water positive and zero waste community planned for Glenfield
Landcom appears to be stepping up to its ambitious environmental targets with its new “sustainable community” at Glenfield, 36 kilometres south-west of the Sydney CBD.
Assemble’s rent/buy housing model is changing the game
Around 6000 people have signed-up to a database in Melbourne to rent apartments for five years, with an option to buy – complete with all the trimmings you need to build a great community.
Lucent expands its sustainable apartments from the inner city to Brighton
Melbourne-based developer Lucent is branching out and taking its sustainable brand of apartments to the growing owner-occupier family and downsizer market in Brighton, 12 kilometres south east of the CBD
Mirvac to tackle net zero homes at scale in Melbourne
Mirvac is poised to deliver a $350 million exemplar of how to achieve net zero, high performance, energy efficient and affordable housing in Altona North in Melbourne.
New NSW building legislation: here’s the start of a new deal
There’s a great deal of anguish still to play out with people forced out of their homes but a new bill just presented to the NSW government looks like a good first step
Tomorrowland19 – I, human will be complex, exciting and soon
On the global stage, there’s a renaissance in sustainability under way. Embodied carbon, waste and materiality are quickly becoming top of mind.
Construction needs to avoid social value smokescreens
Social value can be up to 15 per cent of non-price assessments in construction tenders, but are the metrics genuine? If not, it’s a huge missed opportunity for this sector with so many multiplier effects in the economy.
Peter Maddison on why we need to improve on our cities’ dysfunctional buildings
Architect and broadcaster Peter Maddison calls out the “nonsense” of 6 Star Energy Rated homes with solar panels if the design is all wrong. Likewise the poor performance of most buildings.