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New research commissioned by the NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler has revealed that the high cost of digital technologies is a barrier for many builders, especially smaller operators. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is on the case.
What does it take to do things differently in the building and construction world? The industry, we’ve learnt, is well known for its risk aversion.
For an industry that involves climbing ladders and working in confined spaces, construction seems inaccessible for someone in a wheelchair. But according to construction academic from the University of South Australia, Jonathan Fritsch, this isn’t always the cas
The benefits of embracing AI outweigh the potential negatives, especially in construction.
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.
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.
The prefab industry makes sense if you want to lessen the risk of time and price blowouts of regular construction. Already there is a pick up in demand after the recent bushfires and if California is any guide that’s a trend that will only accelerate.
GREEN GIGS: Australia’s heating climate is providing opportunities for suppliers who can think outside the traditional building box.
I don’t know about you, but after working in sustainability for 12 years, I have never been more hopeful nor more terrified of what the future could bring.
The panel of Indigenous knowledge experts set the scene and energy level for the day. Dr Virginia Marshall from Australian National University confirmed what The Fifth Estate has suspected for a while – that there’s booming interest in Indigenous knowledge.
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.
A marriage of new and old wall materials using earth and plant fibre has won the first prize in the category “Connecting Green, Blue and Grey” at the European Commission’s RegioStars Awards in Brussels, as part of the European Week of Regions and Cities.
NAWIC Queensland’s president, Jen Gillet, described the 11 winners as “worthy nominees who are all pushing buttons and boundaries and who are our industry’s next big game changers.”
Rectifying an information and evidence shortfall in the now widely cited building and construction crisis needs to be an important part of improving policy making and regulation.
Among the winners were Madeleine Blanchfield for her disappearing Kangaroo Valley Outhouse design, and Brooke Emmett of Fulton Hogan for her impressive project leadership of the Newell Highway upgrade in far northern NSW.
It’s a national scandal – worse, for now, in NSW – but the problems of the construction industry will likely just keep growing until we manage to find a pathway to systemic change.
UK construction firms have been figuring out how to prepare for a no-deal Brexit for some time, but now that Boris Johnson is PM, most are even more worried as orders are reaching new lows.
Gladys Berejiklian has appointed David Chandler OAM the NSW building commissioner in the latest step towards an overhaul of the state’s building laws. Mr Chandler will commence the role on 14 August. He will be responsible for investigating misconduct within the building industry, overseeing disciplinary action, managing licensing and auditing, and driving legislative reforms. Mr […]
New housing in Australia must meet minimum energy performance requirements.
Design decisions in the building industry, and arguments for backing social housing, often focus on the wrong criteria for success. According to damning new research, this is often why projects fail. Researchers at the University of New South Wales Faculty of the Built Environment looked at how 187 senior managers in the sector made their […]
Sydney is Australia’s most expensive city for construction according to a recent report by Arcadis.
OPINION: If you look at infrastructure in the developed world, there’s much that needs to be redone. Rushed construction is already crumbling, trains are packed and roads are more congested than ever.
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 Netherlands could soon house what’s touted as the world’s first commercial 3D printed housing project. And might complex construction such as vaulted ceilings or curved walls soon be printed off site on a concrete 3D concrete printer?
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 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.
NSW, we think, is the standout on taking action on dodgy building, but for the rest of the nation…we’re still waiting.
