London gets the energy problem, and so do its buildings
There’s an intriguing story from Bloomberg this week – that private equity cash is reshaping the look of London’s offices, which is no surprise. What’s interesting, though, is that companies such as Blackstone and Brookfield Asset Management are refurbishing offices and, wait for it, ditching sheer glass facades.
Instead, there are green terraces, new gyms and stronger construction to make sure the buildings can “withstand heavier rainfall and hotter summers”.
The deals mark a bright spot in an otherwise difficult time for the broader private-equity market, which in 2025 was sitting on $3.8 trillion of unsold assets, according to Bain & Co. But when it comes to London offices, “private equity is thinking this is a great moment in time to buy buildings that are cheaper and sell them in a few years’ time when they’re worth more again,” says Simon Glenn, head of London capital markets at Colliers.
Electric is in too! Blackstone’s work at Broadgate Quarter, for instance, will now feature fully electric heating and cooling as well as a fitness studio.
New guide to help good practice
The National Building Products Coalition (NBPC) has launched its Building Product Information – Good Practice Conformity Guide, which aims to drive building product safety, affordability and industry productivity.
While the government prioritises boosting productivity in building and construction, the organisation said that when defective or misused products enter the Australian market, they can quickly gain widespread adoption. This could lead to compromised building safety, as well as significant economic, legal and social repercussions.
International Code Council (ICC) Oceania managing director, Neil Savery, said this can be seen in the dangerous Lacrosse Apartment fire in Melbourne and the national electrical cable recall, which exposed serious gaps in building product compliance.
ICIRT is playing a role for tier 1 and 2 developers
Seems like former NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler’s ICIRT certification is starting to make an impact on the industry. Credit rating company Equifax has recently pointed to a statement by Main On Construction, which was struggling to receive tenders. Managing director Daniel Chaar said he spoke to other consultancy and engineering firms and realised only companies with ICIRT ratings were moving forward.
“I realised without an iCIRT rating, we were missing out on a lot of opportunities.” Since achieving the rating, Chaar said he noticed a “tangible” shift in how they were perceived by the market. And within days of getting the rating, Charr said his firm was invited to tender for a $35 million eight storey residential project.
Flood buyback returns
Reconstruction of the flood damaged Lismore region continues – four years after the event.
The latest news from the region is the release of another 20 houses that will be auctioned for removal, with prices expected to range from $1 to $200,000, and no reserve price.
The program, run by the NSW government, is to buy flood-affected properties in high-risk areas and on-sell them.
So far, 130 such properties have been sold, with the next 10 around South and East Lismore auction at the Lismore Workers Club, Goonellabah, on Tuesday, 3 March and the balance at Murwillumbah on March 17.
This year, successful bidders must already have a destination site ready by the time of purchase, and all relocation must be completed by the end of 2026.
Lismore City Council in November said other reconstruction work included the reopening of Woodlawn Road to reconnect residents and businesses, the restoration of Cabbage Tree Creek Bridge on Hutchinson Road, the refurbishment of Upper Hollingworth Creek flood gate to boost flood resilience and the construction of 10 new public amenities buildings, including Lismore Railway Station.
“With essential flood pump upgrades underway and major landslip repairs ongoing in the hills around Nimbin, expect to see even more progress over the next 12 months,” the council said on its website.
Featherweight housing is gaining traction
Last year, we talked to Jeremy McLeod from Breathe architects, who unveiled his new ambitious venture for featherweight homes, kit homes that channel the spirit of Robin Boyd and his Merchant Builders, using MMC (modern methods of construction).
Now, Building 4.0 CRC has taken an interest in the project, which will be taken up for research. The project will aim to investigate how digital innovation and regulatory reform can “transform the delivery of affordable, net-zero, prefabricated walk-up housing in Australia”.
Project #118 will bring together researchers from the University of Melbourne, the Building and Plumbing Commission and the architects and would “investigate barriers in traditional construction by leveraging digital innovation to streamline design and delivery.”
Delays from complex planning frameworks, fragmented certification pathways and limited integration of prefab and digital delivery mean multi-residential projects take three to five years to complete, the CRC said
Women in STEM – RSK jumps in with some views ahead of 8 March
Sustainability consultants RSK Australia remind us it’s International Women’s Day on 8 March with some reflections on the significance and contributions of women in STEM, including encouragement of other women to consider similar careers. Kate Gilchrist, executive director of energy transformation at RSK, who built her capabilities through project management, technical expertise and cultural knowledge, said the global geopolitical uncertainty was both “an opportunity and a challenge”.
The challenge was to help “solve the world’s biggest problems by limiting the impacts of climate change.”
Sandra Jerkovic, chief executive of community consultancy Capire, said her challenges of leading a state significant development in the early 2010s while commuting two and a half hours a day “stretched me in every possible way”. The biggest challenge, though, was when a change in government policy abruptly cancelled the project, and made her entire team redundant, “it felt like all energy, effort and personal sacrifice was for nothing”. But in fact, this turned into a turning point in her career and her current role as CEO.
Jobs
There are jobs aplenty for planners, judging by the number of companies hiring in that profession. Planning roles continue to be a hot ticket item among councils, with new additions including Albury City Council looking for an urban growth and contributions planner offering up to $113,243 plus super, Northern Beaches Council looking for a planner or senior planner, offering up to $140,839 plus super and City of Canterbury Bankstown looking for a town planner, with starting offer of $93,583 plus super.