At a lunch briefing on Thursday we sat with a bunch of industry leaders such as Dexus, Oxford Properties (the Canadian pension fund) architects Woods Bagot, urban planner Urbis, resi developer Third.i and quantify surveyor Slattery. Among others. All brought together by engineers and consultants ADP, which recently opened an office in London and wanted […]
Posted inBuilding
Elena Bondareva’s new book on how to create change
In Change-maker’s Handbook, Elena Bondareva has distilled her 20 years of experience in transformation of complex systems towards sustainability into a roadmap for emerging and experienced change-makers alike.
Posted inBuilding
Behind the ACT’s controversial new legislation to target shonky developers
Developers who fall foul of proposed new laws in the Australian Capital Territory will be personally liable for defects.
Posted inJobs and Biz News
Jobs and biz news: AIRAH, First Nations Clean Energy, Green Gown Awards and more
AIRAH gets a new CEO HVAC&R association AIRAH has internally appointed Sami Zheng as chief executive. Zheng has worked for the association for seven years – most recently as chief operating officer and previously worked for six years at commercial linen and laundry supplier South Pacific Laundry. AIRAH president Paul Jackson said Zheng has the […]
Posted inHousing
Heritage, development, YIMBYs and NIMBYs
Cities are dynamic entities – constantly growing and evolving. Without growth and change, a city stagnates and dies. A vibrant city is one that supports a dynamic tension between heritage conservation and development, not a battle between heritage and development. It’s like a seesaw with a fairly evenly balanced partner at either end. Sometimes heritage […]
Posted inHousing
Does this stack up? A couple more storeys to fix housing. Nero thinks so
The New South Wales government’s current planning agenda is characterised by random, ad hoc bonuses and giveaways not linked to a broader strategic intent or public interest case – with no understanding of how the housing market works, nor its relationship strategic planning. Just last week the NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey garnered media attention when […]
Posted inAwards
NSW and Queensland planning awards zero in on community and collaboration
Community and collaboration were in the winners’ spotlight at both the NSW and Queensland planning awards in recent weeks. Following is an edited highlight of the awards statements. Among the winners in NSW were: President’s award: Transport for NSW – Cities Revitalisation and Place Branch for project reVITALise – Rainbow Tunnels The project was established […]
Posted inHousing
Retirement living can benefit way more than older people
Retirement villages are saving taxpayers almost $1 billion a year and could help solve our housing crisis. So why are we not building more of them?
Posted inConstruction & Development
Small details emerge from Melbourne’s massive “vertical village” for thousands of office workers
Cbus is keeping many of the details of its new $1 billion “sky village” office tower in Melbourne under wraps but according to the trickle of information seeping out this is a project that will be well worth keeping an eye on. Construction company Multiplex, which recently inked the deal as builder, said this week […]
Posted inJobs and Biz News
Jobs and biz news: Net Zero Operations Strategy; Melbourne Premier’s sustainability awards; AACA new registration agreement
Jobs and biz news: the Australian Government launches its net zero operations strategy, Melbourne Premier’s Sustainability Award winners announced, and more.
Posted inSpinifex
Why we need to make our cities more loveable and maybe quirky
As city planners, urban designers, architects and built environment professionals, what are we actually designing – buildings, spaces or experiences?
Posted inInfrastructure & transport
Nobody called this a bus after taking a ride! The trackless tram experience and what they said
The Sunshine Coast, Stirling and the Caulfield-Rowville Link in Melbourne have submitted business cases for a trackless tram.
Posted inUrbanism
Embodied carbon – the elephant in the urban growth room
As with other Australian cities, the City of Adelaide and South Australian government’s development plans are both predicated on high growth. But is a massive increase in building and infrastructure necessary to meet what are questionable population predictions and demand for new housing? This article challenges the “big build” mentality especially from the point of […]
Posted inNews from the Front Desk
On saving the whales. Not
Welcome to our newsletter on how to accelerate the ESG and net zero transition in the built environment. The government on Thursday conceded we are not going to meet our renewable energy targets of 82 per cent by 2030. And announced it would try to remedy that problem by directly funding more of the programs […]
Posted inEnergy
Renewable energy transition in strife? Then pick a different fight!
Amidst all the news about the slowing pace of large scale renewable energy project approvals, their adverse environmental impacts and resultant community backlash, the good news story is simply getting overlooked. Rooftop solar, local batteries and bi-directional charging can power our cities and our cars with spare left over for the grid. The more we […]
Posted inSponsored
Engineered timber products are here to stay – myth busting across the supply chain
Timber adoption as a pathway to decarbonising construction has captured the imagination of the Australian construction industry.
Posted inConstruction & Development
Green and sustainable swimming pools are making a splash
A new aquatic centre is picking up the slack on sustainability with new and sustainable facilities at Melbourne’s suburb of Northcote.
Posted inEnvironment
Koala habitat face decimation as court rules in favour of logging
A Land and Environment Court ruling in favour of logging has set back progress made by bodies looking to restore the dwindling koala population.
Posted inJobs and Biz News
Jobs and Biz News: Spacecube; RIAA; sustainable concrete
Jobs and Biz news: Spacecube appoints former Mirvac boss as non-executive director, RIAA appoints two Co-CEOs, and more.
Posted inJobs and Biz News
Jobs and biz news: uni green news, giveaways for green businesses, Queensland councils join up and more
Hub Australia is opening its flex-impact program for small or start-up businesses, offering free desks at its locations to purpose-driven businesses working to make a positive difference to their community and environment. Eligible businesses need to have been operating for 12 months. Last year the organisation provided 62 memberships across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and […]
Posted inTechnology
Meet the winning businesses in Boomerang Lab’s new accelerator cohort
BRAD by Banish, a green startup founded by 2023 Young Australian of the Year, Lottie Dalziel, along with 12 other NSW late-stage circular economy startups, is one of the companies selected by Boomerang Labs’ six-month accelerator program.
Posted inEnvironment
Australia, shame on you – you’re the third worst country in the world for animal extinction
Australia is the third highest country for threatened species facing extinction, and 12.5 per cent of the nation’s unique animals are at risk.
Posted inEnvironment
A new nature positive certification rewards companies looking to save the world
Global GreenTag International has announced a nature positive certification for products that focus on repairing nature and the climate.
Posted inPlanning
Decarbonising transport for our health
The road transport system is responsible for almost 20 per cent of Australia’s fossil fuel emissions.
Posted inUrbanism
Efficiencies alone won’t provide water security
WATER SERIES: According to water expert Professor Stuart Khan, droughts – and the rate at which we can run out of water as a consequence – are speeding up. Around the country coastal cities now rely on desalination plants as a matter of course to provide water security. There’s a “purification” or recycling plant ready […]
Posted inNews from the Front Desk
On the quality of water that leaves our buildings and why we need to care
In 2019 when we ran a story that 90 towns in regional New South Wales were on the verge of evacuation because they were running out of water, it caused a sensation.
PROMOTED
How an Agreement to Rate can close the energy performance gap
NABERS has introduced the Agreement to Rate process to help planners and policymakers close the gap between energy efficient building design and actual energy performance.
Posted inUrbanism
There’s a drought coming – are we ready?
With Australia on on the brink of another extended dry period, are we any better prepared that the last time?
Posted inUrbanism
City Portrait project shows just how ‘liveable’ Melbourne could be
Regen Melbourne has revealed a data-driven portrait of Greater Melbourne that will act as a new compass for the city’s progress.
Posted inFinance
Sustainable finance: Australia is on the right track, but moving too slowly
This week, GBCA and the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute released a practical guide to drive greater understanding of sustainable finance.