At Transform, the big Green Building Council of Australia’s big yearly event in Sydney this week we couldn’t help taking a pulse of what the mood was in relation to the National Construction Code and other green rating tools in the lead up to our Big Debate on the topic on 31 March. In our chats around the industry it’s triggered a lot of shaking heads and brought fomenting concerns to the surface.
Check out below for some of the more provocative questions we cobbled together from the discussions.
Chief executive of the GBCA Davina Rooney also shared some views during events on Wednesday at Sydney’s Hilton Hotel.
Would the so-called current “pause” on the NCC extend from the one year flagged to two years and beyond? And how are the rising challenges of climate change being embedded in the code for more resilient buildings? Check out her full story here.
What else should be keeping us awake at night?
Among the other hydra’s head of issues concerning some people at Transform were data centres – not the usual data centres because apparently, we have regular and super regular DCs these days. In fact the latter are known as hyperscalers or AI Factories.
We know Nvidia, the world’s most valuable was in Sydney recently laying groundwork for a fullscale incursion on the landscape. We could apologise for that language, especially in these hyper sensitive wartimes – but some people would be disappointed. They’re ropable. They think that Australia faces an almighty challenge and these are one of the biggest threats we face.
Among the concerns are that these black boxes building our virtual future will have real world impacts. They’ll drain Australia of renewable energy – such will be their energy appetite, where money is no barrier, and appetite to build social licence – leaving other businesses floundering. And perhaps even making a case for coal to be extended.
In the US they call for nuclear – hands down.
Next, they will soak up an already scarce workforce for electrical engineering and construction. Leaving the net zero transition hamstrung by the people who are making the transition even harder to achieve. Because anyone who’s anywhere near the AI folk will tell you that the appetite for energy and power has no end – and all to build “sex bots and write bad journalism”, as one source said.
Even worse is that what is built inside the black boxes won’t benefit Australia; it will go straight back to the US and likely they will pay little to no taxes (you can’t tax what you can’t measure). Much like the mining industry. Maybe the Victorian government that is fighting so hard to get them to build near Melbourne will even offer them incentives to do so.
There was good news too
At Transform there were wonderful moments too. Bevin has done a great and entertaining piece on our take. Especially on what went down at Davos – and what Jack Noonan said to a question about returns on investment on clean air!
Indigenous architect Jefa Greenaway was a highlight. We’re a fan from way back ever since he honoured us with one of his inspiring presentations at one of our events several years ago.
Again Greenaway reminded the audience of the fundamentals of working with Country. “We don’t build on Country we design for, with and of Country”, he said.
Later he was immensely busy, especially with work in Sydney, but will resist letting his business move much beyond its current staff of six so he can keep a skilled and close eye on the quality of work he produces. He’d like to hire more young Indigenous architects he said, but there’s a boom in demand for their work and even graduates are being snapped up at very attractive salaries. Hopefully this all translates to more thoughtful work in our built environment.
Is there an election on the way?
Pardon us for being a tad cynical but what’s happened to the Minns government? Is the Urban Taskforce on extended holiday?
It recently rolled over on black roofs and mandated light roofs to help combat urban heating – after an almighty battle a few years ago. And now it’s announced this week it will grant no new licences “to explore for coal and open greenfield coal mines” in the state “making it the first state to explicitly ban new coal mines”.
“The new policy announced on Thursday effectively killed nine applications for licences to mine coal that were in the pipeline, although the government downplayed the significance of the reform by stressing no new mines had been approved in NSW since 2018,” The AFR said.
Hopefully the ban sticks, and hopefully its appetite to attract energy guzzling hyperscalers will be treated with Ozempic!