New organisation could see Chinese partners helping with social housing construction
The launch of the Thrive Inspiration International Design Lab could see China State Construction Engineering Corporation contributing to the manufacturing and construction of social housing in Australia. The launch on Tuesday last week in architecture firm Hassell’s Sydney studio was attended by by architects, Western Sydney University and the Chinese partners.
WSU’s Professor Ehsan Noroozinejad said the Chinese construction firm can bring expertise in manufacturing prefabricated components or complete modules to be transported to site and assembled.
This could offer opportunities to improve consistency, reduce material waste and make delivery more predictable. Of course, the buildings will need to meet Australian requirements and respond to their location, Noroozinejad said.
“The alliance aims to examine these connections together. Its distinctive proposition combines manufacturing experience with design leadership, research and engagement with housing providers, government and communities.”
Noroozinejad said the partnership opens a conversation on how international knowledge could help strengthen Australia’s construction sector and supply chains, and the event helps connect the Chinese firm with Australian designers, engineers, trades, suppliers and researchers.
Centuria signs clean energy deal with Energy Bay
Real estate fund manager Centuria Capital Group said on Thursday it had signed what it claimed was Australia’s largest landlord energy deal with energy infrastructure provider Energy Bay. The agreement will involve the rollout of 70 megawatts of solar capacity and 30 megawatt-hours of battery storage across 240 Centuria assets.
Over the seven year period of the agreement, the infrastructure providers will invest $430 million in renewable energy infrastructure through capital expenditure. This is expected to generate 85,000MWh of renewable electricity across the assets every year, to create large scale generation certificates that Centuria can use to reduce or eliminate its reported scope 2 emissions. This is expected to help the fund managers achieve zero scope 2 emissions across its industrial and office real estate investment trust by 2028 and the entire company by 2035.
Victorian government rolls out cheaper insulation
The Victorian government said it is expanding the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program to give households upfront discounts to insulate their homes. This is expected to save a household more than $400 a year on energy bills.
The discount covers up to half the cost of installing ceiling insulation, capping at $1500 for metropolitan Melbourne and $2100 in regional Victoria. On average, installation of ceiling insulation in an average Melbourne home costs around $3000. The government says almost 60 per cent of Victorian homes have little or no ceiling insulation, meaning households are paying more to stay warm in winter and cool in summer.
The government has also fully subsidised training and certification for insulation installers across Victoria, who must complete mandatory electrical safety and installer assessments. This follows a successful first phase of the program which already saw rollout for public and community housing from April this year.
Electric waste truck rollout
Waste company REMONDIS flagged that it will trial the use of Mercedes-Benz’s “battery-electric [with] zero-exhaust-emission technology” rubbish collecting trucks.
(Do battery electric vehicles produce emissions? We couldn’t find this in our research but the term seems to be commonly used by big emitters such as BHP and Rio Tinto to describe BEV trucks.)
According to the company , the eEconic truck uses an “e-axle” design, which eliminates the need for a traditional driveshaft, as well as offering energy-recovering braking. The truck runs a near-silent operation, which is good news for those who wake up to the sound of waste trucks in the morning. The two companies have had a long standing relationship, with many of the waste company’s fleets across the world supplied by the vehicle brand.
REMONDIS Australia chief exectutive and managing director Björn Becker said it was a natural progression for the company to be the first to trial the new technology. And with 600 waste collection trucks across Australia, there was “significant scope and appetite to cut emissions more broadly” with electric, hydrogen or hybrid technology.
CBDs going strong but footprint is changing
New research from Adelaide University’s School of Management finds that CBDs are doing well – despite COVID predictions that city centres will hollow out – based on a survey of 789 business owners and senior managers between 2022 and 2023.
Increasing flexibility, which allows working from home, and schools and universities shifting to partial online teaching mean people are now choosing to live in more regional and coastal areas near large centres such as Gold Coast, Newcastle, Wollongong and Geelong.
However, firms continue to place a high premium on CBD offices and are willing to pay $875 a square metre every year, with 34 per cent willing to pay $1000 a sq m, which is more than current rent conditions in these locations.
However, firms will need less space for employees working remotely, which will reduce their CBD footprint, allowing more suburban firms to move in.
The largest centralisation activity was recorded in Perth CBD, with 18 per cent increase in activity over the 2021-25 period, and Adelaide CBD with 16.6 per cent. Sydney was the lowest, with activity still increasing by 6.2 per cent over five years from 2016-20 and 7.4 per cent between 2021-25.
