Australia could lead the world in sustainable infrastructure with benefits for the community and business says Infrastructure Australia (IA) in the Australian Infrastructure Audit released today. The Green Building Council of Australia welcomes the report as fresh evidence to support urgent action to ensure the productivity, resilience and sustainability of cities and communities across Australia. […]
The Australian government has allocated $50 million for the Smarter Cities and Suburbs Program to encourage projects that “improve the livability, productivity and sustainability of cities and towns across Australia”. Mark Sawyer, lecturer in Architecture, University of Western Australia, takes a look at the environmental costs of smart cities. One project funded under the program […]
Entry as a Service is the next level up of automatic door maintenance and technology, explains dormakaba’s Kevin Blacow. We’re now used to the idea of the Internet of Things (IoT) connecting many of the staple appliances and fixtures of our everyday lives to the cloud and, therefore, each other, but what may surprise is […]
Qantas has collaborated with industrial designer David Caon and Akin Atelier to design its new first class lounge in Singapore and used virtual reality (VR) to revolutionise the design process. When Qantas wanted to design its new first class lounge in Singapore Changi Airport the airline turned to long time collaborator David Caon. As part […]
According to the latest UN projections, the world’s population is set to grow by 2.9 billion – that’s the equivalent of two more African continents – in the next 33 years. By that time, it’s expected that humans will have developed into an almost exclusively urban species with 80-90 percent of people living in cities. […]
It’s a generally regarded truism in any business that growth is good – if you’re not getting bigger, then surely you’re either stagnating or, worse, shrinking or going backward. But in uncertain economic times, non-stop expansion isn’t always the best option. Sometimes it may be prudent to whittle away, to deliver a lean, mean and […]
Over 20 years of developing software designed to help architectural businesses improve their effectiveness and efficiency in project delivery, Total Synergy CEO Scott Osborne has seen many pitfalls and misconceptions that typically limit growth and progress. Here, he breaks down a few for you to consider in your business. Are you managing your practice or does […]
As a practice and product, architecture is constantly evolving. Shifting trends and new technologies evoke changing priorities, perhaps in the form of a smarter building, one that measures and manages energy-efficiency, or an exterior mostly made up of a human-friendly material such as timber. Despite the many shifts occurring within the realms of the architectural […]
Australian-owned and operated timber supplier Porta has released a new exterior timber cladding solution called Endure, created by combining durable Porta Cumaru hardwood with an engineered design. The new product has evolved from the research and development by Prof. Perry Forsythe, Professor of Construction Management, at the Faculty of Design Architecture and Building at University of Technology […]
A ‘bio-brick’ made from human urine has been unveiled by University of Cape Town (UCT) researcher Suzanne Lambert as an environmentally friendly alternative to kiln-fired bricks. The zero waste bricks are made from recovered human waste and can be produced in any shape and strength. Lambert’s supervisor Dr Dyllon Randall, a senior lecturer in water quality engineering, said that […]
