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BUILDING CONNECTION
SUMMER 2016
INDUSTRY NEWS
RESEARCH GRANT AWARDED TO MANUFACTURE MULTI-
STOREY HOUSES
The University of Sydney and Lendlease have been
awarded a $3 million grant by the Australian Government
to undertake a collaborative research project to develop
prefabricated multi-storey housing solutions.
The five year industry-led project received funding from
the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science’s
Cooperative Research Centre Projects (CRC-P) program
to develop and build prototype housing solutions that
use high-tech, renewable materials and advanced
manufacturing processes.
Kylie Rampa, Chief Executive Officer, Lendlease
Property, said that the demand for affordable and diverse
housing is calling for new housing solutions from industry.
“We aim to bring to market an innovative housing
system that is design-led, which will help address
affordability issues, while developing advanced
manufacturing technologies and techniques for future
housing construction,” she said.
Associate Professor Mathew Aitchison in the Faculty
of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University
of Sydney said that the project presents an enormous
opportunity to bring innovation to the residential
construction market, which has remained largely
unchanged in the last 100 years.
“Despite major advances in other manufacturing
sectors, innovation in residential construction is lagging.
This project seeks to drive efficiency and safety benefits
and boost Australia’s competitiveness internationally,
where we have seen a notable increase in advanced
manufacturing in building over the past decade,” said
Associate Professor Mathew Aitchison.
The project will develop a range of solutions for the
multi-storey housing market that address increasing
urban density and residential market demands.
CONSUMERS WANT ENERGY-EFFICIENCY FACTS ON
HOMES
New research published by the CRC for Low Carbon Living
(CRCLCL) has shown overwhelming support for a national
voluntary home energy efficiency disclosure system,
designed to empower consumers to rate and value
homes with lower running costs and health, comfort and
sustainability benefits.
Funded by the CRCLCL, industry members of the
EnergyFit Homes initiative and the NSW Office of
Environment and Heritage, the two-year research project
also revealed that 90% of building professionals and
tradespersons supported providing this information
at the time of sale or lease. Results show that 92%
of housing consumers want energy efficiency details
revealed in building inspection reports; 82% at open
inspection and 72% in property advertising, with half
of home buyers and renters willing to pay for this
information.
Called the EnergyFit Homes Project, the research was
carried out by teams from the CSIRO and Common Capital
and overseen by CRCLCL program leader Dr Stephen
White.
“The research’s key focus was to understand
industry and consumer support for a national voluntary
disclosure system that would measure, benchmark and
communicate information on the energy performance of
existing homes, especially at the time of sale or lease, and
provide recommendations on how to implement such a
system,” said Dr White.
“The results overwhelmingly show that such a system
would be accepted in Australia. It would also bring
financial benefits. For example, in Europe and North
America where mandatory home energy rating schemes
exist, the value of energy efficient homes rose between
3 and 14% when high energy efficiency performance was
disclosed to buyers.”