July 2014 Newsletter
Hhmm. We know it's a case of July in August, but our excuse is that we've been very busy getting ready for our Conference!
PrefabAUS has now surpassed the 100 Member mark, and we're delighted to welcome the following new Members:
Corporate Members: Dynamic Composite Technologies; Monarch Building Systems; Mirvac; Neatline Homes; CSR Building Materials; and Aus Truss Pty Ltd.
Professional Members: Complete Lean Solutions; THINC; CS Architects; Chase Performance; Sunland Group; DWP Suters; and Design Inc.
Small Professional Members: Development Finance Partners; Infinitec; Project & Development Finances; and NSW Police Force Property Group.
Individual members: Zac Tooth Architect; CPW Design; Ted Crowe; Andrew Harb; Phil Faigen Architect; Richard Sheridan Consulting; and Walt Coulston.
Student Member: John Moran, RMIT.
If you know someone who would like to subscribe to our Newsletter, they can do that here.
PrefabAUS Conference 2014, 11 - 13 August
Australia, along with many countries around the world, is changing the way it builds. Off-site construction and prefabricated building technologies will play a major role in the future creation of our built environment.
We are excited to say that our Conference is approaching capacity, so don't delay if you want to secure your place.
This month's video profiles a recent Channel 9 clip which profiles Queensland based Force 10 Global. It's great to see more prefabricated building technologies being profiled on prime time TV.
What's been happening...
On Monday 14 July, around 40 people gathered for our Sydney Breakfast event with special guest speaker Professor Mohamed Al-Hussein of University of Alberta, Canada during his brief visit to Australia. Mohamed shared insights from his extensive experience advising the modular and off-site construction industry in North America as it transitions from a construction to a manufacturing paradigm - along with his dry sense of humour! He was joined by speakers from Jacobs Engineering and NBRS + Partners.
In this image - which showcases the venue so well - we have Andrew Duffin and James Ward from our hosts NBRS + Partners, Damien Crough of Hickory Group, Professor Mohamed Al-Hussein, and Harry Klukas of both Black Diamond Group and current president of the Modular Building Institute in North America.
Our next Breakfast events will take place in Brisbane and Perth, will more information coming soon.
Prefabricating Australia: growing our off-site construction sector
As our Conference fast approaches, we’d like to introduce some more of our great speakers:
Associate Professor Mark Luther was the former Consortium Director of MABEL (Mobile Architecture and Built Environment Laboratory) at Deakin University throughout 2003-2010. A registered architect in Michigan (U.S.A.) and Victoria (Australia), Dr. Luther lectures in the School of Architecture and Built Environment at Deakin University.
Dr Luther has been investigating the area of building prefabrication for many years and will share some of his insights at the conference.
Ranging in complexity from underground railways in Bilbao, to the design of a high-speed motor yacht Kevin’s depth of experience in architecture, transport, infrastructure and industrial design has seen Kevin Carrucan of Architectus work on a range of significant projects.
From rail transport, large bridge structures, retail, mixed-use and student housing, commercial, residential to cultural and community buildings in addition to industrial design scale projects such as bus shelters and street lighting; Kevin is now working on the Gold Coast Rapid Transit, insights about which will be shared at the conference.
Dr Tuan Ngo is the Director of the Advanced Protective Technologies for Engineering Structures (APTES) Group at the University of Melbourne. Having led two large research projects funded by the Australian Research Council, Dr Ngo has gained support from prefabrication manufacturers to develop innovative hybrid systems for modular buildings.
Dr Ngo has made a significant contribution to research and applications of prefabrication systems such as lightweight precast panels, high performance façade systems and composite modular buildings. At the Conference, Dr Ngo will discuss an ongoing project to develop a new lightweight off-site composite system for modular construction.
David Tweedie is a director at Hayball, one of Australia’s largest architecture practices, with particular expertise in residential projects and urban design. At a time when the construction industry is increasingly calling for environmental innovation, David leads Hayball’s sustainability focus.
During the conference David will present a case study on the Dockland’s library in Melbourne. Hayball was engaged by Lend Lease to undertake detailed design and documentation as architect of record for this prefabricated 6 star energy rated public building, which will also be the subject of a site visit during the conference.
Nicolas Perren is an entrepreneur, architect and sustainability expert. Born in Switzerland, Nicolas holds a Masters Degree in Architecture from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, ETH, is a registered architect in NSW and QLD, holds qualifications in Property Finance & Development and Sustainable Design.
After 15 years in the architecture business Nicolas transitioned into the construction industry. To commercialise his award winning innovation, SPACE2.0, an architecturally customisable, mass-produced building, which is fully transportable and can be unfolded and assembled on-site within days, he co-founded TEKTUM. He will share reflections on this transition at the Conference.
Also, we have four concurrent workshops with a great selection of speakers for a more interactive conversation:
Materials and Systems: Craig Chatman of ARKit, Marcello Serini of Uni SQ, Peter Healey of HollowCore, and Ken Watson of NASH;
Sustainable Prefab: Chris Barnett of Habitech Systems, Caroline Pidcock of House of Parts, Justin Pilgrim of Climate Friendly, and Professor Jun Tae Kim of Kongju National University, South Korea;
BIM for our Design and Manufacturing Future: Michael Sketlon of AECOM, Matt Rumbelow of Revitall, Rhys Hall of Design Inc, and Damien Crough of Hickory Group;
Engineering and Infrastructure: Woods+ Grieve Engineering with James Murray Parkes of the Modular Construction Codes Board.
Please note that our Day 1 Site Visits are now fully booked and our Conference is almost sold out, so don't delay!
BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE. For further details, you can find out more here.
PrefabNZ - collaborating across the Tasman
We are looking to welcoming PrefabNZ CEO Pamela Bell at our Conference next week. Pamela will discuss trends and opportunities for prefab growth in New Zealand.
She will also reflect on synergies for trans-Tasman collaboration that could strengthen the ANZ off-site construction industry in an increasingly globalised construction sector.
Last Word
54 lucky delegates recently had the pleasure of visiting some of Japan's leading prefabricated housing manufacturers. Dr Masa Noguchi of ZEMCH Network and the University of Melbourne will be sharing some of the highlights of the Mission at our Conference. He will be joined by Steve Pisani of James Hardie Pty Ltd and Rob Colqhuon of Prebuilt who will also share some of their reflections on lessons from the trip and what they mean from Australia.
In the meantime, you might want to check out some of the fun on the mission gallery!