CLT: from problem site to high end hospitality

XLAM’s expertise in CLT led solutions has actualised the construction of a boutique hotel on what was previously regarded as an ‘undevelopable’ site in Sydney.
From high strength to a lighter environmental footprint than concrete or steel, the benefits of CLT are proven.

Read the latest issue of Built Offsite here

Can Offsite + MMC restore faith in construction?

The Grenfell Tower in London and local crises embodied by events at the Opal and Mascot Towers have led to an erosion of trust in the building sector. It even has a name; an article in The Australian Financial Review in late October described how ‘The Opal Tower effect’ has seen Sydney high-rise site sales crash by 50 per cent. Can Offsite + Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) help restore confidence in the building sector?

Is disruption's time coming?
Demand for offsite + MMC and the technologies that support them, is on the rise in major global markets, while in Australia, move to advance the knowledge exchange and create industry pipeline, along with investment in 'ConTech', indicate a new growth phase.

Concerns over how to deal with the leftovers from our building activities are not new. In the early 2000’s Cradle To Grave (C2C) thinking essentially envisioned the substitution of toxic base materials with more environmentally friendly ones. C2C and other concepts such as “Zero Waste” have held currency for some time, but now thinking is turning to the term ‘Circular Economy’ (CE), an approach that envisions buildings as repositories of value, with potential implications for offsite construction.

Text: With housing affordability and accessibility now universally recognised as among the most pressing challenges economies throughout the world, the extent to which government is engaged in encouraging new methods of construction is manifesting in diverse ways globally.

Construction companies are engaging with offsite methodologies, indicating the potential for momentum to grow in large scale schemes.

Offsite construction methods are incrementally re-shaping the construction delivery model in Australia. As the process unfolds, new ways are emerging for developers to engage more directly with value chain participants and even with end-users. 

The global game: threat or opportunity?

In the quest for buildings that are highly sustainable, strong, fast to construct and comparable financially with traditional methods, structural panel systems offer numerous advantages. 

We are seeing the future of the construction industry unfold and it is as high-tech as space travel.

Offsite: A better class of education build.

Blue sky thinking: build to rent a new dawn for offsite.

First there was mechanisation, then mass production, then automation and now: the fourth industrial revolution, or ‘Industry 4.0’. Enmeshing digital data with physical output and underpinned by the internet, 4.0 thinking is already seeing construction aligning with digitally developed industries, demonstrated most clearly by the use of building information  modelling (BIM).

Modernise or die.... but how?
With its echo of Darwin's immortal 'adapt and survive' precept, the title of the UK review, authored last year by the 2017 PrefabAUS conference international keynote speaker Mark Farmer, is a rallying cry for the offsite industry.  For the latest edition of Built Offsite see: http://builtoffsite.com.au/issue-06/

As this fifth issue of Built Offsite was being laid out, a report pinged into my inbox showing that Manufactured Housing Estates (MHEs) look set to be a key property growth market over the next decade.

Our main feature on finance demonstrates, a dramatic re-think on funding is needed if the sector is to flourish.

This issue’s look at how offsite construction is responding to the pressing needs of the German market puts the efforts of Australia’s nascent sector into perspective.

In the second issue of the magazine, we’re tackling a little topic called design. This is no mean feat!

The growing momentum of Australia’s offsite construction industry will affect virtually every aspect of construction, transforming the way buildings are conceived, designed, initiated, delivered and maintained. Reflective of this, "Built Offsite" will be a collaborative and resonant voice that will speak to all the professions and players in the building industry.