We could make our hot cities cooler with white roofs and light roads. But progress has been glacially slow.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on Building standards
Displaying all articles
Apartment residents need more sustainable, climate-adapted designs. They shouldn’t have to depend on costly, high-emissions air conditioning to remain comfortable and healthy.
Compared to roughly 80% in the US, UK and NZ, only 11% of Australian homes have high-performance windows. Installing them can transform a household’s comfort, energy use and emissions.
Throughout last winter, 81% of homes in a new study were colder than the recommended minimum – the coldest fell to a minimum hourly average of 5 degrees. Cold homes can have deadly consequences.
Mould is a health hazard and renters are most at risk. Here experts in health, law, building and construction examine the problem of mould in homes and offer guidance for both renters and landlords.
Improving the performance of nearly 11 million existing homes will make a much bigger difference to housing energy costs and emissions than an incoming 7-star energy standard for new homes.
Australian plumbing standards require apartment buildings to have systems designed for three times their actual peak water use. This can lead to costly water damage on top of inflated building costs.
Past claims about the costs of 5-star and then 6-star home energy ratings were overblown. We are hearing similar claims about the new 7-star standard, but good design makes it a good deal for owners.
The National Construction Code has no minimum ventilation requirements for schools, aged care institutions, pubs, restaurants and health-care facilities.
Housing standards in Australia have slipped behind the rest of the world. But momentum is growing to revive past ambitions to build the best homes we can.
The test facility in Miami helps building designers prevent future storm damage. With the warming climate intensifying hurricanes, engineers are planning a new one with 200 mph winds and storm surge.
Construction experts explain the various factors that likely came into play, leading to the collapse of a building which had reportedly been sinking for some time.
Since the Grenfell Tower fire claimed 72 lives in 2017, Australia has identified flammable cladding on more than 3,400 buildings. Despite apartment owners’ fears and rising costs, few have been fixed.
Weak regulation and a lack of mandatory inspections have increased fire risks for the one in four homes with rooftop PV panels. Here’s what we need to do to be safer.
There are 15 different kinds of electrical outlets around the world. One standard would be more convenient, but no one wants to change theirs.
Identifying and fixing apartment defects can be challenging, especially as they’re often the shared responsibility of all owners in the building. A new guide aims to help navigate the pitfalls.
Super-spreader events typically have the ‘three Vs" in common: indoor venues, poor ventilation and vocalisation. But many buildings frequented by the public lack ventilation or the means to monitor it.
Orders to fix serious defects, even up to ten years after completion, and to delay the occupation certificate developers need to sell apartments until they’re fixed, gives regulators real teeth.
Builders compete for customers by touting the features of their homes. Some builders promote ‘six-star’ home energy ratings in ways that could mislead consumers and breach Australian Consumer Law.
People should always evacuate early to ensure their safety. But when they do decide to stay or they’re told it’s too late to leave, having a plan B is extremely important.
Top contributors
-
Associate Professor, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
-
Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
-
Adjunct professor of architecture, University of Adelaide
-
Research Fellow, Climate Change Adaptation Lab, La Trobe University
-
Senior Lecturer in Construction, RMIT University
-
Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation, College of Design & Social Context, RMIT University
-
Professor, City Futures Research Centre, Faculty of the Built Environment, UNSW Sydney
-
Senior Lecturer in City Planning, UNSW Sydney
-
Scientia Associate Professor, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
-
Associate Professor in Property, The University of Melbourne
-
Director, Glowpear, Board member, ISDRS, Vice President, AHA and Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design, RMIT University
-
Research Associate, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
-
Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University
-
Lecturer, University of South Australia
-
Associate Professor, QUT Law, Faculty of Business and Law, Queensland University of Technology
