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Despite the best efforts of our healthcare professionals, Australian hospitals are not always the best places for sick people to be. As the NSW Government’s Clinical Excellence Commission notes, each year around 165,000 patients contract infectious diseases while receiving hospital treatment (for unrelated medical issues). Thankfully, there are ways to minimise all these infections.
As educational authorities around the world have recognised, poor acoustics have significant negative impacts on the functioning of schools and educational facilities. Including effects on cognitive functioning, potential infringement of Discrimination, Disability & OHS Acts, and more, these effects make it clear that acoustics are as vital a design consideration as ventilation, lighting, or energy use.
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There is something special about fireplaces. Traditional and reliable, they have a timeless capacity to create a feeling of cosiness. Beyond that, as research has shown, simply being in the presence of an open fire – contemplating its flames and accompanying sounds – can even lower your blood pressure.
Efficient and stylish, floor to ceiling vertical cable barriers have become a popular means of ensuring fall safety on balconies, atria and so forth. While the effectiveness of such systems is clear, and their emerging popularity is welcome, specifiers should follow some basic rules to ensure the performance of the solution.
As with all aspects of the construction sector, the specification of level entry thresholds in Australia involves compliance with the National Construction Code (NCC). As is also standard, compliance of these products can involve either Performance Solutions (which vary according to the specific job) or the more prescriptive and standardised Deemed-to-Satisfy (DTS) solutions.
Beyond more obvious comments around carbon abatement and so on, one message that emerged from the devastating floods of 2022 was that, in many cases, damage could have been avoided if the properties involved included appropriate drainage systems.
Globally, it is estimated that construction is responsible for one third of the world’s waste and up to 40% of total carbon dioxide emissions. If we want to reduce the quantity of waste and emissions generated during the construction process, we need to take a closer look at the life cycle of the products we build with.
Though sometimes overlooked on these terms, window coverings are an important consideration for specifiers motivated by sustainability. With their capacity to control not just light and glare but also heat, the best blind and curtain fabrics have a key role to play in improving thermal efficiency. Incorporated thoughtfully high-quality shading systems help reduce the need for artificial cooling.
For architects and specifiers, the task of navigating a way through the NCC can sometimes be difficult. As per the NCC, the regulations vary depending on the type of system involved – whether it’s a steel framed wall system, a timber framed wall system, a concrete / masonry wall system, an external wall system, or indeed a ceiling system.
A versatile and durable finish that is electrostatically applied, powder coating is a commonly used option for a broad range of metal components, from car wheels to building products, and more. Because of its method of application, if applied correctly, powder coating offers superior protection to typical painted-on coatings.
While stormwater and sewage management is an essential consideration in all types of residential projects, the systems that are generally used for this purpose are not always up to the task. Conventional systems rely on gravity to move relevant materials to the sewerage network, and are therefore of little use in projects involving large catchments.
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With a list of benefits that extends beyond improved accessibility and security to space saving, hygiene control, thermal efficiency and more, it is little wonder that automatic entrance systems (of various types) have become standard for most types of commercial and public buildings.
More than just an nuisance, noise pollution has significant public health implications, including reduced cognitive performance, increased levels of cardiovascular disease, and reductions in quality of life.
“Humanity is on thin ice – and that ice is melting fast,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in response to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report into the climate crisis in March this year.
With various negative consequences including property damage, high remediation costs, and even structural failure, corrosion is a perennial problem for the construction sector. Indeed, according to research, it costs the Australian economy upwards of $30 billion annually.
Traditionally overlooked as inherently utilitarian, carparks are emerging from the shadows. As numerous examples over recent times have shown, well-designed structures of this kind have much to offer in terms of aesthetic appeal, with the potential to become significant urban artworks.
While the benefits of using timber for interiors – its versatility, durability, aesthetic appeal, capacity to contribute to human wellness, and so on – are well understood, how this material makes it from the forest and into our projects should be considered when specifying.
While stormwater and sewage management is an essential consideration in all types of residential projects, the systems that are generally used for this purpose are not always up to the task.
Post-pandemic, it has become clear that the ‘hybrid workplace’ model – which values things like employee autonomy, flexibility, and work-life balance over regimentation and clock watching – is here to stay.
The clock is ticking. With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change continuing to remind us that we still have (just enough) time to avoid the worst effects of a warming planet, architects (or at least those motivated by such considerations) have little choice but to act.
As it stands, assessing the sustainability of forest products generally involves checking whether they carry a certified forest label. While this is a sound course of action and those taking it can be sure that the products carrying these labels are sustainably sourced, it doesn’t tell the whole story.
In 2014, Master Builders Queensland conducted a survey into the use of non-conforming products in the construction sector. The results were eye-opening, particularly when it comes to plumbing products – 40% of those surveyed said they had found non-conforming products in their projects and, of that figure, the highest percentage (21.6%) involved plumbing products.
By any measure, the built environment represents a significant part of the climate change problem. Given that global construction and its associated materials are responsible for more than 55% of global carbon emissions, it will also need to be a major part of the solution.
Good healthcare is about more than the expertise of medical staff, the provision of drugs, and the availability of hospital beds. It also involves less obvious environmental considerations, like the design of facilities in which it takes place. All other factors being equal, well-designed healthcare facilities are conducive to reduced levels of stress amongst staff, higher standards of care, and most importantly better patient outcomes.
When specifying shading systems for multi-residential applications, the considerations are many. Having considered their energy saving potential and decided on an external system, the next task is to decide which of these is best suited to your given application.
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The specification of porcelain tiles is a task that should be approached with caution. While the sheer range and variety of products available may give the impression of spoiling the market for choice, a closer look at many of these products reveals their lack of quality.
Traditionally, homes without access to a main sewer line have relied on septic tanks to deal with their wastewater. While these tanks are able to perform this function in a consistent and reliable manner, they are not very effective in terms of treating waste. Once water finds its way into a septic tank, it’s potential to be used again is effectively over.
As distinct from traditional building methods, lightweight, modular and prefabricated construction – also referred to as Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) – involves the manufacturing of various building sections offsite.
For specifiers – in these times of improved product performance, regulatory changes and increased awareness of things like sustainability and safety – choosing architectural products can be a tricky task. Beyond the obvious design considerations, architects and interior designers need to also consider whether a given product is fit for purpose, whether it meets all the relevant regulations, and more.
Developed in Germany in the 1990s, tensile mesh is a metal mesh fabric of stainless-steel cables formed into a filigree net of diamond shaped openings.
Though plumbing is an integral part of most building projects, it does tend to cause of a lot of difficulties. Whether they involve barriers to access, the need to drill into wall cavities, or the renovation of existing wet areas, these difficulties also tend to be both labour-intensive and expensive.
Since its introduction in the late 1980s, engineered stone has established itself as a genuine alternative to natural stone. Solid, durable, and non-porous, it is ideal for countertops, backsplashes, walls, and even floors.
The most recent iteration of the National Construction Code (NCC 2022) includes several changes that relate to plumbing and drainage systems. It includes new provisions for the waterproofing of wet areas and weatherproofing of external walls; a provision associated with falls for floor wastes; new requirements around pipe sizing; and more.
While for the most part those who use mixers and tapware (i.e. all of us) are satisfied with their functionality and appearance, for those tasked with installing and maintaining them, they have long been the source of disruption and frustration.
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