The annual conference of Australia’s prefabrication and offsite construction industry, PrefabAUS 2016 opens in Sydney on Monday 10 October.

Over a period of three days from 10 October till 12 October, the 2016 conference will explore the theme of Delivering Next Generation Buildings through a packed program featuring a host of confirmed speakers as well as technology workshops, technical discussions and site visits.

Organised by PrefabAUS, Australia’s peak body for prefabrication and offsite construction, the 2016 conference in Sydney will showcase the best in prefabricated and offsite technology and design, exploring the future of the built environment. Proudly hosted by the University of Sydney Architecture Design and Planning, PrefabAUS 2016 will feature some of the industry’s most highly regarded thought leaders, showcase ground-breaking projects, explore innovative technology and host tours to some of Sydney’s most exciting locations for the offsite construction industry.

PrefabAUS 2016 Conference Program

The Conference will be officially opened by Jens Goennemann, Managing Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (replacing Hon Ian Macfarlane).

Additional Speakers

Stuart Marsland – Principal, Rothelowman, Tamara DiMattina – Founder, The New Joneses, and Warwick Stannus, Group Engineering Manager, AG Coombs

Technology Workshop

Brenton Dodd – Sales Manager, MEMKO; Peter Ward – Managing Director, Drouin West Timber & Truss/ Future-Fit; Michelle Mannering – Co-founder & COO, Black.ai

Industry Leaders Panel

Ryan Smith – Associate Professor/ Director – ITAC, University of Utah; James Cameron – Executive Director, Australian Construction Industry Forum (ACIF); Nicole Sullivan – Technical Solutions Manager, Green Building Council of Australia; Ken McBryde – Principal, HASSELL

Technical Discussion

Paolo Lavisci will be joined by Fred Moshiri – Structural Engineer, Timber Development Association NSW for the technical discussion following Paolo’s presentation on Timber in Mid Rise Residential Construction under the new Australian National Construction Code.

Confirmed speakers

Award-winning architect and Associate Professor Ryan Smith will be one of the international keynote speakers at the Conference and will speak on Offsite Construction: opportunities, challenges, benefits and futures. The director of the Integrated Technology in Architecture Centre (ITAC) at The University of Utah, Smith has authored Prefab Architecture (Wiley 2010) and co-edited Building Systems (Routledge 2012). Smith will speak on emerging issues in the construction industry including offsite building, BIM, IPD and sustainability.

Paolo Lavisci, PhD in Industrial Technologies – Timber and former CEO of Italian Timber Design Bureau will also be an international guest speaker at the Conference. Lavisci has 25 years of professional experience in timber technology and has authored several scientific publications and a book on the design of timber structures. Lavisci will present on Timber in Mid Rise Residential Construction under the new National Construction Code allowances in Australia.

Australian and New Zealand industry leaders confirmed to speak include:

  • Adam Strong, Managing Director of Strongbuild, which is investing in panel systems and CLT as well as building the largest CLT project in Australia
  • Mark Fahey, Managing Director of MLEX, which delivers modular, turnkey electrical solutions to the market
  • George Argyrou, Managing Director of Hickory whose 323 La Trobe Street Melbourne high rise residential project will be the tallest prefabricated building in Australia
  • Logan Mullaney, Director, on the Lifting Point self-supporting modular bridge system now being commercialised in Australia and the Pacific Islands
  • Rob de Brincat, Business Development Manager at XLam on Thinking differently about construction: exploiting opportunities for CLT
  • Pamela Bell, CEO PrefabNZ and Eli Nuttall, Director PrefabNZ and founding partner at First Light Studio profiling some of the Crazy Young Disruptors in New Zealand
  • Dr Richard de Dear, Professor in Building Science and IEQ Lab Director, University of Sydney on the SAMBA revolutionary IEQ monitoring system (for healthy, comfortable and productive workplaces)
  • John McDougall, Managing Director of Parkwood Homes on overcoming logistics and installation challenges in delivering volumetric homes
  • Makoto Ochiai, Operations Manager on the SHAWOOD (Sekisui House) turnkey pre-engineered homes and apartments
  • Mathew Aitchison, Director, Innovation in Applied Design Lab, University of Sydney
  • Michelle Mannering, Co-founder, on the Black.ai building performance optimisation technology
  • Zack Ashby, Director of Team2 architects who have undertaken numerous modular healthcare projects
  • Tuan Ngo, Research Director of the ARC Centre for Advanced Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing, the University of Melbourne on Latest innovations and R&D activities in prefabricated building construction
  • Peter Blythe, Managing Director of Dynamic Steel Frame on optimising prefabricated light gauge steel framing for mid-rise structures
  • Chris Barnett, Managing Director, Habitech on how connecting manufacturing efficiencies can help achieve the thermal performance and sustainability dimensions needed for Australian housing in the 21st century
  • Lance Worrall, Theme Leader – Industry Transformation, who will outline the IMCRC Theme 4 opportunities for prefabAUS members

This year’s speaker line-up also includes Marc Norman from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. With a background in real estate development and mortgage banking, Norman works with architects and housing and transportation professionals to capture best practices from multiple fields to achieve supportive integrative neighbourhoods. Norman curated the Designing Affordability: Quicker, Smarter, More Efficient Housing Now exhibition at the Centre for Architecture in New York (Oct 15 to Jan 16). This exhibition will be featured at the prefabAUS Conference.

Revised site visit program:

  • Australia’s largest CLT project – The Gardens 101 apartment complex at Campbelltown being built by Strongbuild for Affordable Housing Provider BlueCHP Limited
  • The Mirvac Brighton Lakes 300-dwelling development in Moorebank, which utilises the CSR Velocity prefabricated panel systems
  • Sydney Trains Depot at Mortlake – modular office delivery in a challenging site environment
  • Wynyard Walk – where aerospace technology has been applied to manufacturing irregular metal facade components
  • International House Sydney – Australia’s first CLT and Glulam commercial building

A new publication titled Built Offsite will be launched at the Conference to champion offsite construction and promote the industry to key stakeholders to bring about faster change.

The 2016 program will also feature an inaugural cocktail party and networking event at the Ivy Sunroom.

prefabAUS 2016 Delivering Next Generation Buildings will take place at the Seymour Centre, University of Sydney.