The election of a new government is reminder that there's no long term security in simply being the incumbent. There is no such thing as a 'safe seat'.
Being the dominant element does not guarantee that the particular status quo will be maintained in perpetuity.
Although not always for the greater good, change is inevitable. Edwards Deming, father of the Total Quality Management movement got it right with his acerbic quote: "It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory."
Australia has some iconic building styles and materials that seem like they will remain dominant, but change is ever on the horizons. A shake-up may even come from beyond our shores, either directly from products, or more indirectly from technologies and ideas. Here are a few possible contenders that might rock the boat:
1. Structural Insulated Panel
Structural Insulated Panels being erected by SIPs Industries in Perth
Brick Veneer is the vernacular of building construction in Australia, although that's not to say it will remain so. Just as tilt up concrete panels have become de rigueur for commercial projects, other building forms may, one day, become the new norm.
One such contender is the SIP, or Structural Insulated Panel from the USA. SIPs can be used directly as external and internal walls, floors and roofs. A single panel of exterior and internal cladding is sandwiched around an inner core of insulation, which is commonly expanded polystyrene (EPS).
Such highly insulating panels are pre-fabricated offsite, and buildings deploying them can be assembled quicker than traditional labour intensive brick veneer structures. For example, SIPs Industries of Perth erected a three-storey home in only four and half days. It has also been calculated that the life-cycle cost of a building made with SIPs can be 40 per cent less than a conventional building.
2. Cross Laminated Timber
Forte by Lend Lease uses Cross Laminated Timber as a building material
Multi-storey apartments and units have for ages relied on the strength of reinforced concrete, a technology first used in Australia in the late 1800's to build a sewer aqueduct.
But last year, Lend Lease challenged that orthodoxy with their Forté development in Melbourne's Victoria Harbour. At 10 storeys, the 23 apartment tower was the first major Australian project to embrace Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) as a building material, and the tallest residential building in the world to do so.
Timber sheets are laid up at right angles to one another, and bound with non-toxic adhesives. Hydraulic presses compact the result into solid structural wood panels, which are 20 per cent of the weight of concrete.
Life cycle analyses of the method used for the Lend Lease apartments suggest that if the CLT panels are carbon sequested at their end of life, the Forté building has 22 per cent less global warming potential than conventional construction. If compared to having used local concrete, Forté still had a lower rate of impact, despite the CLT being imported from KLH Massivholz of Austria.
3. Solar Roofing
Coolmax roof from Bluescope
Since BlueScope Steel's first commercial Colorbond product appeared in 1966, about six million tonnes of the material have found its way into the building industry, with the company suggesting that nearly half of all new homes in Australia have roofs of pre-painted steel. That technology was imported from Chicago. Might the next roofing revolution also come out of North America?
Researchers at the University of Alberta, Canada, have designed nanoparticles that absorb light and conduct electricity from two common elements: phosphorus and zinc.
These zinc phosphide nanoparticles can be dissolved to form an ink, which in turn can be painted or printed to produce thin films that are responsive to light. Ensol in Norway also has related nanocrytal solar cells.
Both sound just like the technology BlueScope Steel would be keen to investigate. After all, we know they have already secured a $2.3 million Emerging Renewables Program grant to develop a prototype building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system, and have embraced solar reflective roof finishes with their Coolmax product.
4. Double Glazing
Double glazed windows from Schuster Windows and Doors
Less than three per cent of Australian homes have double glazed windows, contrasting very poorly with Europe, where just shy of 60 per cent of all households are either double or triple glazed. Why is this a travesty? Because the typical single 3mm pane of glass used in Australian buildings is such a woeful insulator, allowing scorching summer heat in, and upwards of 40 per cent of winter warmth to escape.
The Your Home technical manual cites energy-efficient windows as having the ability to reduce the size of an air-conditioning system by 30 per cent. Australia does have a growing number of manufacturers making locally-produced double glazed windows and doors, such as Paarhammer, who leads the way in high insulation glazing (0.8U value) and with products suitable for extreme Bushfire Attack Levels (BAL).
Schuster Windows and Doors also produce quality double glazing in Australia, having achieved the highest rating the Window Energy Rating Scheme for their products. The company offers custom-made double glazed windows and doors to suit various customer requirements and briefs.
Double glazed windows from Schuster Windows and Doors
However, for the most part, double glazing technology and concepts are imported. Even some retro-fit systems, like Eco Glaze, source its acrylic sheets from Germany. Others use Australian glass, but fit it into imported uPVC frames.
5. Heat Recovery Ventilator
Ventilation system with heat recovery: Stiebel Eltron LWZ 270 Plus
A federal government report has found that the penetration of air conditioners has more than doubled in the past 10 years to about 65 per cent. Air conditioning is a bolt-on fix to a poorly designed building. One example of a more astutely detailed structure is the Passive House methodology, whereby the home is highly insulated and meticulously sealed to limit heat loss and gain.
Key to such a design is a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV). This product simultaneously extracts stale internal air, exchanging it with fresh external air. They also filter any incoming pollutants, capture heat (or coolth) from outgoing stale air, and transfer that to the incoming air.
HRVs can capture over 70 per cent of the heat in exhausted air. After 40 years of service in Europe, we are just starting to see imported HRVs being offered to the Australian marketplace. Interest in HRVs is on the rise, with the Master Builders Green Living Conference in August 2013 considering 'Building Tighter Buildings for Improved Energy Efficiency.'
6. Reflective Awning
Aluminet from Polysack. Image: www.polysack.com/index.php?page_id=41
The ubiquitous shade sail might've had its genesis Down Under, but its eventual successor may well arrive on a container ship from North America, where Aluminet hails from.
As its name suggests, Aluminet is a high density polypropylene (HDPE) shade cloth which has undergone an aluminium metalisation process. Available with a shade factor of up to 70 per cent, it is highly reflective, bouncing back radiant heat during the hot summer months.
Reflective shade cloth was originally an idea out of Israel, but has since been widely adopted by nurseries and the horticulture industry because it protects plants beneath its canopy from extreme temperature whilst still providing natural air flow. Although at this time the product's horticultural focus does not impede as much ultra violet light, denser shade sail materials can block up to 90 per cent of UV rays, and there is definite scope for built environment shade structures to incorporate such a highly reflective component.
Lead image: Double glazed windows from Schuster Windows and Doors
