The Australian Institute of Architects says it will provide its full support to flood ravaged areas of the country, indicating it will look to create resilient buildings that are able to deal with the effects of climate change.
The AIA is currently engaging with governments, local authorities, members and communities on how to most effectively provide help. It is also examining a number of primary challenges in regards to immediate flood response from the built environment.
“We acknowledge the pain, anxiety and trauma the people in flood-ravaged communities are going through right now,” says AIA National President Tony Giannone.
“Those impacted include many of our own members and we are listening to their experiences and feedback on priorities for assistance going forward.
“There are numerous short and longer-term issues that have already been identified. Most importantly we need to build resilience into the recovery so as to help guard against this suffering being repeated in the future.
“The devastation to businesses and housing compounds the pandemic’s impacts and a long-standing and worsening crisis in social and affordable housing supply that the Institute has been advocating on as a priority for many years.”
The primary challenges the Institute is currently overlooking include effective communication between government and the construction industry to support flooded regions, how to quickly mobilise the professional workforce, addressing building supply chain blockages and improved planning for the future. In addition, work must progress to implement all recommendations arising from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.
Giannone says a report conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which indicates a million homes nationwide that will be ‘at high risk of devastating riverine flooding by 2030’, is evidence of the scale of the challenge ahead for the design community.
“The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released earlier this month warned of ‘an atlas of human suffering’ from the impact climate change is already having on people and the planet,” he says.
“We are already experiencing this devastation first-hand, from the Blacksummer bushfires to the floods that have now ravaged the east coast.
“Now is the time to reset policies and approaches to housing supply to ensure that in delivering what residents need we are not doing so at the cost of lives and livelihoods in the future.”
