Building 4.0 CRC

Building 4.0 CRC Chair, Dr Bronwyn Evans AM, spoke at the New Beginnings: Australia–Japan Business Partnership on the Global Stage Conference in Japan last week. The conference – organised by the Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee (AJBCC) and the Japan Australia Business Co-operation Committee (JABCC) – explored how Australian and Japanese businesses can leverage decades-long partnerships to drive new business opportunities in key areas such as innovation, energy transition, AI and digitisation. Bronwyn noted the conference theme – ‘New beginnings and partnerships’ – could not be more important for the building industry, particularly as we tackle our chronic housing undersupply in Australia. We already see very strong Australia–Japan partnerships in the building and construction industry. This kind of collaboration is key to meeting the Federal Government’s target of building 1.2 million homes over the next 5 years. She shared some of our significant current projects with conference delegates: #95 (Homes NSW MMC Program), #103 (Prefabricated, modular and offsite construction – Handbook) #21 (Regulatory reform for industrialised building), #70 (Building Circularity 4.0: First steps to adoption) and #66 (Future of construction education). ‘I am excited about what we can achieve together if we partner in pursuing our ambitions to create better buildings, a better building industry and better communities for today and future generations.’ #makingithappen #MMC #modernmethodsofconstruction #industrialisedconstruction #affordablehousing #innovation #housinginnovation #housing #building

NEW TEAM MEMBER | Welcome to our new team member, Michelle Smith, EA to the CEO. She brings extensive experience with C-Suite level managers across many industries including insurance, major events, not-for -profits, multinationals, and utilities and energy. Join us in welcoming Michelle to the team. 

Last week Building 4.0 CRC, CEO Prof Mathew Aitchison joined Sally Campbell, Nick Holden and Ninotschka Titchkosky, to discuss the current challenges facing housing availability and the construction industry at SXSW Sydney. They explored the transformative potential of innovation and emerging technologies as part of the solution in tackling these challenges, including large scale 3D printing, modular and prefabricated construction, and new design and procurement models. #MMC #modernmethodsofconstruction #industrialisedconstruction #affordablehousing #innovation #housinginnovation #housing #building #constructioninnovation

Building 4.0 CRC’s third annual conference – Making it Happen – delivered a compelling vision for the future of the building industry. With a clear focus on actionable solutions, the event brought together 230 participants, 8 international speakers and 18 expert panellists to address the industry’s most pressing challenges and opportunities. Check out the conference video: https://lnkd.in/gHKfr8EJ #makingithappen #MMC #modernmethodsofconstruction #industrialisedconstruction #affordablehousing #innovation #housinginnovation #housing #building

NEW PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENT | #71 Automated decision making for interdisciplinary coordination during early-stage building design. A challenge for any building design project is coordinating the different disciplines such as architecture, structural engineering, MEPF (mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire fighting) and landscaping. In the early design stages, decisions about each one of these elements are crucial. But as decisions about one element are locked in, coordination with the other elements becomes harder. At the same time, building design is becoming more complex, reflecting higher environmental performance expectations, higher technological and comfort requirements and reduced development timeframes. Our new Project #71 aims to address this complexity, by developing algorithms and techniques to facilitate and streamline the spatial negotiation involved in coordinating building systems throughout the different stages of the building design process. The hope is that building design teams can use these techniques to make informed decisions when developing a building design, which in turn should improve performance and reduce time and cost. It brings together researchers from Monash University and industry partners Lendlease and A.G. Coombs Keep up to date with this research via our website: https://lnkd.in/gsQmvbjV Pierre Le Bodic | Victor Bunster | Camilo Cruz Gambardella | Duncan Maxwell | Peter Stuckey | Guido Tack | @Allen Zhang | Tim Butler | Vidish Iyer | Bryon Price #buildingdesign #decisionsupport #computationaldesign #DfMA #designformanufacturingandassembly

WEEKEND READ | Our PhD student Lalita Lama from University of Melbourne is studying the structural behaviour of composite modular buildings exposed to fire. As part of her research, she’s investigating the performance of concrete-filled steel tubular columns exposed to different fire conditions. In a recent conference paper, Lalita and her co-authors Thomas Gernay and Tai Thai presented results of experiments of CFST columns with square steel tube (HSS) and ultra-high strength concrete (UHSC) under non-symmetrical fire loading. Check out Lalita’s paper: Fire behavior of ultra-high strength concrete filled steel tubular columns under non-uniform heating You can read it on our website: https://lnkd.in/ghyPDEXS #CFST #concretefilledsteeltubularcolumns 

At our latest Knowledge Share hosted at Building 4.0 CRC HQ, Professor Shane Murray and Dr Lee-Anne Khor from Monash Art, Design and Architecture shared their perspectives on how architects can influence urban development and housing. Here are some key takeaways: – Residential Suburbia Needs Design Attention: Most of us live in these areas, yet it receives little design attention. – From Housing to City-Making: It's essential to transition from merely supplying housing to creating vibrant urban environments. – Understanding Design Consequences: Architects need to understand the physical consequences of design decisions. – Flexible Housing Designs: Incorporating movable internal walls allows spaces to adapt to various family typologies. – Small-Scale Infill Development: Integrating multi-scale development back into the planning system can revitalise our neighbourhoods. Their valuable knowledge and experience is being brought to bear in Project #95, as we work with Homes NSW on the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Program to build more quality social housing faster. https://lnkd.in/gJ29z6wd #MMC #modernmethodsofconstruction #Buildinginnovation #building #innovation #construction #sustainability 

WEEKEND READ | Congratulations to PhD student Fatheen Hisham, who recently had a paper published in the journal Thin-Walled Structures. The paper – Fire tests of short-span LSF floor systems made of lipped channel joists – investigated the behaviour of load-bearing light gauge steel framed (LSF) floor systems. These floor systems are often used in low- and mid-rise buildings because they are easy to make and erect; they’re also durable and sustainable. But there’s little research about how fire affects their performance, particularly in Australian conditions. Fatheen and his co-authors – Son (Tung) Vy, Mahen Mahendran, Anthony A. and Tuan Ngo – evaluated the behaviour of several different configurations of short-span load-bearing LSF floor systems. They identified factors affecting performance and make recommendations for flooring configurations commonly used in Australia and New Zealand. You can find the link to the paper on our website: https://lnkd.in/ghyPDEXS #lightgaugesteel #LSF #sustainablebuilding #firetest #fireresistancelevel  

Are people who work in mass timber buildings happier, healthier and more productive? That was the question investigated for Project #60. Mass timber offers a structurally efficient, yet low carbon alternative to concrete and steel. But its impacts on people who construct and work in mass timber buildings are less clear. The Project #60 research team combined self-reported questionnaires, objective biomarkers (heart rate variability, hair cortisol) and indoor environmental quality measures (e.g. ventilation and air quality, thermal comfort, acoustics and lighting) to explore the impacts and benefits for both office workers and construction workers. This study highlights how wellness information can help policy makers, developers, business owners, construction professionals, timber industry stakeholders, environmentalists and research make more informed decisions. You can read about the study here: https://lnkd.in/gmFXbRaJ Stephen Whyte Christhina Candido Ryo Kaburagi Victor Gan Behnaz Avazpour Dorsa Fatourehchi Ho Fai (Ben) Chan Yue (Ashley) Dong, PhD Uwe Dulleck Sabine Finlay Jenny ZHOU Nick Hewson Duncan Maxwell Craig McNulty Zoltan Sarnyai QUT (Queensland University of Technology) University of Melbourne Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning Monash University Sumitomo Forestry Australia #masstimberconstruction #sustainablebuildings #netzero #healthybuildings

Building 4.0 CRC Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Dr Keith Hampson. If we are to foster and embed innovation and research into the DNA of our building industry, we need to celebrate and learn from those leaders who have pioneered before us. Last Monday night, Building 4.0 CRC presented the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr Keith Hampson. This Award recognises outstanding achievement in research and innovation in the Australian building industry. Keith’s bold vision and outstanding commitment as CEO and Professor of the CRC for Construction Innovation from 2001 to 2009 created new partnerships between industry, government and research partners, with a shared goal to achieve exemplar community and commercial outcomes together. A registered civil engineer and project manager, Keith’s career has spanned more than three decades including serving as the CSIRO Associate Professor of Construction Management at QUT, Council Member of the Queensland Transport and Logistics Council, a Member of the Construction Queensland Leadership Council Reference Group and as a Director of the Planning and Transport Research Centre. He is also the Immediate Past President of the International Council Research and Innovation in Building and Construction. Currently Keith is a member of the WA Port Operations Taskforce and CEO of the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc), Australia which he has led since 2010. This Centre builds on the history of achievement of the CRC for Construction Innovation and has a vision to be a world leading research and knowledge broker to enhance the performance of the built environment industry. That is a vision we all share. At Building 4.0 CRC we are proud to be building on Keith’s legacy to unleash the full force of our manufacturing knowledge and capability across our building markets . We thank you Keith for your passion and energy, and most of all bringing your vision to life. #innovation #building #construction #sustainability #sustainable #environment #lifetimeacheivement #award #QUT #CSIRO