IL0715_003
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I N FO L I N K - B P N
CONTENTS
EDITOR’S LETTER
I
T’S A RARE THING TO BE ABLE TO REPORT THAT ALL VOICES IN AUSTRALIA’S BUILDING INDUSTRY ARE SPEAKING IN HARMONY. ON THE SUBJECT OF DODGY BUILDING PRODUCTS ENTERING THE SUPPLY CHAIN, THEY’RE ACTUALLY SHOUTING TOGETHER. After years of sounding the alarm, it feels like we’re on the verge of some real action. I’m referring to the Senate inquiry announced in June (see news page 4) into ‘non-conforming building products’, and in particular into the imports increasingly being used as cheap substitutes for products that have been tested to meet and exceed local requirements. As almost everyone in the industry could, and no doubt will, tell the senators, the big problem is not that Australia doesn’t set high enough standards – these are among the best in the world. The issue is that compliance and enforcement processes haven’t kept up with the times. More non-conforming, substandard products are being manufactured offshore and slipping through than ever before. At times, materials are falsely badged as compliant, without actually having been tested. Our ability to police this is woefully inadequate. It’s not surprising that the loudest voices in this have been the member bodies representing manufacturers who do the right thing and invest a great deal to
PUBLISHER MARTIN SINCLAIR E-MAIL: MARTIN.SINCLAIR@CIRRUSMEDIA.COM.AU EDITOR DAVID WHEELDON E-MAIL: DAVID.WHEELDON@CIRRUSMEDIA.COM.AU JOURNALISTS
ensure their products are up to scratch. They’re rightfully outraged about the unfair competition. But recently groups representing architects, builders and pretty much everyone in the industry have been growing increasingly alarmed, as the quantity of potentially hazardous materials infiltrating the supply chain reaches epidemic proportions. You’d have to be living under a rock for the last few years not to have heard frightening stories. A common theme is that the substandard materials being used in more and more buildings represent a fatal disaster waiting to happen. Or ‘disasters’, to be more accurate. Part of the trouble is that nobody knows how much defective stock is already in place. How many windows could fall out of place? How many facades are dangerously flammable? The other huge question is around the untold economic costs. The vast impacts of fixing defects and replacing short-lived materials would be massive, as the upcoming inquiry will reveal. However, safety is the big issue which has been able to unite everyone in the industry and public. Thankfully nobody was harmed in the recent case of the Melbourne high-rise going up in flames (see page 4). We can only hope that it is enough to scare some sense into the regulators.
ON THE COVER: THE IDEAL ELECTRICITY BUILDING BY THOMAS CHONG ARCHITECT AND BMC ARCHITECTURE FEATURES KAYNEMAILE BUILDING-ARMOUR. (MORE ON PAGE 6).
20 Designers describe
NEWS
4 Product conformance
favoured materials in some custom prefab projects
controversy clicks up a gear
5 New standards set for fireplaces
BATHROOMS
24
New and high-tech bathroom fixtures now available in Australia
EXTERIOR WALL MATERIALS
SUSTAINABILITY
6 Architectural mesh and
28 We lift the lid on some
perforated metal as protective, breathable facade cladding
sustainable sanitary ware
PAINTS, STAINS & COATINGS
28
14 Wall coating technology to avoid cracking, splitting, flaking and other failings on precast concrete
14 PROJECT IN PICTURES
30 A multi-residential adaptive-reuse project which transformed an old industrial site
PREFABRICATED MATERIALS & SYSTEMS
18 Why there’s a growing interest
DAVID WHEELDON
from architects to incorporate prefab building processes
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PRODUCT SHOWCASES
34 Information on new and exciting building and architectural products. Introduced with the full directory and how to enquire
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