Dear Colleagues
As mentioned in our last newsletter, I am now a regular contributor to the on-line industry newsletter Sourceable. My latest article considers how we can leverage from international learnings in infrastructure. I talk about planning for the Ferryfree European Route E39 project, currently being undertaken in Norway, is an exemplar of industry-government-research engagement in national infrastructure delivery.It is a massive investment, and it is embracing industry, government and researchers working together in a practical and future-focused delivery of national infrastructure. Once completed, this project will be a centrepiece for science and engineering in infrastructure, but also cutting edge with renewable energy and technology innovation while revitalising communities that have previously been cut off from land access. The full article will appear on Sourceable over the next week or so.SBEnrc welcomes NSW Land and Housing Corporation

NSW Land and Housing CorporationI am very pleased to announce the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) has joined the SBEnrc as a new core member. The LAHC is responsible for the management of the NSW Government’s social housing portfolio. It supports the Government in optimising its portfolio through financially-sustainable asset management by efficiently managing land and housing assets. The LAHC also collaborates with government and non-government sectors to implement policies and initiatives to support the NSW Government’s social housing objectives.

NSW LAHC will initially be involved with two key projects, as well as having a senior involvement in the future strategic direction of the Centre’s program:

  1. Valuing Social Housing – This project will deliver a support and policy guidance tool to evaluate the performance of social housing policy and delivery activities, identifying to whom the return on investment flows across nine objectives: community, education, employment, environment, economic, health and well-being, housing infrastructure, social engagement and urban amenity.
  2. Innovative Industrialised Buildings – This project will support policy development and capacity building across the supply chain for a more productive building sector, by demonstrating how an aggregated offsite construction model can deliver cost savings, reduced environmental impacts, greater productivity and the creation of new jobs, as well as result in high quality, well-designed, smart buildings.

The membership of NSW LAHC complements our comprehensive national housing and building engagement, which also includes Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works and the ongoing commitment of the Government of Western Australia’s Housing Authority and Building Management and Works.

Recent events

I attended and presented at the recent Construct15 International Group for Lean Construction Conference (IGLC 2015) conference in July in Perth, which showcased advances in construction practices, innovative technologies and first class research. The theme Global Knowledge – Global Solutions reflected the importance of shared knowledge for industry improvement.

We all take away from conferences different messages. The highlight of the conference for me was the invaluable national and international networking. Academic and industry speakers combined research and practical learnings across the breadth of the built environment. My presentation Research, Innovation & Collaboration: Advancing the Global Construction Sector reinforced the role that research collaboration has in raising the sea-level of industry performance and fine-tuning construction firms’ competitiveness for industry leadership.

Upcoming events

The International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) together with the Finnish Association of Civil Engineers (RIL) and the Tampere University of Technology (TUT) are pleased to announce the World Building Congress 2016 to be held May 30 – June 3, 2016 in Tampere, Finland.

The theme for WBC16, Intelligent built environment for life, highlights the importance of built environment and its development to society. This big-kahuna triennial congress will focus on the intelligent processes, products and services of construction industry: How can research help to improve the contribution of constructed assets to community’s needs? How will the research community meet emerging new needs of the users?

For more information and to register go to www.wbc16.com.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Best regards

Keith
Dr Keith Hampson, Chief Executive Officer
Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre
Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia
E: k.hampson@sbenrc.com.au

Our challenge is to continue growing the value and impact of our applied research more deeply and broadly across Australia. The Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc) is acknowledged as an excellent example of a CRC that has graduated into an independent organisation delivering unique industry, government and research collaboration.

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Dr Keith Hampson
CEO, SBEnrc

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John V. McCarthy AO
Chair, SBEnrc