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  • How to prevent a budget blowout Part 2 – Top 10 reasons budget blowouts occur

    In our previous post, we looked at how cost plans should be used as a tool in the design process. We discussed how cost plans should be undertaken at pre-determined milestones and that if the project is over budget, affirmative action should be taken to bring the project back on budget by making changes to…

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  • How to prevent a budget blowout Part 1 – the use of Cost Plans as a tool, not a report

    In previous articles, we’ve looked at a famous example of a flawed business case and flawed briefing processes. In this article, we’re referencing an even more famous piece of Architecture – The Sydney Opera House. Today, the Sydney Opera House is considered one of the most successful examples of civic Architecture; it is known globally;…

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  • Nightingale Housing

    FIND OUT MORE The Nightingale model is a set of systems and processes for housing provision. The model exists to enables licensed architects such as GROUPN to develop Nightingale buildings with the benefit of experience and procedures that other architects have cultivated in the development of existing Nightingale buildings. In doing so, we have an…

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  • Multi-Residential Buildings – Net Zero by Design

    Australia’s population is growing. 66% Australians live in capital cities now. Sydney’s population has been forecast to grow by 45% between 2011 and 2030. With strategies aimed at the increase of population density, by then approximately 80% of residents will be living in apartments making high-rise apartments the fastest growing building segment in Australia. We…

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  • Net Zero vs Green Building

    With the ‘Passive House’ concept focusing on Energy Conservation, Net Zero brings the addition of on-site energy production from renewable sources equaling the amount of energy that is used by the operation of the building. At times additional energy may be used from the grid, at other times energy may be provided back to the…

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  • Better Concrete – A Reality or Dream?

    Is there a prospect of a better, more efficient, eco-friendly and durable concrete? Can we make concrete that lasts longer, is stronger and less bulky while simultaneously reducing embodied carbon emissions and those from its kiln manufacture? The dramatic increase in greenhouse gas emissions and consequential environmental damage has focused the attention of governments and…

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  • Rethinking Retirement – Designing for the Third Age

    By Marc Nicholas Our ability to live longer than in any other time in history is fuelling a re-think in the design and construction of architecture for aging. Those aged over 55, a period now known as the Third Age, have higher expectations than previous generations in terms of innovative design and features in senior…

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  • Connectivity and Flexibility in Retirement – the Rise of the Vertical Village

    Connectivity and flexibility have historically had little to do with retirement living, but vertical villages are slowly changing this model. The emerging niche – medium or high rise apartment buildings specifically designed for urban retirees – is fast rising within the $28 million aged care sector, and we’re starting to see developments appear by major…

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