http://www.nziqs.co.nz/forums/index.php Thu, 17 May 2012 21:02:20 +1200 60 http://www.nziqs.co.nz/forums/index.php?showtopic=314 #23 May News 2012 2 May 2012

Please visit the PrefabNZ website for links etc

Welcome to PrefabNZ, the hub for prebuilt construction:
• a catalyst for prefab collaboration,
• a front-door-portal for prefab information and
• an incubator for prefab innovation
Welcome to your May PrefabNZ News - we are pleased to announce that the HIVE Home Innovation Village is now open in Christchurch, pop along between 12 and 4pm, 7 days, to take a look at four housing options on site now. HIVE has been inspired by the driving force behind seminal mid-twentieth-century designers, Ray and Charles Eames, great design for more (people) for less (money).

The HIVE opening has been a great vehicle to get the PrefabNZ name in the media, which in turn directs interest to the PrefabNZ Directory and to your business. If your Directory listing needs updating, or yo u would like your own listing by becoming a Member, please get in touch with us today info@prefabnz.com


HIVE Opening Weekend
The HIVE Home Innovation Village, facilitated by PrefabNZ, opened over the weekend of April 21-22 to a tremendous response from the Christchurch community. Over 2000 people checked out the first Home Innovation Village in the country.

Special guests included Mayor Bob Parker, Labour MP Lianne Dalziel, local council members and Deon Swiggs from Rebuild Canterbury.

Bob Parker on HIVE and what it means for the people of Christchurch:
Ideas, solutions and inspiration are here for people and everyone should come and have a look at this because it’s not just for those people who are immediately looking for a solution, it might be that those who find a solution here, didn’t know they were looki ng for it.

Lianne Dalziel on the houses of HIVE:
I think this venue is really important…These are all houses built with sustainability in mind and with our new seismic risk in mind. I know, going into any one of these houses, I feel safe.

There were hundreds of entries in the Meridian Energy Free Electricty for a Year Competition, and the winner was Peter Benden of Huntsbury. Congratulations Peter!

The Christchurch City Council has given their full support to HIVE, they are not the only group to see the benefit this village could bring. HIVE has the support of over 25 sponsors including platinum sponsors Resene, Meridian Energy, Winstone Wallboards and Homestyle Magazine.

The village opened with four houses and will eventually have 10 innovative, prebuilt show h omes for visitors to take a look at. HIVE is now open seven days a week from 12-4pm until February 2012. Watch the progress at www.homeinnovation.co.nz or visit HIVE at Canterbury Agricultural Park (off Curletts Road). For the most up to date HIVE updates like PrefabNZ on facebook.


HIVE in the Media
There has been lots of fantastic media coverage for HIVE and PrefabNZ in April, see the full-list at the HIVE website www.homeinnovation.co.nz Our thanks goes out to Stephen Olsen and Kip Brook for their publicity assistance, as well as the fabulous Sophie Prebble, PrefabNZ Communications Assistant
• PrefabNZ CEO Pamela Bell on Youtube
• Labour MP Lianne Dalziel on Youtube
• Mayor Bob Parker on Youtube
• Metro News - CTV
• City Life - CTV
• Radio New Zealand
• Breakfast - TVNZ

• The Press – Prefab houses attract crowds
• The Big Idea
• Infonews
• Voxy
• Scoop
• Stuff – Prefab show-village to open
• Yahoo
• Newstalk ZB
• Silobreaker
• Architecture NOW
• Idealog
• Star Canterbury
• The Press (Sustainability Supplement)
• Local Government magazine

• Metropole



Welcome to new PrefabNZ Members
A warm welcome to all our recent PrefabNZ Members:
• Joshua Lee
• Ark Modular Structurers
• Dynex Extrusions
• Werner Pfeifer
• Stephen Matthews Architects
• The Passive House Group NZ
• Jeff Vivian
• Homestyle Magazine
• Marlborough Snug
• Native Design
• Phoyo
• Ross Cooke
• Philips Lighting New Zealand
• Wai-ora Landscapes
• Kingspan Insulated Panels
• Waller Projects
• Vineeth Kumar (Victoria University)
• Ethan Hunter (Victoria University)
• Gordon Yung (Victoria University)
• Jorle Wiesen (Victoria University)
• Access Lumber
• Community Housing Aotearoa
• Bob Simpson
• Gerard Dombroski (Victoria University)
• Eri c Bliss (Victoria University)
• Superloo
• Radio Network
• Treetech
• Allied Concrete
• Firth
• Bainbridge Homes
• Wilson and Hill Architects
• Hybrid Homes and Living
• Devan
• Plumbing World
• Caleb Lau (CPIT)
For information on these and other PrefabNZ members take a look at the Directory listings


Upcoming PrefabNZ Wellington Event
Join us on Tuesday 29th May (12.30-5pm) for the PrefabNZ Wellington Event to learn about Massey University's newly completed world-first College of Creative Arts (CoCA) building. Thanks to Massey for hosting this event.

The Massey University CoCA building is one of the first combination STIC / PRESSS-lam systems to be used in New Zealand. There are four key components of prefabrication on the project, not-with-standing the normal elements like plant and equipment, precast wall panels, etc., these are;
1. LVL Frame (Columns and Beams)
2. Composite Floor Slabs
3. Roof
4. Unitised Curtain-wall
The prefabricated construction system has brought the programme forward, currently by an estimated 8 weeks, in spite of some reasonably complex structural design and “world first” learning curves.

The afternoon will include presentations from Athfield Architects, Dunning Thornton Consultants, Arrow International and others on the use of prefabricated elements in the design and build. Afternoon tea and a site visit will be provided and the event will finish with drinks so you can continue your conversations.

This event has 40 CPD points for registered architects (NZRAB) and 4 Department of Building and Housing (DBH) Licensed Building Practitioner points (LBP). Please wear closed-toe flat shoes f or site visit. This event is $100 for non-members and $50 for PrefabNZ members.

PrefabNZ Members are also invited to join us for the 2012 PrefabNZ AGM as previously advised, at midday at Massey on Tuesday 29th May.


Productivity Commission Final Report on Housing Affordability
The Productivity Commission draft report into housing affordability was released April 11th. You can find a copy of the full report, summary versions and the media release here. PrefabNZ will be sure to follow up on the findings and recommendations of this report in the coming weeks. Page 184/85 has a section on Customised house design, some excerpts of interest include:
• A number of inquiry participants noted that one of the major factors contributing to high New Zealand construction costs is the tendency to build houses according to one-off bespoke designs.
• Approximately 45% of new detached houses are one-off designs built by small-scale builders. The remaining 55% are built by builders erecting more than one house per year, most of which include at least some measure of repetition (Page and Fung, 2011). While there was agreement among inquiry participants as to the prevalence of custom-designed housing, participants were divided as to what was driving this behaviour.
• Although uptake of standard house designs has been minimal, it is generally understood that standard designs can generate significant cost savings. Page (2008) argues that major builders are able to construct standard houses, on average, 15% cheaper than one-off designs typically provided by small-scale builders.
• Other sources suggest that group builders can generate savings of up to 25% (Maltbys, 2010).
• Inquiry participants also noted that the cost of standard house designs co uld be further reduced if the building consent process was streamlined for standard pre-approved designs (Chapter 9).

PrefabNZ Members in the News
The 2012 NZIA Architecture Awards have been announced, with several PrefabNZ members taking top honours:
• PrefabNZ member Stanley Group worked with Harris Butt Architecture on the Knoll Ridge Cafe that won in the Commercial Architecture category
• PrefabNZ member Strachan Group Architects won an award for their Waiheke Island house in the Residential Architecture category
• In the Public Architecture category, the NMIT Arts and Media Building designed by PrefabNZ member Irving Smith Jack scoops another award


Wellington based PrefabNZ member Assembly Architects is in the news for their work in sustainable and prefabricated construction. Find out more here about the work being done by the firm headed by husband and wife team Justin and Louise Wright.

Christchurch will soon be home to two commercial buildings built with EXPAN which was developed as part of the Structural Timber Innovation Company (STIC). Read more about PrefabNZ member STIC and their revolutionary post-tensioned laminated veneer lumber (LVL) building system
Local News
FAT Labs, a creative crew dedicated to free art and technology, has come up with a free universal construction kit which is made up of a set of 3D printable adapters to fit together 10 different kinds of toys including Lego, Duplo and KNex. Check out the website to learn more about printing your own set and make sure you check out the video of the four-year-old who inspired the kit. The eagerly awaited sixth edition of the NZ Forest Products Industry Map has just rolled off the presses. Find out more including how to order one for yourself.

The construction industry is leading business confidence higher in the latest National Bank Business Outlook survey, reflecting expectations of the Christchurch rebuild kicki ng into life. Read more about this and why this trend may not be occurring throughout the economy here.

The fragmented forest industry is finally showing signs of pulling together over a common cause. Read here about the wall of wood that New Zealand will be face to face with in a decade and how the forest industry can work together.

Visiting futurist Mark Stevenson says New Zealand has the makings for a massive renaissance with a number of small to medium sized businesses capable of creating money off the strength of their ideas with small capital outlay. Read more about how Stevenson will help to make this happen here.

Effective 1 April 2012 the New Zealand Instit ute and the New Zealand Business Roundtable merged to form The New Zealand Initiative, a new, independent, non-partisan think tank. Read more here about what The New Zealand Initiative will do here and read about their work on the innovative ecosystem here.

Fastmount was established seven years ago to meet the demanding requirements of the super yacht sector. Their removable panel mounting system has now been used in a range of architectural projects across the globe. Read more about Fastmount and their recent win at the 2012 New Zealand International Business Awards here.

Fletcher Building is facing new threats from overseas firms businesses undercutting prices by up to a third and aiming at Christchurch's post-quake rebuild. Find out more here.

Could the New Zealand building sector be rejuvenated by an international convention centre? Fletcher Building chief executive, Jonathan Ling, thinks so. Read more about the proposed build here.

The Best Design Awards, New Zealand’s premier awards programme that celebrates design excellence, is calling for entries for the 2012 awards. Find out how to get your design in the running here.


Canterbury News
An additional $2m has been made available through the Social Housing Fund for the supply of new social/ affordable housing in Canterbury. Proposals are sought and background information can be found here. A briefing will be held on 9 May in Christchurch and intention to submit proposals must be made to info@socialhousingunit.co.nz by 18th May 2012. Closing date for proposals 12.00 pm 5th June 2012. See info here.

The South Canterbury economy could get a multimillion-dollar injection through a new website aimed at getting construction businesses outside Christchurch working on the city's rebuild. Find out more about how this would work and when it will be up and running here.

Over the next three years the government will invest $1.8 million to support the development of a high-tech business hub in central Christchurch. Read more about how this will be implemented here.

Christchurch red-zone homeowners have been given a three-month extension to choose a Government settlement option. Despite the move, red-zoned homeowners still have to leave their properties by April 30, 2013. Find out more about the extension here.

Red-zoners wanting to relocate their houses are being stymied by subdivisions allowing only new homes and prohibitive costs. Find out why these Cantabrians are being told they can’t bring their houses with them here.

One biggest insurers in the world says the February earthquake was the third most expensive in history. They calculated that in insurance terms, 2011 was the costliest in history from natural disasters. Read more here.

Earthquake recovery minister Gerry Brownlee said 20 two-bedroom units would be built in Rawhiti Domain, New Brighton, and 43 more could be constructed depending on demand. Find out more about the rebuild and temporary villages here.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has directed the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority to set up a new unit taske d with implementing the Christchurch CBD rebuild plan. Read more about this here.

Shigeru Ban, one of the leading ecological architects in the world, has designed a temporary Anglican Cathedral made from paper tubes to rise on the site of the demolished St John's Church in Latimer Square. Read more about the soaring tent like structure here.


March Event Reports
The Steel Innovation Conference in Auckland brought together offsite manufacturers and technology suppliers from around the world to meet and discuss the latest innovations in offsite technology. Richard Ogden, chairman of Buildoffsite UK, challenged the audience to look outside the box at all offsite methods and to avoid the bad habits of traditional construction by involving the key component supplies at the design stage with Architects that are willing to embrace DFMA (Design For Manufacture and Assembly) techniques. Find out more about the event here.

The ForestWood event in Wellington drew a wide audience from across the forest and wood products sector. Beyond that there were plenty of service and equipment suppliers in attendance as well, whose livelihood is directly related to forestry prosperity. Read more about the ForestWood event here.

The Better By Design CEO Summit was held in Auckland in March, take a look at the event website and read a summary of day two here. Tim Brown of IDEO spoke about the speed of change and the need for companies to have resilience rather than efficiency, watch a video of his talk here.

The National Maori Housing Conference in Paihia had participation from over 220 delegates including addresses from Minister Heatley, Associate Minister Turia and a host of other engaging speakers directly involved in Maori Housing initiatives. The presentations from the National Maori Housing Conference are available on the Community Housing Aotearoa website.

International News
BRE (UK) has signed an agreement with Chinese developer Vanke, the Chinese government and a number of other partners to deliver a 450,000m2 park in Beijing featuring up to 20 demonstration homes and buildings. Find out more about the park here.

Vancouver architecture firm, PLACE houses, provides smart, affordable, and green prefab homes and recently branched out into modular construction. Take a look at what they have been doing here. Image below left.

A deluxe modular prefab home was built in Toronto recently. It was manufactured at a plant in Indiana according to plans supplied by LivingHomes, a Los Angeles development and design firm. Read about the Nexterra Living Home and see photos of its assembly here. Image below centre.

A 10-storey Wood Innovation and Design Centre in Prince George, B.C. is to become the tallest wooden building in North America and possibly the world. Read more about how this building will challenge the way mid-rise and high-rise buildings are constructed here. Image below right.


Upcoming Events
The BRANZ Lightweight Steel framing seminars will outline design and construction information specific to steel framing for designers, builders and building consent authorities (BCAs) to make attendees more familiar with the requirements of lightweight steel framing. Seminars will run from April 30th to May 10th around the country. Find out more here.

Dwell on Design is a three-day celebration of modern design that will be at the Los Angeles Convention Centre – June 22-24. If you happen to be in the US or want to make a special trip you can register here.

The NZGBC Sustainable Housing Summit is on in Auckland June 27th, join the discussions and hear the latest on green homes, with guest speaker Bill Dunster from the ZEDfactory, see the programme here.

The 12th World Conference in Timber Engineering 2012 will be held in Auckland 15-19 July. This is the first time the conference has come to the Southern hemisphere and includes manufacturing, design, construction and research with particular emphases on structural design for extreme events, along with the future of timber engineering. Find out more here.

The 3rd Annual Modular Construction and Prefabrication Conference by IQPC in Australia will be held in Brisbane 25-26 July. This event is focused on the resources sector in northern Australia. Find out more here.

If you’re in the UK from 25-26 September you might want to attend the UK Timber Expo, which will be held in Coventry. Find out more at the expo website here.

Looking ahead to next year, the CIB World Building Congress 2013 will be held in Brisbane from 5-9 May 2013. SBEnrc and QUT are coordinating and hosting this congress on behalf of the CIB (International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction). The Call for Abstracts is now open. For information visit the website here.



homestyle – real homes, affordable style
homestyle is a platinum level sponsor of the HIVE Home Innovation Village. Read on to find out a little more about homestyle…

homestyle is a magazine for Kiwis who love their homes. In its pages they find ideas and inspiration, for that dream new home, for renovating an existing home, and for decorating with flair within a budget. In it you'll find 8-10 real homes per issue, in many styles and designed for families of all sizes and people of all ages. Every page is packed with useful ideas, colour and style. homestyle is accessible, beautiful and practical.

With an ethos of real homes affordable style, homestyle has built a large following of loyal readers who share the same sentiment when it comes to sourcing ideas and smart product information for their own homes.

Available nationwide at all good magazine retailers for just $8.10, or subscribe now and not only save 20% on the cover price but also go into the draw to win one of 200 copies of Treats from Little and Friday. To subscribe go online to www.homestyle.co.nz or call 0800 246 637.

Too long to wait between issues? Follow homestyle on facebook for all the latest from the homestyle team. For further information about homestyle magazine, distribution, or advertising, you can call 09 300 7544.


Prefab project management
Lauren Christie of Octa Associates has been instrumental in assisting the HIVE Stage One teams bring their buildings to fruition. This has made us aware that there is a need in the prefab community for project management services.

Lauren tells us that project Managers can assist with the following:
• Reduce your workload, freeing you up to work on the business (and not in it)?
• Work with the client and manage their expectations for you?
• Arrange and coordinate consultants, designers, contractors, tradespeople and/or suppliers
• Source quotes from either nominated contractors or the general market?
• Help address any complications or issues that may arise on a job?
• Deal with the Council and/or Department of Building and Housing to manage any consenting processes or MultiProof (or National Multiple-Use Approval) applications?
• Conduct site visits to discuss details and provide information as needed?
• Manage your project’s timelines and budgets and produce the appropriate documentation?
• Or anything else that needs doing (e.g. manage site meetings, prepare Board reports) that you don’t have the time or expertise to do!
Over the last 8-months, Octa Associates has been proud to be helping PrefabNZ establish the Hive – Home Innovation Village. During this time, they’ve become informed and interested in helping this industry move forward. They want to hear from you about what you need, contact Lauren with your views so they can determine whether their project management services are of value to your business.

Lauren Christie
Ph: 021 277 7726
Email: Lauren.christie@ch.octa.co.nz


A prefab blast from the past
In Milan, the Refuge Tonneau, conceived by Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret in 1938 has gone from sketch to reality thanks to Cassina and Perriand's daughter (and former assistant) Pernette Perriand-Barsac. Find out more and see a range of images of the curious dodecahedron structure here. See maquette, exterior and interior images below.


Pamela Bell for
PrefabNZ Incorporated

PO Box 19-063
Courtenay Place
Wellington 6149

Phone / Pamela Bell + (64) 21 972 635
Email / info@prefabnz.com
All content © 2012 PrefabNZ
www.prefabnz.com


]]> Fri, 11 May 2012 16:09:52 +1200 http://www.nziqs.co.nz/forums/index.php?showtopic=314 http://www.nziqs.co.nz/forums/index.php?showtopic=313 go here.

WARP SPEED - AIRPORTS OF THE FUTURE

JAMES BERRY, Woods Bagot's Director of Transportation and Infrastructure, has been invited to present the launch of Woods Bagot's aviation research paper WARP Speed at this Friday's Passenger Terminal EXPO - the world's leading international airport conference held in Vienna.
WARP Speed research includes contributions from some of our aviation experts that interrogates the present, forecasts future trends, and questions the norm, across topic areas including the development of airport cities, future technology, the changing passenger experience, sustainable developments and industry collaboration.
To learn more about emerging trends in the aviation industry that will be critical to the future success of airports, please use the above link and we will send you a copy of WARP Speed when it launches on Friday 20 April 2012.

]]> Tue, 08 May 2012 10:59:31 +1200 http://www.nziqs.co.nz/forums/index.php?showtopic=313 http://www.nziqs.co.nz/forums/index.php?showtopic=312
ReSolution Issue 2: March 2012
To download the Newsletter in it's entirety CLICK HERE

Articles are:

1. Issue 2 Editorial

2. International Court of Arbitration Secretary General to Step Down

3. Arbitration Agreement Governed by Law of Seat of Arbitration

4. Good Faith Participation in Mediation: Recent Decisions in New York and California

5. Australian High Court Speaks Out on Adequacy of Arbitral Reasons

6. Binding Agreements to Mediate

7. The Judicial Duty to give Reasoned Decisions

8. Paging Dr. Freud. Paging Dr. Freud.

9. Overview of NZDRC’s Services

10. Model Clauses

11. Directory of Experts & Support Services


Kindest regards

The team at NZDRC and NZIAC.

PO Box 911350 Victoria St West
Auckland 1142
Freephone 0508 DISPUTE (0508 34 77 883)
P: +64 9 486 7153
F: +64 9 486 7144
E: registrar@nzdrc.co.nz
W: http://www.nzdrc.co.nz


Fair, prompt and cost effective conflict management and dispute resolution services
Proudly serving industry, commerce and the community

Please note: The information contained in this email may contain privileged and confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any disclosure, dissemination, copying, distribution or action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this message in error please notify me immediately by email at registrar@nzdrc.co.nz or phone +64 9 486 7153. Thank you.]]> Tue, 08 May 2012 10:54:14 +1200 http://www.nziqs.co.nz/forums/index.php?showtopic=312 http://www.nziqs.co.nz/forums/index.php?showtopic=311
#22 April News 2012 1 April 2012

Welcome to PrefabNZ, the hub for prebuilt construction:
• a catalyst for prefab collaboration,
• a front-door-portal for prefab information and
• an incubator for prefab innovation
March has been busy with the Steel Innovation Conference, the ForestWood conference and launch of a new national strategy – so it’s fitting that the Hive opening bumped into April – March was just too full! We look forward to letting you know how all of those events went next month.

The Hive Home Innovation Village is nearing completion – the industry preview event in March looked into the behind-the-scenes production of the houses and village – now it is the public’s turn to see what has been happening at Hive.

The Hive will open with a bang on April 21-22 – bring the whole family for a fun fil led weekend with food, drinks, entertainment, bouncy castles…and of course fabulous pre-built houses.


Hive Update
At Hive, the first Home Innovation Village in the country, homes will be built in just a few weeks! Up to 10 innovative show homes promoting quality prefabrication techniques and high-speed construction will be introduced to the Christchurch public at Hive – Home Innovation Village which is opening 21-22 April 2012 at Canterbury Agricultural Park.

These homes are fast to assemble, extremely high quality, permanent and architect-designed. They are also sustainable and affordable which makes them extremely attractive to red zone casualties, savvy investors, developers and architecture enthusiasts alike. Hive Home Innovation Village is open to the public, free of charge, at the Canterbury Agricultural Park from April 21st 2012 to February 2014, 7 days a week 12-4pm.

Our fabulous Hive partners include Meridian Energy, Resene, Winstone Wallboards, Homestar, Lifemark, Octa, Go2 Events, Anthony Harper, Homestyle, Signtech, Superloo, Gardenmakers and Mike Cairns No1 Timber, Allied Concrete, The Snug, Native Design, Assembly Architects, Philips Lighting, Devan, Treetech, Firth and Boffa Miskell.

Canterbury construction companies involved with the stage one homes at Hive are Laing Homes, Wilson & Hill Architects, Keith Hay Homes, Lockwood Canterbury, Allied Concrete and Falcon Construction.

Keep up with the latest at www.homeinnovation.co.nz


PrefabNZ in the News
Where do we start…
• Hive on You Tube - Pamela Bell of PrefabNZ and Lauren Christie of Octa Associates
• The Press At Home supplement
• Canterbury Today magazine
• Stuff article - "Home ownership has long been the New Zealand dream, and many of us are turning that fantasy into reality. But to build, or not to build – that is the question." Hear from Prefab CEO Pamela B ell on the option of prefab houses in a recent stuff article.
• Check out PrefabNZ on Facebook
See all our media articles at the PrefabNZ News page and Hive website -


PrefabNZ Members News
We recently met with PrefabNZ member, New Zealand Steel and they reminded us about:
- The Axxis website where you can get trade tips and find out more about steel framing.
- The Habitat for Humanity ‘Big Build’ display build that took place in Parnell last month. Find out more at the website.

PrefabNZ member Flexus is helping to earthquake-strengthen century-old toilets into a pizza bar in Wellington’s central city with their spray-on “bendable concrete”. The product will al so be used to shore up vulnerable older buildings in Christchurch and Wellington. Read the article here and see image below left.Flexus has been busy across the country with the Ryman Healthcare project in Christchurch well underway with the modular floor units on-site for installation last week.

Todd Forsyth from Roll-forming Services and the PrefabNZ Board let us know about the Steel-framing Innovation Conference by Howick (Roll-forming Services' sister company). The 2012 Innovation conference at the end of March featured a wide range of speakers and subjects including live production demos and samples of the latest technology advances in Steel Frame construction. We'll report next month - you can see more here and image below centre.

Metrapanel is a part of not one, but two, of the Hive homes: the “Rakaia” CUBE from Falcon Construction with Allied Concrete and the Smart House from Laing Homes and architects Wilson & Hill. Grant Laing says: “using Kiwi made Metrapanel gives our design additional strength and bracing without compromising quality.” See the Smart House image below right.

PrefabNZ member and Hive sponsor Allied Concrete let us know that that a post-earthquake business called Allied Bins has been sent up in Christchurch. If yo u’re looking for a skip bin in Christchurch contact Phil Neil on (03) 3455259.

If you are a PrefabNZ Member with some good news to tell, please get in touch info@prefabnz.com

Canterbury News
Statistic New Zealand revealed that the building work and reconstruction in Canterbury has helped to pick up the building activity from a recent record low. Read more here.

Steel-framed buildings are faster to erect, perform better in earthquakes, and could be the way forward for the Christchurch rebuild, a 100- strong forum of engineers, architects and building owners has been told. Read the full article here.

The decision was made to take Christchurch's iconic cathedral down to a level of 2-3 metres after it was deemed beyond repair. A new cathedral will be built but where it will be situated and what it will look like is yet to be determined. Find out more here.

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority says 26,000 sections should be coming to market for development in the devastated city of Christchurch next year. Read the full article here.

A new QuakeStar initiative offers fresh hope and relevance. It has the potential to unite property developers, building owners, insurers and engineering faculties and companies, as well as the green and sustainability movements. Read more here.

Hastings company Kanuka Engineered Wood Products is set to have a major part in the Canterbury rebuild, with the University of Canterbury opting for engineered timber for its new Students Association Events Centre. Find out more here. See image.

Building suppliers from around the South Island are forming long distance ventures and collaborating with Christchurch builders to link into the quake rebuild. Find out more about how these new connections are working here.

Christchurch is facing an accommodation crisis with virtually no rental properties available for those whose own houses are being repaired because of the quake. Read more about what this means for the rebuild here.


Productivity Partnership News
The Productivity Partnership is the collaboration between government and industry to improve efficiency measures in the design and construction industry. The guiding document which outlines the aims, goals and vision of the partnership was released recently.

The Auckland Procurement Programme was launched on 5 March, it marks the start of a concerted effort to coordinate the supply of resources for major construction projects across the Auckland region.

The Evidence Workstream released its final Research Action Plan (RAP) on 22 March at the Productivity Partnership Futurescape event in Christchurch.

The Skills Strategy, the product of nearly two years work and extensive consultation with the education and training sector, the industry and the government agencies that interact with it, was launched on 22 March.

PrefabNZ will continue to provide you with further updates, as CEO Pamela Bell is representing industry perspectives on the Evidence Working Group. Pam can be contacted at pam@prefabnz.com

Ministry Mergers
The new Ministry for Primary Industries will encompass all government work across the agricultural, horticultural, fisheries and aquaculture, forestry and food sectors, as well as biosecurity. Read more here.

The government announced the new Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment which will take over from the Ministry of Economic Development, the Department of Labour the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Department of Building and Housing. Find out what the government has to say about the merger here.

After the announcement of the new joint Ministry the New Zealand Property Investors Federation (NZPIF) president Andrew King questioned what building and housing had in common with the Departments of Labour, Economic Develop and Science a nd Innovation. Find out what he had to say here.


Other Local News
New Zealand lost one of its greatest scientific minds recently with the death of Professor Sir Paul Callaghan. Sir Paul died on 24 March at age the age of 64 at home in Wellington after a battle with cancer. He was passionate about science, innovation, technology and most of all New Zealand. Read about Sir Paul’s life and career here.

Productivity languished in the year to March 2011, with labour productivity slipping, the capital-to-labour ratio declining and multi-factor productivity unchanged. Read more here.

The Nelson region got some good news with the announcement that Kaituna Sawmill has been granted consent to triple its throughput. Nelson Forest’s contribution to the regional economy as a consequence could grow from the current $36 million per annum to well over $80 million. Read the full article here.

The forestry industry believes it could triple its export earnings to $12 billion in just 10 years if it follows a pan-industry strategy just released. Read more about the strategy here.

“The Case for Tall Wood Buildings”, a new 240-page report, examines the possibilities for multi-storey engineered wood structures in buildings up to 30 storeys. Read more here. Download report here.

In a press release BN Z announced that 40 scholarships to subsidise The ICEHOUSE’s (Auckland's startup incubator) Leadership Development Programme will be made available as part of the $1.5m funding commitment BNZ and NZTE have made to support the growth and development of New Zealand businesses. Find out more here.

MSI has released guidelines for applications to its 2012 investment round, which will see up to $59.5 million invested in six areas including High Value Manufacturing and Services Research. More about the 2012 investment round can be read on MSI’s website.

LBP insurance update - From 1 March 2012 building work critical to the integrity of a residential dwelling or an apartment block less than 10m in height will be known as “Restricted Building Work” (as defined in the Building Act 2004). This creates a personal liability for a Licensed Building Practitioner (“LBP”). Find out what you need to know in the full article on our website.


News from around the world
Check out a profile of Jim Garrison of Garrison Architects in New York. Jim is a believer in modular, prefabricated homes and is excited about the advantages of modularity but also acknowledges "modular buildings aren't the solution to everything." Read more here. See image below left and further article at end of this newsletter.

German architects will build an Indian research station in the Antarctic this year. This tricky build will involve building around the extreme conditions in the Antarctic and sending over all materials needed in containers. Find out more here. See image below centre.

Recently, Greenfab was awarded LEED Platinum certification for their modular home, a contempo rary residence located in Seattle. It’s the first prefabricated, modular home in Washington to obtain this level of LEED certification. Read the full article here. See image below right.

No double you will have seen the prefabricated, 30-story hotel in Changsha, China, that went up in just two weeks. In other countries, the most advanced prefab construction methods can reduce building times by a third to half. The builders of the Changsha hotel did better, knocking one-half to two-thirds off the normal schedule. Find out how they built it so quickly here.

Check out a video from Blu Homes – who picked up Michelle Kaufmann Designs a couple of years ago – unfolding a Breezehouse in California. The homes are made in their new Wes t Coast Factory in Vallejo, California. Watch the video here.

The popularity of 3D printers shows that additive manufacturing is slowly entering the mainstream. The devices are now small enough to fit on a desk and they can make all sorts of stuff, such as toys, chess figures, or spare door knobs. But could the new D-Shape printer print a complete building? Find out here.

A research report titled “Prefabricated Housing: A Global Strategic Business Report” was released by Global Industry Analysts Inc. For more details about this comprehensive market research report click here. Read an article about the report here.

More news from around the world
Researchers from the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials at the University of Bath in England have built a house made of prefabricated straw and hemp panels on campus to test how they perform as building materials. The BaleHaus@Bath is part of a major new research project in collaboration with Modcell and several other industrial partners into how these renewable building materials can be used for homes of the future. Watch videos about the BaleHaus project here. See image below left.

UK off-site construction specialist, Yorkon, has completed another milestone for Tesco - its 50th modular petrol filling station (PFS) building for the global retailer. The modular building at Leigh was craned into position in just one day. Find out more here. See image below centre.

Nexterra Green Homes takes the idea of houses built in a factory, and then assembled on site, to a new level of sophistication. Not only are the four Nexterra Green Homes — soon to appear in Toronto, Canada — modern in design, they will be LEED Platinum; in other words, as environmentally friendly as it gets. Find out more about these homes here. See image below right.

In the UK, Radical changes to public sector construction will lead to up to 20% fall in costs of building schools, hospitals and roads by 2015 because of its smarter approach to building public projects. These reductions are part of the Government’s ambitious five year construction strategy, which takes a long term approach, including a relentless focus on waste, greater transparency on costs, new models of procurement designed to foster collaboration and innovation, and smarter use of technology. Find out more here.


Events
Hive Home Innovation Village public opening weekend come on down April 21-22 12-4pm at Canterbury Agricultural Park (Curletts Road) for a fun filled family weekend of prebuilt houses!

Other events to look forward to locally and abroad include:

Fabric First Event
Tuesday 17 April 2012
Lecture Theatre, BRE, Garston near Watford
Fabric First is a one day conference and exhibition event designed to create a platform for timber frame & SIPS technology providers to present the benefits of adopting ‘fabric first’ methodologies in respect of modern energy efficient residential construction. Find out more here.

World Cinema Showcase – Eames: The Architect and the Painter
29 March – 9 May
Husband and wife team, Charles and Ray Eames – the architect who never practiced and the artist that gave up painting. For more information take a look here.

Sustainable Habitat Challenge - Building a Better Way
2-3 May 2012
CPIT, Christchurch
You are invited to contribute to the SHAC workshop on micro and temporary architecture, simple buildings, and reuse of materials. Find out more here.

NZGBC - Sustainable Housing Summit
27 June, 2012, 28 June – Master Classes
Auckland
The New Zealand Green Building Council is pleased to announce that Bill Dunster, The ZEDFactory, will be delivering the keynote address at their inaugural Sustainable Housing Summit. Find out more here.



Enjoy quality paint, colour and advice from Resene
Resene is a PrefabNZ Member and Platinum Partner of the Hive Home Innovation Village

For over 65 years, Resene has forged a reputation of excellence and quality in manufacturing products designed to meet the demanding standards of architectural and building industry professionals.

The Resene product range includes paint and specialist coatings for residential and commercial buildings formulated and made in New Zealand for our harsh environmental conditions. To help building professionals keep abreast of new developments in their product range, they have an innovative range of architectural services and reference materials, including technical and specification manuals, the Total Colour System, samples and online information.

As well as the standard product range, Resene tailor make new products and coating systems to suit specific projects and clients. They relish a challenge!

Working hard to stay ahead of market trends, Resene has an international reputation as a leader in paint research and technology. Resene is renowned for its environmental friendliness. To reinforce this position, they joined the Environmental Choice Programme in 1996 and have launched many innovative waterborne products, such as Resene CoolColour technology to reduce heat buildup, Resene Zylone Sheen VOC Free to p rovide a desirable low sheen interior finish without unwanted volatile organic compounds and Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen, a tough waterborne enamel ideal for all interior broadwall areas including wet areas.

When it comes to colour, paint is all about fashion. Colours come and go with changing trends. Flexibility in colours, colour tools and colour scheme development is paramount. The Resene Total Colour System offers this flexibility through a wide range of colour services, including the unique The Range fan-deck collection showcasing the latest fashion colours and the popular whites and neutrals collection.

Sophisticated tinting technology enables Resene to produce durable colour options that remain true to colour long after they have been applied. Interlinked syst ems for decorative and high performance coatings allow you to achieve the same spectrum of colours in a wide variety of products. Resene decorative tinters are non VOC so you can get your colours tinted without adding unwanted volatile organic compounds.

For more information on Resene products and colours or to order colour charts and samples, visit www.resene.co.nz, your local Resene ColorShop or call 0800 RESENE (737 363).


The Koby Cottage
The Koby Cottage by Garrison Architects in Albion, Michigan is a two-module structure of 1,100 square feet. It was assembled in about 48 hours and finished as a guest house for families to use while visiting their children at the non-profit Starr Commonwealth. It’s the first structure built using the Kullman Frame System - KFS is a light, welded, factory-produced frame chassis similar to the trellis frame on a Ducati motorcycle. Check out a video of the site assembly here. See images below.


Pamela Bell for
PrefabNZ Incorporated

PO Box 19-063
Courtenay Place
Wellington 6149

Phone / Pamela Bell + (64) 21 972 635
Email / info@prefabnz.com
All content © 2012 PrefabNZ
www.prefabnz.com


]]> Tue, 08 May 2012 10:18:24 +1200 http://www.nziqs.co.nz/forums/index.php?showtopic=311 http://www.nziqs.co.nz/forums/index.php?showtopic=301 Govt receives housing affordability report
10 Apr 2012 - Bill English | Finance
The Government has received the Productivity Commission's final report on housing affordability and will provide a thorough response once it has considered it in detail, Finance Minister Bill English says. "Housing affordability is an important issue for New Zealand families and our economy," Mr English says. "New Zealand experienced a sharp rise in house prices over the past decade, resulting in declines in housing affordability and home-ownership rates and large increases in household debt. ...

The report reported on several issues affecting housing affordability, including urban planning, regulation, industry performance and taxation.

For full Report see HERE

Brief Summary attached
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PROJECTS & PEOPLE

THE REINVIGORATION OF GPT: DID WE CREATE AN EXTRAORDINARY WORKPLACE?

THE GPT GROUP HEADQUARTERS, SYDNEY
Located in the globally renowned MLC Centre in Sydney, The GPT Group's new headquarters is a workplace for tomorrow. What's unique about this fitout, is that it presents a remarkable case study of a regeneration of an asset, and today, is a viable and new age sustainable workplace.
So, when did this journey begin and what does GPT think of their new workplace? In August 2009, GPT's CEO Michael Cameron launched GPT's reinvigorated business strategy - with part of this including transforming the way GPT worked.

EXEMPLAR OFFICE IN NEW YORK

BROOKFIELD OFFICE PROPERTIES is the largest group of the New York-based Brookfield Asset Management. As the owners of significant top-tier office properties in Manhattan, Brookfield saw an opportunity to lead these workplace trends by example, and engaged Woods Bagot's consulting team to bring these innovations into a comprehensive strategy for their new headquarters. Read more

PRIME SITE,
PRIME PROJECT

CHONGQING, CHINA - "The new breed of developer in China appreciates the value in a long term, sustainable position," says Principal Mark Unger, of the Riverside headquarters for Guohua Insurance in Chongqing. This perspective has driven the contemporary design of the building with its sustainable design elements and 'future' workplace practices.
Read more

LANDSCAPE AND THE WORKPLACE

PUBLIC CONVERSATION - Landscape urbanism, sustainability and the role of environmental design in climate change are paramount for Woods Bagot's Landscape Architecture Practice Leader, Steven Velegrinis, based in the Middle East. Equally, Steven is passionate about the significant role that landscape architecture can play in workplace environments.
Read more

THE INTERNATIONAL QUARTER, LONDON

STRATFORD CITY, UK - Woods Bagot has been appointed to the design panel of The International Quarter (TIQ), a GBP 1.3 billion commercial district on the Olympic Park. Developed by Lend Lease with London and Continental Railways, TIQ will include a diverse and flexible range of Grade A office space, a hotel, and 350 homes and will be one of the UK's largest mixed-use developments.
Read more

WALK THE TALK

PUBLIC RESEARCH

ARCHITECTURAL ENGAGEMENT

THE NEXT GENERATION WORKPLACE - Woods Bagot launched its next generation studio in Sydney, amongst colleagues and industry peers.
A dynamic design house located in Sydney's central business district, the One Global Studio model was at the forefront of the design philosophy.

NEXT GEN DRIVING WORKPLACE CHANGE

WORKTECH - The new generation of workers and their need to work differently drove discussion at Australia's first WorkTech event (Melb, 29 February).
The impact of cloud-based computing and the mobile device landscape for more effective, flexible working was also high on the agenda.



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