The theme of this year’s Frame Australia 2010 conference is ‘Housing Construction and Sustainability’ with the program including housing industry participation by Mirvac Design, Henley Properties Group, HIA and MBA Victoria.
Frame Australia will be held at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins on Monday, June 21 and Tuesday, June 22.
Developers and builders are very aware that construction and operation of buildings is one of the biggest contributors of emissions influencing climate change and that this is leading to governments worldwide introducing regulations to reduce carbon emissions by buildings.
The need to reduce energy use and emissions in all new dwellings will have a major impact on housing construction in future years.
Leading the way in this development are the Zero Emission and Carbon Neutral houses. These housing concepts are pushing the boundaries of housing design, assisting all sectors of the building industry to understand the implications and indicating the future direction of housing design.
Frame Australia conference director Kevin Ezard commented that sustainability in housing construction will also have an important influence on wood products used in house building.
According to Kevin the impact of this influence is already being felt on the engineered timber and pre-fabrication industries.
Kevin announced that “business commentator Peter Switzer will open the conference with ‘Sustainability and the Carbon Crunch’ to put a business perspective to carbon reduction and the timber and housing industries, and what opportunities the brave new green world might bring.”
“Conference topics include international and local design developments for energy efficiency and sustainability; carbon footprints and environmental performance of all building materials; and Chain of Custody management of timber supply from forests through to the residential builder,” Kevin explained.
“The program includes new and updated Australian Standards and building regulations that will have influence on structural loadings and designs, and new state regulations being introduced for truss roofs.
“Recent bushfire codes applying to buildings will also be presented with requirements for both the builder and suppliers of timber products,” he added.
Kevin observed that Frame Australia had been the major national event for engineered timber and pre-fabrication for the past 12 years.
“The Conference provides a unique opportunity for timber suppliers, frame and truss fabricators, building designers, residential builders and developers to attend from Australia, New Zealand and the Asian-Pacific region,” Kevin concluded.
For details visit www.frameaustralia.com.au
