July 26, 2023 • 25 mins
Join us as we unlock the dimensions of prefabrication and timber construction in Australia with none other than Damien Crough, the founder of prefabAUS and an expert at Advanced Offsite consultancy. With a decade long experience in the industry, Damien's insights are primed to change the way you perceive the prospects of Prefab construction in the country. Get ready to venture into the intricate details of the upcoming Offsite 23 conference, geared to sketch a blueprint for the Prefab construction industry in Australia. Also on the table is the highly anticipated Building the Future we Want report, a comprehensive document that outlines 12 game-changing recommendations for the industry and government, accompanied by 19 critical targets to be achieved in the next decade.
But that's not all. We'll also discuss the towering Pines 15-story timber office tower, followed by an intriguing panel session, hosted by yours truly, with esteemed guests Sean Bull from XLam, Karl-Heinz Weiss, and Nick Hewson from Virdi. As an added bonus, we'll take you on a virtual excursion of the Prefab Oz conference, exploring architectural marvels like the Sink Bathroom Pod Factory and the timeless Singapore Houses in Collingwood. We'll also talk about the World Heritage Listing application for these distinctive buildings that stand as an epitome of prefabricated construction. So, brace yourselves for an exhilarating journey through the future of construction, sustainable building techniques, and the innovative initiatives that are shaping the industry.
Production by Deeelicious Beats
Music "Game Play" by Quality Quest
Podcast is a Mass Timber Construction Journal Production
www.masstimberconstruction.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Good morning, good afternoon,all, good evening.
(00:51):
We're everyone in the worldtoday.
Welcome to the mass timberconstruction podcast.
It's Paul Kramer, back withanother special guest episode.
And today we have an extraspecial guest, the person I've
known for many, many years We'veworked together on the board at
Prefab Oz and coming up very,very soon is our national
offsite conference, offsite 23.
(01:12):
And to talk about all thingsprefabrication in Australia,
including some mass timberthrown in, is Damien.
Damien, do you want tointroduce yourself to the
audience and tell everyone whatyou do now and tell us a little
bit about what the conferencehas got coming up in store for
everyone in Australia?
Damien (01:30):
Yeah, thanks, pk, and great to be finally invited onto
the mass timber constructionpodcast.
I was wondering whether youwere ever going to invite me,
but thank you.
It's good to be here and I'mactually in country Victoria at
the moment and so hopefully thisconnection is okay.
(01:52):
It can be subject to a littlebit of dropping in and out, but
should be fine.
Yeah, so as you know, we'veworked together for a quite a
few years at Prefab Oz.
Prefab Oz is the peak industrybody for offsite construction in
Australia and 10 years ago thisyear, we founded Prefab Oz, and
(02:12):
we founded Prefab Oz at aMelbourne University linkage
grant event for the futureproofing schools program.
So that's where it all started.
10 years ago, a couple ofpeople like wanted people in the
same room formed a bit of asteering committee and then the
following year, in 2013, weincorporated as a nonprofit and
(02:37):
we've been working tirelesslyever since to promote offsite
construction and prefabricationand all the different building
techniques in Australia.
So, and it's really is anexciting time right now.
Other than that, I also haveadvanced offsite, which is my
(02:57):
specialist consultancy, and Iwork with builders and
developers and manufacturersaround, helping them with their
offsite capabilities andopportunities.
So yeah, that's also keeping mequite busy outside of the
Prefab Oz work and just been onthe road a bit today.
Actually I've been trying to getout and visit some of our new
(03:20):
members, which I always like todo, and today I was in
Shepparton visiting Gradianprojects.
So they're a new Prefab Ozmember and I've just on the way
back I've got to go to Ballarattomorrow to visit HUCX, so I
thought I'd just stop at thefarm in Heathgat and hang out
(03:40):
here and then also over to Klossin Geelong tomorrow as well see
how the factory set up's going.
So yeah, I think that's reallyexciting news.
They're still sort of movinginto that facility, setting it
all up down there in Geelong andthe old Ford plant.
But yeah, it's a lot going onand you know, I think getting
(04:04):
out to see the members is reallyan important part of the role
and also trying to, you know,find connections and
opportunities for new members tonetwork within the offsite and
Prefab sector.
So that's what I've beenfocusing on and it's good to be
here.
Paul (04:21):
You know, prefab Oz is pretty much founded on this idea
of trying to make Prefaboccasion a mainstream form of
construction.
And you know we've got lots ofinitiatives going on, anything
from working on the NCC, theNational Construction Code,
through to the Build Back Betterapproach which is happening in
(04:41):
Australia, and doing some workwith some advanced manufacturing
growth funds and centres aroundthat, and of course that's all
going to culminate in somereally important work that's
going to come together for theconference which is offsite 23.
Give us a bit of a taster forwhat you expect in the rundown
to offsite 23?
.
Damien (05:01):
Yeah, look, I'm really excited because one of the
things that we've been workingon at PrefabOz for the last 11
months what we call the BetterBuildings and Better Bottle
Lines program, which was an AMGCfunded project and what we did
is we went, we started inAdelaide in November last year
and we ran a workshop therewhere we presented a whole lot
(05:23):
of industry information and wehad a very interactive and
engaging session with theindustry.
So we had manufacturers, we hadmaterial suppliers, we had
architects, we had engineers,researchers, all in the room and
we did that then in Melbournein February, we did it in Sydney
in March and then we finishedoff in Brisbane in May this year
(05:44):
.
And all of that information andfeedback and industry input.
We took that and we put thatinto what we're calling Building
the Future we Want, and this isa roadmap and a report that
we've written and we're actuallygoing to be releasing this
myself and Lance Warrill, whowas my co-author and who helped
me run the workshops around thecountry.
(06:05):
So that's something I'm reallyexcited about.
It's been written in a way thatwe have produced 12 very strong
recommendations for theindustry and for government on
how to support and grow theindustry, and we've also
highlighted 19 key targetsbetween now and 2033.
So, looking ahead for the next10 years on, what are the
(06:28):
targets we should be trying toachieve for the industry and how
are we going to go about doingthat and what supports required?
So for me, that's one of thebig exciting things that we're
going to be doing.
There's so much happening at theconference and specifically in
the mass timber area as well,there really is a bit of a focus
, particularly on the second day.
(06:48):
So, well, you'll be there, mate.
You're hosting one of thesessions there.
We're going to be talking aboutthe Pines 15-story timber
office tower.
So Nigel Burden from ACOM isgoing to be talking about that.
So that'll be exciting.
There'll be a panel discussionwith you hosting, and we've got
(07:10):
Sean Bull from XLAM, we've gotKarl Heinz Weiss and a bit of an
industry legend who will bepart of that, as well as Nick
Hussin from Veriti.
So I think this is going to besome really good discussions and
some really great opportunitiesto engage with industry leaders
around these things.
And we've also got FraserPaxton talking a bit about his
(07:35):
experience to penalise timberconstruction in the residential
sector and how to get moreaffordability into that market.
So, yeah, I think there's hugeopportunities to come and listen
and learn all about differentaspects of the prefab industry.
Paul (07:50):
Yeah, and Pete Morrison is going to be there from Green
Timber Technology talking in themorning on the Tuesday morning
that is, and of course we haveour AGM coming up, so there's a
whole almost regulatorygovernance process which needs
to sort of intercept around theconference itself.
So it's one of the busiesttimes for us as an organisation.
(08:13):
It's great to have the MastTimber Focus Group forum
together in the conference there.
I really do appreciate that.
I think everyone that isinvolved in the sector
appreciates that.
And Fraser, he did his PhD atthe University of Melbourne
under the ARC and he's becomequite prominent in his own right
(08:34):
.
So it's great to see thesepeople traverse through the
industry and then get a stage atour conference, offsite 23.
You also got some other notablethings going on.
There's a tour that's going on.
Tell us about that tour thatyou've organised, because it
looks quite inviting for anyonethat hasn't considered signing
up for it yet.
Damien (08:55):
Yeah so, and actually numbers are limited too.
So if anyone's interested theyneed to jump on and get
registered as soon as possible.
But yeah, it's great toactually be back in Melbourne
because it's a lot easier toorganise the site tours.
We haven't been able to do them, obviously, with COVID etc.
For a few years and then beinginterstate just makes it a
(09:15):
little bit more challenging.
But we're back to doing sitetours, which we're really
excited about.
This year we're going to bevisiting the Sink Bathroom Pod
Factory, followed by a Mervakdisplay which is done all
modular by Modscape, and thenwe're going to finish up at the
Singapore Houses in Collingwood.
(09:36):
So architect Andrew Muir overthe last few decades has been
collecting the prefabricatedSingapore Houses which were
bought out to Australia for thegold rush in the 1800s and there
were thousands of them built.
He's an amazing guy.
He's assembled a couple ofthese on his property in
Collingwood and he's alsorestored another one which is
(09:59):
all in pieces ready to beassembled onto a specific site.
And you know, he's got all ofthe window frames, his repaired,
all of the bottom plates, topplates, all the roofing.
This guy is amazingly organised.
I wish I was as organised ashim.
He's got this building.
He's even got the originalnails to assemble these
(10:19):
buildings back together, all setout and ready to go, and so,
yeah, and the other thing isthey've put an application for
World Heritage Listing of thesebuildings, so they've currently
got an application in.
I actually attended the launcha couple of years ago and
they've got some great supportfor that.
But, yeah, we're really excitedto be able to come in and see
(10:43):
them and we're going to be ableto walk through one, which is
actually a tenancy, but thetenant is very accommodating and
he's letting us come into hishouse and have a look.
And, yeah, really, reallyinterested to see that.
I mean, these things are 200odd years old and they still
look fantastic.
So it just goes to show thatprefabrication and timber
(11:06):
panelised construction has beenaround for a long time and still
going strong.
Paul (11:10):
I was going to say there's the Singaporean hearts of made
of timber and they actually.
If you look at the image thatexists in the agenda of the
itinerary that's on our website,the prefabos website,
prefabosorg, you'll be able tosee one of the huts and it's an
impressive looking structure,given that it's how old it is,
(11:36):
and it's made from timber, whichwas a really nice connection
back to this podcast, and sothose tours are about to sort of
book out very soon, so you needto get in quick for that.
What about just generaladmission into the conference
itself?
Is there still ticketsavailable for that?
Damien (11:55):
Yes, there are still tickets available the ability to
register for the site visits,because you can't register
unless you've bought a ticket.
And there's only about 40 spots, so I think we've got 25
already filled.
So we need and where is it thisyear?
So this year the conference isat the Melbourne Connect
(12:15):
building, 700 Swanson Street,carlton.
So it's the brand new buildingthat replaced the old Carlton
Connect, which was the old RoyalWomen's Hospital.
So it's been through a fewlives, but they pulled that down
and built a brand new, amazingbuilding there and we're very
lucky enough to have access tothat.
So we definitely do appreciatethe support and connection that
(12:38):
Melbourne University have alwaysprovided for Prefab Boz, also
being one of the originalfounders of Prefab Boz.
So, yeah, that's where we'll be.
Nice and central tram straightto the city in five minutes and
plenty of good places to eat.
I've actually just found my newfavourite place, which is
Dragon Hot Pot.
I don't know if you've beenthere, but it's just across the
road.
It's amazing.
You go in have you been there?
(12:59):
You go in there and you getyour bucket and you fill it with
all your meats and vegetablesand tofu and then you choose
your noodles, and it'sridiculous.
I think I went a bit overboardlast time it was about $35 for a
noodle bowl, but you can getcarried away.
So, yeah, plenty of good placesto eat.
And we've got a couple ofnetworking functions.
(13:19):
We've got Monday evening, thenwe've got the one on the Tuesday
evening.
There's the Fleetwood ChallengeCup, which is the University
Challenge, and so this year wehad Curtin University with two
entries and Monash with one,near to the finals.
And we're also doing somethingdifferent this year for the
first time we're doing aPeople's Choice Award, so
everyone who attends theconference can vote on their
(13:42):
favourite out of the submissionsand we'll be awarding a
People's Choice to the winnersof that as well.
Paul (13:49):
And just for the audience, who are international, won't
know who Fleetwood is or whatthe Fleetwood Challenge Cup is,
can you give us a bit of ataster of what Fleetwood has
sponsored?
Fleetwood is a company thatdoes modular construction.
What is this challenge?
Damien (14:03):
What is the Cup?
So the Cup is aboutcollaboration and it's about
DFMA and it's about which isDesign for Manufacturing
Simulator and it's aboutlearning how the approach to
modular successful modularprojects is designing with
prefabrication in mind from thebeginning.
(14:24):
So what we recognise and I'verecognised this for a long time
is that a lot of people believethat prefabrication and off-site
construction is a bit of asilver bullet for a project.
You get to a point where youcan't make it work or let's go
and see if we can turn it into aprefab building.
That's just not the case.
(14:44):
I mean really the collaborationup front with the design team
and the builder and thedeveloper.
It really is a collaborativeapproach that needs to happen,
and so what we try to do isfoster that collaboration with
the design team.
So the universities have to puttogether a multi-disciplinary
team comprising of architects,engineers and construction
(15:07):
managers and they're given abrief and they have to come up
with a design response usingmodular construction for that
project.
And this is the 40 now, andwe've seen some really good
submissions over the years.
We seem to be it seems to begrowing each year and gaining a
lot more momentum, and thebenefit of this is that we now
(15:31):
have all of these young, smartkids from uni going out into the
industry with a whole lot ofknowledge about prefabrication,
off-site construction and designfor manufacturing, assembly and
the process that is involved inhow to, you know, really
undertake and deliver asuccessful prefab project.
So that was really the premiseof the project.
(15:53):
It was that we recognized therewas a need for more skills and
knowledge around designing forprefabrication at the front end
of a project.
Paul (16:04):
And having been a host and been, you know, in a review
panel for the Fleetwood Cupprobably the first year I think
we ran it the designs areimpressive.
Like you would not expect thequality that comes out from the
university students in theseinterdisciplinary teams to be at
that exceptional level, andit's always blown my mind as to
(16:27):
you know who the winner is andwhat they've actually been able
to achieve.
So we wish that all theentrants who have made it
through to the finals for theFleetwood Challenge Cup the best
of luck, and in a couple ofweeks time we'll know exactly
who has won that.
Damien (16:43):
So, yeah, looking forward to it.
Yeah, and they'll all be ondisplay too with the conference.
So there will be anotheropportunity to have a look at
the submissions and also do yourpeople's choice vote, so
that'll be great.
Another couple of aspects, too,are some of the work around the
design for manufacturerassembly and disassembly in
(17:05):
timber structures.
So we've got Lisa Oddenhousefrom UQ, who's going to be
talking about you know the workshe's doing in that aspect.
We also have CarsonDeath-Leftson from X-Frame,
which is a really unique timberframing system which is just
(17:26):
brand new to the market.
I think they've just completedtheir first few fit out projects
.
So that'll be interesting tohear about.
And we also have Lisa Curiefrom University of Queensland
about adaptable and scalablehousing in the timber sector.
So, yeah, look, lots of linksback to timber construction and
mass timber and panelized timber.
(17:47):
And you know, I guess the thingis we really appreciate the
diversity of the industry inAustralia.
We have, you know, such a good,strong timber prefab sector.
We've also got those who are inthe steel and concrete sectors
and I think some of the otherthings that we're starting to
(18:08):
recognize which is reallyinteresting and exciting is the
move now to the sort ofcomplementary use of materials
and where we're mixing differentmaterials in different projects
to get the best outcome for theprojects.
So, yeah, it's also somethingI'm interested to hear a bit
more about at the conference.
Paul (18:28):
Yeah, I think the big movement around the world right
now is that if we think thatcarbon is the measure of
sustainability and construction,then you know circular economy
is really one of the principlesand the drivers behind this and
this adaptive reuse and cradleto cradle.
And then how you measure that asa function of life cycle, how
(18:48):
you even rate buildings based ontheir adaptive reuse at end of
practicable life, of the firstlife of the building.
And then you have salvagingfrom demolition, repurposing and
using digital technology to beable to say, well, hang on, I've
got these elements that existin this building, let's
reconfigure those elements toproduce another building.
(19:10):
You know the world is so vastwhen you think about the
circular economy principles andapplying these to construction
that it's great to see thatwe're starting to get that
coming through in thepresentations and we're really
starting to lead at theforefront in prefabrication for
the circular economy, becausethere needed to be a change,
(19:32):
there needed to be a challenge,there needed to be a champion,
and it looks like our industrysector must.
Timber, steel, concrete,whatever material it is.
It's not necessarily thematerial type, it's agnostic to
that, it's the approach, and Ithink that's the thing that's
very different now.
Damien (19:49):
Yeah, and I think, being that it's now, you know, in the
curriculum of quite a fewuniversities, you're right.
I mean the circular economy.
For me it's about the designfor manufacture, assembly and
disassembly, reuse, repurposingand also, I think you know it
becomes building parts, thenbecome a commodity.
You know, you can.
(20:09):
They have value, they haveinherent value.
If they can be disassembled,reused, reconfigured, recycled,
then they have an inherent valueand I think that that is what
the circular economy should beabout.
No-transcript.
You know very much specific tocarbon and those sorts of things
.
I think the ability to reuse,recycle and also design
(20:31):
buildings for a much longerlifespan, you know that's where
we're gonna see a significantbenefit out of this approach.
Paul (20:38):
I know we've got some incredible sponsors who are on
board this year.
Unfortunately, I believe andcorrect me if I'm wrong we don't
have any more exhibition spacenecessarily available for people
on that mezzanine level right.
So who are our big that's?
Damien (20:54):
what's sold out?
Absolutely, yeah, sold out.
So, yeah, I just like torecognise our partners.
So Exlan, fleetwood, australia,cr Kennedy, blue Scope, goodwy,
metz, standards Australia, andnow exhibitors this year at
CombiLift CR Kennedy, dowellWindows and Doors, fleetwood,
(21:16):
m-modular Multi-Panel, pacificIrithanes, proclima, promat,
Vertex Systems and Exlan.
So it's a full exhibition andwe have some great sponsors
again supporting the industry.
So big shout out to them, asalways, because we couldn't do
this without them.
We are a non-profit industryorganisation and, yeah, this
(21:38):
allows us to do the work thatwe're doing.
Paul (21:40):
Yeah, it's great to see Exlan still leading the charge
there.
You know the May arrest inpeace.
Gary Corfield was really aquite prominent individual who
supported, you know, exlan beinga sponsor a pinnacle sponsor
for Prefab Oz many, many yearsago, and actually the
anniversary of his passing isonly in about four days' time.
(22:02):
So much respect to you, gary,for what you've done and the
legacy that you've left, andyou're still in memoriam on our
website.
And great to see Exlan beingpart of the sponsorship package
in the team leading the chargefor us.
Again, it fits in with thispodcast and mastibb construction
, so we couldn't be proud topromote the event based on that
very important sponsorship thatthey provide us.
(22:24):
So is there any last words thatyou want to give us, damien,
because we've run out of time,but love to see whether you want
to give us some words of wisdomto part around this conference
or Prefab Oz or anything else,that's in particular.
Damien (22:38):
Yeah, I just I think well, first of all, thank you
for having me on and I'd love tocome back again If you'll have
me.
But yeah, look, the conferencethis year, maybe not the
conference this year theconference this year it's our 10
years of Prefab Oz, you know,the industry has moved so much
in the last 10 years.
It's such a different industry.
(22:59):
You know it was, you know,talking about Prefab and Offsite
10 years ago.
It was a real struggle, it wasa real challenge.
Now it's at the forefront ofeverybody's discussion.
It's like, you know, withwhat's happened with COVID, with
supply chains, with labourcosts, et cetera.
It's everyone's pointing to itas you know, the next or the
(23:21):
only way for it really.
So, look, if you're not part ofthe conversation, you're just
not going to be in theconversation.
So don't get left behind.
Get on board, be a part of it.
Come to the conference, learnall about it.
There's some significant, youknow, education that goes along
with that, as well as thenetworking.
So you know, for businesspeople, decision key, decision
makers in businesses, as Irecommend, come along, learn all
(23:44):
about it and get involved.
Paul (23:47):
Well, thank you, mate.
I appreciate it.
And what's the dates for theevent, please?
Damien (23:52):
So our site tour is on Monday 21st of August, followed
by two days of conference.
So 22nd and 23rd of August, twofull days of conference at
Melbourne Connect 700, swansonStreet, carlton.
Paul (24:05):
Excellent.
Damien (24:05):
And just get onto prefabozorgau and conference
page there and there's a linkthrough to joining the
conference.
Paul (24:14):
Brilliant, thank you.
Well, thanks for being on.
Definitely get an invite tocome back, I'm sure of that.
So maybe we'll talk aboutsomething that's related to
circular economy and adaptivereuse and recycle cycle.
Yeah, that'd be great.
Damien (24:29):
There's so much happening in that space and I
just think it's a that's wherewe should be focusing on.
You know, I think there's somuch opportunity there Brilliant
.
Thank you.
All right, all the best, pk.
Thanks for having me on.
See you at the conference in acouple of weeks' time.
No worries, thank you.
Music Ç you.
Good morning, good afternoon,all, good evening.
(00:51):
We're everyone in the worldtoday.
Welcome to the mass timberconstruction podcast.
It's Paul Kramer, back withanother special guest episode.
And today we have an extraspecial guest, the person I've
known for many, many years We'veworked together on the board at
Prefab Oz and coming up very,very soon is our national
offsite conference, offsite 23.
(01:12):
And to talk about all thingsprefabrication in Australia,
including some mass timberthrown in, is Damien.
Damien, do you want tointroduce yourself to the
audience and tell everyone whatyou do now and tell us a little
bit about what the conferencehas got coming up in store for
everyone in Australia?
Damien (01:30):
Yeah, thanks, pk, and great to be finally invited onto
the mass timber constructionpodcast.
I was wondering whether youwere ever going to invite me,
but thank you.
It's good to be here and I'mactually in country Victoria at
the moment and so hopefully thisconnection is okay.
(01:52):
It can be subject to a littlebit of dropping in and out, but
should be fine.
Yeah, so as you know, we'veworked together for a quite a
few years at Prefab Oz.
Prefab Oz is the peak industrybody for offsite construction in
Australia and 10 years ago thisyear, we founded Prefab Oz, and
(02:12):
we founded Prefab Oz at aMelbourne University linkage
grant event for the futureproofing schools program.
So that's where it all started.
10 years ago, a couple ofpeople like wanted people in the
same room formed a bit of asteering committee and then the
following year, in 2013, weincorporated as a nonprofit and
(02:37):
we've been working tirelesslyever since to promote offsite
construction and prefabricationand all the different building
techniques in Australia.
So, and it's really is anexciting time right now.
Other than that, I also haveadvanced offsite, which is my
(02:57):
specialist consultancy, and Iwork with builders and
developers and manufacturersaround, helping them with their
offsite capabilities andopportunities.
So yeah, that's also keeping mequite busy outside of the
Prefab Oz work and just been onthe road a bit today.
Actually I've been trying to getout and visit some of our new
(03:20):
members, which I always like todo, and today I was in
Shepparton visiting Gradianprojects.
So they're a new Prefab Ozmember and I've just on the way
back I've got to go to Ballarattomorrow to visit HUCX, so I
thought I'd just stop at thefarm in Heathgat and hang out
(03:40):
here and then also over to Klossin Geelong tomorrow as well see
how the factory set up's going.
So yeah, I think that's reallyexciting news.
They're still sort of movinginto that facility, setting it
all up down there in Geelong andthe old Ford plant.
But yeah, it's a lot going onand you know, I think getting
(04:04):
out to see the members is reallyan important part of the role
and also trying to, you know,find connections and
opportunities for new members tonetwork within the offsite and
Prefab sector.
So that's what I've beenfocusing on and it's good to be
here.
Paul (04:21):
You know, prefab Oz is pretty much founded on this idea
of trying to make Prefaboccasion a mainstream form of
construction.
And you know we've got lots ofinitiatives going on, anything
from working on the NCC, theNational Construction Code,
through to the Build Back Betterapproach which is happening in
(04:41):
Australia, and doing some workwith some advanced manufacturing
growth funds and centres aroundthat, and of course that's all
going to culminate in somereally important work that's
going to come together for theconference which is offsite 23.
Give us a bit of a taster forwhat you expect in the rundown
to offsite 23?
.
Damien (05:01):
Yeah, look, I'm really excited because one of the
things that we've been workingon at PrefabOz for the last 11
months what we call the BetterBuildings and Better Bottle
Lines program, which was an AMGCfunded project and what we did
is we went, we started inAdelaide in November last year
and we ran a workshop therewhere we presented a whole lot
(05:23):
of industry information and wehad a very interactive and
engaging session with theindustry.
So we had manufacturers, we hadmaterial suppliers, we had
architects, we had engineers,researchers, all in the room and
we did that then in Melbournein February, we did it in Sydney
in March and then we finishedoff in Brisbane in May this year
(05:44):
.
And all of that information andfeedback and industry input.
We took that and we put thatinto what we're calling Building
the Future we Want, and this isa roadmap and a report that
we've written and we're actuallygoing to be releasing this
myself and Lance Warrill, whowas my co-author and who helped
me run the workshops around thecountry.
(06:05):
So that's something I'm reallyexcited about.
It's been written in a way thatwe have produced 12 very strong
recommendations for theindustry and for government on
how to support and grow theindustry, and we've also
highlighted 19 key targetsbetween now and 2033.
So, looking ahead for the next10 years on, what are the
(06:28):
targets we should be trying toachieve for the industry and how
are we going to go about doingthat and what supports required?
So for me, that's one of thebig exciting things that we're
going to be doing.
There's so much happening at theconference and specifically in
the mass timber area as well,there really is a bit of a focus
, particularly on the second day.
(06:48):
So, well, you'll be there, mate.
You're hosting one of thesessions there.
We're going to be talking aboutthe Pines 15-story timber
office tower.
So Nigel Burden from ACOM isgoing to be talking about that.
So that'll be exciting.
There'll be a panel discussionwith you hosting, and we've got
(07:10):
Sean Bull from XLAM, we've gotKarl Heinz Weiss and a bit of an
industry legend who will bepart of that, as well as Nick
Hussin from Veriti.
So I think this is going to besome really good discussions and
some really great opportunitiesto engage with industry leaders
around these things.
And we've also got FraserPaxton talking a bit about his
(07:35):
experience to penalise timberconstruction in the residential
sector and how to get moreaffordability into that market.
So, yeah, I think there's hugeopportunities to come and listen
and learn all about differentaspects of the prefab industry.
Paul (07:50):
Yeah, and Pete Morrison is going to be there from Green
Timber Technology talking in themorning on the Tuesday morning
that is, and of course we haveour AGM coming up, so there's a
whole almost regulatorygovernance process which needs
to sort of intercept around theconference itself.
So it's one of the busiesttimes for us as an organisation.
(08:13):
It's great to have the MastTimber Focus Group forum
together in the conference there.
I really do appreciate that.
I think everyone that isinvolved in the sector
appreciates that.
And Fraser, he did his PhD atthe University of Melbourne
under the ARC and he's becomequite prominent in his own right
(08:34):
.
So it's great to see thesepeople traverse through the
industry and then get a stage atour conference, offsite 23.
You also got some other notablethings going on.
There's a tour that's going on.
Tell us about that tour thatyou've organised, because it
looks quite inviting for anyonethat hasn't considered signing
up for it yet.
Damien (08:55):
Yeah so, and actually numbers are limited too.
So if anyone's interested theyneed to jump on and get
registered as soon as possible.
But yeah, it's great toactually be back in Melbourne
because it's a lot easier toorganise the site tours.
We haven't been able to do them, obviously, with COVID etc.
For a few years and then beinginterstate just makes it a
(09:15):
little bit more challenging.
But we're back to doing sitetours, which we're really
excited about.
This year we're going to bevisiting the Sink Bathroom Pod
Factory, followed by a Mervakdisplay which is done all
modular by Modscape, and thenwe're going to finish up at the
Singapore Houses in Collingwood.
(09:36):
So architect Andrew Muir overthe last few decades has been
collecting the prefabricatedSingapore Houses which were
bought out to Australia for thegold rush in the 1800s and there
were thousands of them built.
He's an amazing guy.
He's assembled a couple ofthese on his property in
Collingwood and he's alsorestored another one which is
(09:59):
all in pieces ready to beassembled onto a specific site.
And you know, he's got all ofthe window frames, his repaired,
all of the bottom plates, topplates, all the roofing.
This guy is amazingly organised.
I wish I was as organised ashim.
He's got this building.
He's even got the originalnails to assemble these
(10:19):
buildings back together, all setout and ready to go, and so,
yeah, and the other thing isthey've put an application for
World Heritage Listing of thesebuildings, so they've currently
got an application in.
I actually attended the launcha couple of years ago and
they've got some great supportfor that.
But, yeah, we're really excitedto be able to come in and see
(10:43):
them and we're going to be ableto walk through one, which is
actually a tenancy, but thetenant is very accommodating and
he's letting us come into hishouse and have a look.
And, yeah, really, reallyinterested to see that.
I mean, these things are 200odd years old and they still
look fantastic.
So it just goes to show thatprefabrication and timber
(11:06):
panelised construction has beenaround for a long time and still
going strong.
Paul (11:10):
I was going to say there's the Singaporean hearts of made
of timber and they actually.
If you look at the image thatexists in the agenda of the
itinerary that's on our website,the prefabos website,
prefabosorg, you'll be able tosee one of the huts and it's an
impressive looking structure,given that it's how old it is,
(11:36):
and it's made from timber, whichwas a really nice connection
back to this podcast, and sothose tours are about to sort of
book out very soon, so you needto get in quick for that.
What about just generaladmission into the conference
itself?
Is there still ticketsavailable for that?
Damien (11:55):
Yes, there are still tickets available the ability to
register for the site visits,because you can't register
unless you've bought a ticket.
And there's only about 40 spots, so I think we've got 25
already filled.
So we need and where is it thisyear?
So this year the conference isat the Melbourne Connect
(12:15):
building, 700 Swanson Street,carlton.
So it's the brand new buildingthat replaced the old Carlton
Connect, which was the old RoyalWomen's Hospital.
So it's been through a fewlives, but they pulled that down
and built a brand new, amazingbuilding there and we're very
lucky enough to have access tothat.
So we definitely do appreciatethe support and connection that
(12:38):
Melbourne University have alwaysprovided for Prefab Boz, also
being one of the originalfounders of Prefab Boz.
So, yeah, that's where we'll be.
Nice and central tram straightto the city in five minutes and
plenty of good places to eat.
I've actually just found my newfavourite place, which is
Dragon Hot Pot.
I don't know if you've beenthere, but it's just across the
road.
It's amazing.
You go in have you been there?
(12:59):
You go in there and you getyour bucket and you fill it with
all your meats and vegetablesand tofu and then you choose
your noodles, and it'sridiculous.
I think I went a bit overboardlast time it was about $35 for a
noodle bowl, but you can getcarried away.
So, yeah, plenty of good placesto eat.
And we've got a couple ofnetworking functions.
(13:19):
We've got Monday evening, thenwe've got the one on the Tuesday
evening.
There's the Fleetwood ChallengeCup, which is the University
Challenge, and so this year wehad Curtin University with two
entries and Monash with one,near to the finals.
And we're also doing somethingdifferent this year for the
first time we're doing aPeople's Choice Award, so
everyone who attends theconference can vote on their
(13:42):
favourite out of the submissionsand we'll be awarding a
People's Choice to the winnersof that as well.
Paul (13:49):
And just for the audience, who are international, won't
know who Fleetwood is or whatthe Fleetwood Challenge Cup is,
can you give us a bit of ataster of what Fleetwood has
sponsored?
Fleetwood is a company thatdoes modular construction.
What is this challenge?
Damien (14:03):
What is the Cup?
So the Cup is aboutcollaboration and it's about
DFMA and it's about which isDesign for Manufacturing
Simulator and it's aboutlearning how the approach to
modular successful modularprojects is designing with
prefabrication in mind from thebeginning.
(14:24):
So what we recognise and I'verecognised this for a long time
is that a lot of people believethat prefabrication and off-site
construction is a bit of asilver bullet for a project.
You get to a point where youcan't make it work or let's go
and see if we can turn it into aprefab building.
That's just not the case.
(14:44):
I mean really the collaborationup front with the design team
and the builder and thedeveloper.
It really is a collaborativeapproach that needs to happen,
and so what we try to do isfoster that collaboration with
the design team.
So the universities have to puttogether a multi-disciplinary
team comprising of architects,engineers and construction
(15:07):
managers and they're given abrief and they have to come up
with a design response usingmodular construction for that
project.
And this is the 40 now, andwe've seen some really good
submissions over the years.
We seem to be it seems to begrowing each year and gaining a
lot more momentum, and thebenefit of this is that we now
(15:31):
have all of these young, smartkids from uni going out into the
industry with a whole lot ofknowledge about prefabrication,
off-site construction and designfor manufacturing, assembly and
the process that is involved inhow to, you know, really
undertake and deliver asuccessful prefab project.
So that was really the premiseof the project.
(15:53):
It was that we recognized therewas a need for more skills and
knowledge around designing forprefabrication at the front end
of a project.
Paul (16:04):
And having been a host and been, you know, in a review
panel for the Fleetwood Cupprobably the first year I think
we ran it the designs areimpressive.
Like you would not expect thequality that comes out from the
university students in theseinterdisciplinary teams to be at
that exceptional level, andit's always blown my mind as to
(16:27):
you know who the winner is andwhat they've actually been able
to achieve.
So we wish that all theentrants who have made it
through to the finals for theFleetwood Challenge Cup the best
of luck, and in a couple ofweeks time we'll know exactly
who has won that.
Damien (16:43):
So, yeah, looking forward to it.
Yeah, and they'll all be ondisplay too with the conference.
So there will be anotheropportunity to have a look at
the submissions and also do yourpeople's choice vote, so
that'll be great.
Another couple of aspects, too,are some of the work around the
design for manufacturerassembly and disassembly in
(17:05):
timber structures.
So we've got Lisa Oddenhousefrom UQ, who's going to be
talking about you know the workshe's doing in that aspect.
We also have CarsonDeath-Leftson from X-Frame,
which is a really unique timberframing system which is just
(17:26):
brand new to the market.
I think they've just completedtheir first few fit out projects
.
So that'll be interesting tohear about.
And we also have Lisa Curiefrom University of Queensland
about adaptable and scalablehousing in the timber sector.
So, yeah, look, lots of linksback to timber construction and
mass timber and panelized timber.
(17:47):
And you know, I guess the thingis we really appreciate the
diversity of the industry inAustralia.
We have, you know, such a good,strong timber prefab sector.
We've also got those who are inthe steel and concrete sectors
and I think some of the otherthings that we're starting to
(18:08):
recognize which is reallyinteresting and exciting is the
move now to the sort ofcomplementary use of materials
and where we're mixing differentmaterials in different projects
to get the best outcome for theprojects.
So, yeah, it's also somethingI'm interested to hear a bit
more about at the conference.
Paul (18:28):
Yeah, I think the big movement around the world right
now is that if we think thatcarbon is the measure of
sustainability and construction,then you know circular economy
is really one of the principlesand the drivers behind this and
this adaptive reuse and cradleto cradle.
And then how you measure that asa function of life cycle, how
(18:48):
you even rate buildings based ontheir adaptive reuse at end of
practicable life, of the firstlife of the building.
And then you have salvagingfrom demolition, repurposing and
using digital technology to beable to say, well, hang on, I've
got these elements that existin this building, let's
reconfigure those elements toproduce another building.
(19:10):
You know the world is so vastwhen you think about the
circular economy principles andapplying these to construction
that it's great to see thatwe're starting to get that
coming through in thepresentations and we're really
starting to lead at theforefront in prefabrication for
the circular economy, becausethere needed to be a change,
(19:32):
there needed to be a challenge,there needed to be a champion,
and it looks like our industrysector must.
Timber, steel, concrete,whatever material it is.
It's not necessarily thematerial type, it's agnostic to
that, it's the approach, and Ithink that's the thing that's
very different now.
Damien (19:49):
Yeah, and I think, being that it's now, you know, in the
curriculum of quite a fewuniversities, you're right.
I mean the circular economy.
For me it's about the designfor manufacture, assembly and
disassembly, reuse, repurposingand also, I think you know it
becomes building parts, thenbecome a commodity.
You know, you can.
(20:09):
They have value, they haveinherent value.
If they can be disassembled,reused, reconfigured, recycled,
then they have an inherent valueand I think that that is what
the circular economy should beabout.
No-transcript.
You know very much specific tocarbon and those sorts of things
.
I think the ability to reuse,recycle and also design
(20:31):
buildings for a much longerlifespan, you know that's where
we're gonna see a significantbenefit out of this approach.
Paul (20:38):
I know we've got some incredible sponsors who are on
board this year.
Unfortunately, I believe andcorrect me if I'm wrong we don't
have any more exhibition spacenecessarily available for people
on that mezzanine level right.
So who are our big that's?
Damien (20:54):
what's sold out?
Absolutely, yeah, sold out.
So, yeah, I just like torecognise our partners.
So Exlan, fleetwood, australia,cr Kennedy, blue Scope, goodwy,
metz, standards Australia, andnow exhibitors this year at
CombiLift CR Kennedy, dowellWindows and Doors, fleetwood,
(21:16):
m-modular Multi-Panel, pacificIrithanes, proclima, promat,
Vertex Systems and Exlan.
So it's a full exhibition andwe have some great sponsors
again supporting the industry.
So big shout out to them, asalways, because we couldn't do
this without them.
We are a non-profit industryorganisation and, yeah, this
(21:38):
allows us to do the work thatwe're doing.
Paul (21:40):
Yeah, it's great to see Exlan still leading the charge
there.
You know the May arrest inpeace.
Gary Corfield was really aquite prominent individual who
supported, you know, exlan beinga sponsor a pinnacle sponsor
for Prefab Oz many, many yearsago, and actually the
anniversary of his passing isonly in about four days' time.
(22:02):
So much respect to you, gary,for what you've done and the
legacy that you've left, andyou're still in memoriam on our
website.
And great to see Exlan beingpart of the sponsorship package
in the team leading the chargefor us.
Again, it fits in with thispodcast and mastibb construction
, so we couldn't be proud topromote the event based on that
very important sponsorship thatthey provide us.
(22:24):
So is there any last words thatyou want to give us, damien,
because we've run out of time,but love to see whether you want
to give us some words of wisdomto part around this conference
or Prefab Oz or anything else,that's in particular.
Damien (22:38):
Yeah, I just I think well, first of all, thank you
for having me on and I'd love tocome back again If you'll have
me.
But yeah, look, the conferencethis year, maybe not the
conference this year theconference this year it's our 10
years of Prefab Oz, you know,the industry has moved so much
in the last 10 years.
It's such a different industry.
(22:59):
You know it was, you know,talking about Prefab and Offsite
10 years ago.
It was a real struggle, it wasa real challenge.
Now it's at the forefront ofeverybody's discussion.
It's like, you know, withwhat's happened with COVID, with
supply chains, with labourcosts, et cetera.
It's everyone's pointing to itas you know, the next or the
(23:21):
only way for it really.
So, look, if you're not part ofthe conversation, you're just
not going to be in theconversation.
So don't get left behind.
Get on board, be a part of it.
Come to the conference, learnall about it.
There's some significant, youknow, education that goes along
with that, as well as thenetworking.
So you know, for businesspeople, decision key, decision
makers in businesses, as Irecommend, come along, learn all
(23:44):
about it and get involved.
Paul (23:47):
Well, thank you, mate.
I appreciate it.
And what's the dates for theevent, please?
Damien (23:52):
So our site tour is on Monday 21st of August, followed
by two days of conference.
So 22nd and 23rd of August, twofull days of conference at
Melbourne Connect 700, swansonStreet, carlton.
Paul (24:05):
Excellent.
Damien (24:05):
And just get onto prefabozorgau and conference
page there and there's a linkthrough to joining the
conference.
Paul (24:14):
Brilliant, thank you.
Well, thanks for being on.
Definitely get an invite tocome back, I'm sure of that.
So maybe we'll talk aboutsomething that's related to
circular economy and adaptivereuse and recycle cycle.
Yeah, that'd be great.
Damien (24:29):
There's so much happening in that space and I
just think it's a that's wherewe should be focusing on.
You know, I think there's somuch opportunity there Brilliant
.
Thank you.
All right, all the best, pk.
Thanks for having me on.
See you at the conference in acouple of weeks' time.
No worries, thank you.
Music Ç you.
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