WOBO appreciates the information and support provided by the Australian Building Codes Board and Create Digital
Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB)
Submissions close on 29 August 2025
The ABCB is seeking comments and feedback from the public on the development and delivery of:
- a National Voluntary Certification Scheme for Manufacturers of Modern Methods of Construction
- nationally consistent definitions for modern methods of construction to be included in the National Construction Code.
Hearing from people with industry knowledge is critical to the development of the Scheme.
There’s 4 weeks left to share your views! Read the issues paper and submit your feedback now via the Consultation Hub.
To align the NCC with the recent changes to the Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards 2010 (Premises Standards), we have published NCC 2022 Amendment 2.
The purpose of the Premises Standards is to ensure people with disability have equal access to public buildigns. The Premises Standards was amended on 23 November 2024 and includes reference to the 2021 edition of ‘AS 1428.1 Design for access and mobility’. The relevant disallowance period expired on 28 July 2025. Therefore, the amendment to the Premises Standards has taken effect as of 29 July 2025.
Geodesic domes have been celebrated for their exceptional strength-to-weight ratio – but aren’t always practical.
“The world of tomorrow is here today”: Is there a future for the geodesic dome?
Geodesic domes have been celebrated for their exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and dismissed for their impracticalities. Does this space-age structure have a use in the present day?
Nestled in a claypit carved from the gentle green hills of the United Kingdom’s far south-west lies a cluster of bulbous, semi-translucent structures, standing between 35-55 m high.
This is the Eden Project, an ambitious tourist attraction completed in 2000 amid the new millennium’s spirit of sci-fi optimism, and which, in its inter-linked ethylene tetrafluroethylene co-polymer bubbles, encases eight distinct, climate-controlled biomes.
But if ever the structure’s aesthetic elegance might be in doubt – it appears both essential to the surrounding landscape and utterly alien to it, like a sheet of enormous bubble wrap draped over the countryside – its engineering has an elegance all of its own.
An exercise in efficiency
“Designing the biomes was an exercise in efficiency, both of space and material,” noted Grimshaw, the architectural firm responsible for the project.
“Structurally, each dome is a hex-tri-hex space frame reliant on two layers. The efficiency of the frame relies on the components of the geometric shapes: steel tubes and joints that are light, relatively small and easily transportable.”
This material efficiency and the distinct retro-futurism of the complex’s construction are not coincidental. The Eden Project’s biomes are based on the 1950s-era creations of Robert Buckminster Fuller, a charismatic American inventor who was part huckster and part visionary.
When climate action stresses the grid
We map out possible futures for global emissions – and how fuel and electricity demand could soon outstrip supply. – A data-led exploration of different energy transition scenarios.
The planet is warming – and the imperative to transition to cleaner, greener energy sources has never been clearer. With the help of an environmental engineer, create maps out possible futures for global emissions, and how fuel and electricity demand could soon outstrip supply.
The charte will be familiar to anyone who’s paid attention to the climate discussion, especially after the Paris Agreement was signed in 2016.
The data is drawn from the Global Renewable Energy and Sectoral Electrification (GREaSE) model published by Hopeward et al. (2025), based on projections of population growth, industrial activity and climate policy positions.
The graph presents how cumulative global emissions of carbon from burning fossil fuels, in gigatons, could change over the rest of this century, depending on the strength of the world’s action on emissions reduction.
Care delivery: Engineering best-in-class healthcare
What does it take to engineer a best-in-class hospital? It’s about more than just construction; it’s about creating a legacy of innovation and care.
Already shaping up to be a global exemplar in modern hospital design, Webuild’s New Women and Babies Hospital project brings the most innovative engineering from around the world to Perth.
When Webuild was appointed by the WA Government as Managing Contractor for the New Women and Babies Hospital project in May, it represented much more than a stamp of approval for the international infrastructure group. It also represented a significant step forward for healthcare delivery and hospital infrastructure in WA, says Joel Stringer, Webuild’s Executive Vice President Operations – Buildings and Project Director for the hospital.
Just as importantly, in the engineering space it has enabled a coming together of international capabilities and best-practices from other hospital builds around the world.
“Webuild has delivered over 200 healthcare facilities globally, adding up to around 27,000 beds,” Stringer says. “We have a long history of delivering healthcare solutions in over 50 countries.”
Webuild’s global subject matter expert, Director Product Engineering – Buildings, Dr Andrea Zamperetti, is based in Milan, has a PhD in healthcare design and will be involved in design and planning. One of Dr Zamperetti’s team members has been brought to Australia to help with the project.
At the same time, a large local workforce including a leading team of engineers has been engaged to ensure the project leaves a legacy of highly skilled healthcare infrastructure professionals.
What is engineered into a modern hospital? Best practice healthcare innovation comes in three forms, Stringer says.
Climate resilience
“Engineering is really that first line of defence,” he says. “It’s about selecting durable, climate-fit materials and systems that are fit for purpose and fit for the local climactic conditions. Thermal and air quality resilience is of major importance, including the HVAC system’s filtering.”
“Then, of course, there are simple things like water and energy system, design to resist disruption to ensure patient wellbeing, and the protection of critical services.”
Social equity
“This is about ensuring the engineering systems are as inclusive as possible. So, if we talk about lifts, way finding, duress systems, etc., they must suit various types of mobility, language groups and different cultural contexts.”
“It’s also making sure we’re designing for decentralised care, for telehealth and making sure medical teams can service people that aren’t on the campus. We need safe, culturally secure infrastructure.”
“Webuild does a lot of Public Private Partnerships (PPP). When you’re designing for a PPP, you have to design for maximum duration, prioritising durable systems efficiency to reduce long-term maintenance costs.”
“We must deliver future impact through innovative engineering, making sure BIM systems and the service of the plant and equipment are clearly aligned, so we can see how different systems are performing and predict maintenance digitally, for example. And it must be truly future ready, meaning modularity and scalability are built in for when the facility grows or patient flows change.”
The evolving role of engineers
The broad range of priorities and responsibilities in such a build mean the role of the engineer can no longer be a narrowly technical one.
Every engineer involved in the project will have to be collaborative and creative, with a role that centres as much around community engagement as it does around nuts and bolts, Stringer says.
“Engineers of today can’t be one-dimensional,” he says. “There’s so much responsibility now that we need well-rounded individuals in the role of engineers. That’s one of the reasons we engage so heavily at the university level, to make sure we’re playing our part in growing this capability.”
The physical reality of Webuild’s project presence in Perth – a floor in the QV1 building shared by the WA Government, consultants on the project and other contractors – reflects this collaborative necessity.
Heat-resistant homes
New coatings are advancing the age-old practice of white roofs for passive cooling.
Light-coloured roofs are one of the oldest cooling techniques in the book, but a new generation of materials is promising to be even better at beating the heat.
From the white-washed houses of the Greek islands, to Bermuda’s white limestone roofs, to corrugated light Colorbond on Queenslanders, homes in hot climates have long relied on light colours to keep cool.
And with good reason. On a hot summer day, the sun can heat a black roof to as high as 90°C, while a white roof might reach only half that temperature. This can easily translate to as much as 5°C difference inside the house, increasing comfort and cutting cooling costs.
When it comes to roof coatings, there are two main factors affecting how much heat it gains from sun – solar reflectance (or albedo) and thermal emittance.
Most black roofs absorb 95 per cent of solar radiation, giving them a reflectance of 0.05. Traditional white paints, with titanium dioxide pigment, have a reflectance of between 0.8 and 0.9.
Of course, more than half the solar spectrum is made up of invisible near-infrared (NIR) light. By using pigments and binders that are highly reflective of NIR light, coloured coatings can be made much cooler. For instance, there exist cool black coatings with reflectances five times higher than traditional black paints, meaning they are heated significantly less by the sun.