The provision of visitable housing in Australia: Down to the detail

In response to the ratification of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD), Australian housing industry leaders, supported by the Australian Government, committed to transform their practices voluntarily through the adoption of a national guideline, called Livable Housing Design. They set a target in 2010 that all new housing would be visitable by 2020. Research in this area suggests that the anticipated voluntary transformation is unrealistic and that mandatory regulation will be necessary for any lasting transformation to occur. It also suggests that the assumptions underpinning the Livable Housing Design agreement are unfounded. This paper reports on a study that problematised these assumptions. The study used eleven newly-constructed dwellings in three housing contexts in Brisbane, Australia. It sought to understand the logics-of-practice in providing, and not providing, visitable housing. By examining the specific details that make a dwelling visitable, and interpreting the accounts of builders, designers and developers, the study identified three logics-of-practice which challenged the assumptions underpinning the Livable Housing Design agreement: focus on the point of sale; an aversion to change and deference to external regulators on matters of social inclusion. These were evident in all housing contexts indicating a dominant industry culture regardless of housing context or policy intention. The paper suggests that financial incentives for both the builder and the buyer, demonstration by industry leaders and, ultimately, national regulation is a possible pathway for the Livable Housing Design agreement to reach the 2020 goal. The paper concludes that the Australian Government has three options: to ignore its obligations under the CRPD; to revisit the Livable Housing Design agreement in the hope that it works; or to regulate the housing industry through the National Construction Code to ensure the 2020 target is reached.

Associated schools of construction of southern Africa infrastructure design and delivery workshop - Report. CIB task group 91 infrastructure

This workshop comprised a diverse group of African construction experts, ranging far wider than RSA. Each of the attendees had attended the annual ASOCSA conference and was additionally provided with a short workshop pre-brief. The aim was to develop a view of their 15-20 year vision of construction improvement in RSA and the steps necessary to get there. These included sociological, structural, technical and process changes. Whilst some suggestions are significantly challenging, none are impossible, given sufficient collaboration between government, industry, academia and NGOs. The highest priority projects (more properly, programmes) were identified and further explored. These are: 1. Information Hub (‘Open Africa’). Aim – to utilise emerging trends in Open Data to provide a force for African unity. 2. Workforce Development. Aim – to rebuild a competent, skilled construction industry for RSA projects and for export. 3. Modular DIY Building. Aim – to accelerate the development of sustainable, cost-efficient and desirable housing for African economic immigrants and others living in makeshift and slum dwellings. Open Data is a maturing theme in different cities and governments around the world and the workshop attendees were very keen to seize such a possibility to assist in developing an environment where Africans can share information and foster collaboration. It is likely that NGOs might be keen to follow up such an initiative. There are significant developments taking place around the world in the construction sector currently, with comparatively large savings being made for taxpayers (20% plus in the UK). Not all of these changes would be easy to transplant to RSA (even more so to much of the rest of Africa). Workforce development was a keen plea amongst the attendees, who seemed concerned that expertise has leaked away and is not being replaced with sufficient intensity. It is possible today to develop modular buildings in such a way that even unskilled residents can assist in their construction, and even their appropriate design. These buildings can be sited nearly autonomously from infrastructures, thus relieving the tensions on cities and townships, whilst providing humane accommodation for the economically disadvantaged. Development of suitable solutions could either be conducted with other similarly stressed countries or developed in-country and the expertise exported. Finally, it should be pointed out that this was very much a first step. Any opportunity to collaborate from an Australian, QUT or CIB perspective would be welcomed, whilst acknowledging that the leading roles belong to RSA, CSIR, NRF, ASOCSA and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Teollisuuden ja yhteiskunnan palveluksessa : Arkkitehti Bertel Liljequist (1885 - 1954) tuotantolaitosten suunnittelijana maailmansotien välisenä aikana

My thesis concerns the plans drawn up by architect Bertel Liljequist (1885 1954) for an industrial corporation and a city in Finland during the interwar years. These were two quite different clients: the Kymi Company operating in Kuusankoski and the City of Helsinki. My study includes the micro-examination of the wider social issues involved. That the industrial community and factories in Kuusankoski be constructed correctly in a way supporting corporate strategy was of primary importance for the company s operations. Through the planning process for Helsinki s abattoirs, I show how a city dealt with the twin problems of hygiene and increasing demand for food resulting from a growth in population. I clarify how society and its economic, political and class structures affected the practice of architecture and its expression in the built environment. I analyse how the different backgrounds and starting points of the clients affected the construction projects under study and architect Bertel Liljequist s work. In studying Liljequist as an industrial designer, I have considered it vital to ascertain the client s intentions and objectives within the framework of the prevailing social situation. I examine the meanings the client wished the architecture to express and also to communicate to those working in the factory and the area as well as to the workers living on company land. The social outlook of the owners and management of Kymi Company implicitly affected the appearance of the factory. A brick fairface for the factories was a safe and natural material at the beginning of the 1920s when taking into consideration the events of the 1918 Civil War. To have built a White factory in the style of a defence building would have been provocative. Outside the factory gates, however, the company supported White architecture. The company used the factory buildings to manifest its power and the dwellings to bind the workers and make them loyal to the company. Architecture was thus one way in which the company manifested its position as the higher and undisputed authority. The role of the City of Helsinki within the planning process was for its officials to provide expert opinions but also to arrange study trips for the architect and the abattoir s general manager. The city also decided on the standard of the design. The city s responsibility for the health of its inhabitants and the requirements of modern meat production can be seen in the minimal architecture and clear functionality of the plant. The architecture left no doubt about the trustworthiness of the modern city. Translation: Michael Wynne-Ellis

The impact of private and shared open space on liveability in subtropical apartment buildings

The study explores the relationship between open space design, factors impacting open space provision, and resident satisfaction with open space in multistorey apartment buildings in the context of the subtropical lifestyle and climate of Brisbane Australia. The purpose of the paper is to identify the specific physical and spatial design characteristics residents perceive to be important in open spaces associated with their private dwellings and with shared open spaces. Firsthand resident evaluations of everyday experiences of residing in inner urban high density environments are explored through a survey of 636 residents and interviews with 24 residents. Private balconies are highly valued, but residents’ satisfaction would be enhanced by spaciousness for diverse activities, privacy and climate responsive design. Communal spaces and facilities are used infrequently by many residents who prefer interactions with community outside of the building. This is related to preferences for a level of anonymity in a setting where privacy is difficult to achieve due to physical proximity of neighbours.

A journey access tool to facilitate better health outcomes for people with disabilities

- Background One of the three objectives of the WHO Global Disability Action Plan 2014–2021 is removal of barriers and improved access to health services and programmes. Access to transport contributes to positive health outcomes; however, people with disabilities leaving their dwellings are confronted with barriers to their mobility. Mobility restrictions, sensory or other disabilities increase their vulnerability as road users, exposing them to higher risks of injury. PHSW and CARRS-Q have been collaborating with Handicap International Cambodia (HIC) on a Journey Access Tool (JAT). - Aims Use of the JAT is to (1) Identify transport and journey safety and barriers for people with disability and (2) Evaluation and modification of the tool after trailing to for use by NGOs and government agencies in prioritising actions around barriers. - Methodology The tool has undergone initial proof-of-concept testing in India and Viet Nam, and was trialled in Cambodia in February and May, 2015. Five teams were formed comprising a person with disability (physical, sensory or intellectual), researchers from QUT, staff from HIC, and local university students. The JAT was completed by each team and then discussed and evaluated. Two further Cambodian trials are scheduled for 2015. - Results The JAT is responsive to rural and urban contexts, and has utility for people with different disabilities. Two tools have been developed: a short version for people with a disability to complete independently, or with assistance; and a version for NGOs, DPOs and government. The tool has efficacy for advocacy.   - Conclusion The JAT has potential to assist the Mekong region with: (1) evaluating access for people with disability and other vulnerable members of the community including older people; (2) developing plans for changes to the routes in consultation with local authorities; (3) evaluating the effectiveness of implemented changes in terms of access and health; (4) inputting into policy; (5) The tool can be used for advocacy for change.

Developments in termite management in Queensland, Australia: Life after Cyclodienes (Isoptera)

The highly persistent cyclodiene (organochlorine) insecticides (aldrin, dieldrin, chlordane and heptachlor), the main termiticides used in Australia for 30 years, were withdrawn from use in most of Australia on 30 June 1995. Alternative strategies for subterranean termite management in buildings and other structures had been under development, well before this withdrawal. Here we focus on these and subsequent developments in subterranean termite management, relevant to Queensland, including a national survey, relevant building regulations, approvals and changes in the Australian Standards on termite management. Developments including a national training and competency-based-licensing system for pest managers, insurance of dwellings against termite damage and several alternative termite management strategies are discussed. An integrated approach to termite management is the likely direction for the future in Australia, minimising reliance on chemical sprays and drenches. There will be an increased need for physical barriers in improved building design and reliable preventative and remedial treatments involving bait technology. The need for research on termite biology and, in particular, foraging behavior is emphasized yet again.

Naiset rajalla : Kyöpeli, Nainen, Naara(s), Neitsyt, Morsian, Akka ja Ämmä Suomen paikannimissä

Women at the boundary. Kyöpeli ( ghost, devil, elf, fairy, enchantress, witch ), Nainen ( woman ), Naara(s) ( female animal, derogatory term for a woman ), Neitsyt ( young, [virgin] woman ), Morsian ( bride ), Akka ( old woman, wife, grandmother ) and Ämmä ( [old] woman, wife, grandmother ) in Finnish place names This study examines a total of about 4,000 Finnish place names which include a specific that refers to a woman: Kyöpeli, Nainen, Naara(s), Neitsyt, Morsian, Akka or Ämmä. The study has two main objectives. First, to interpret the place names in the data, that is, to examine the words included in the data and establish their background and to differentiate names of different ages. In establishing the background of a name, the type of place (e.g. lake, hill or marsh) and its location, as well as the semantics of the feminine specific, are taken into account. The connotations of words referring to a woman are also studied. Words that refer to a woman are often affective and susceptible to changes in meaning, which is reflected in the history of place names. The second main objective is to recognise and highlight mythological place names. Mythology is pivotal for the interpretation of many place names with a feminine specific. The criteria for mythological names have not been explicitly discussed in Finnish onomastics until now, and I seek to determine such criteria in this study with the help of the data. Mythological place names often refer to large and significant natural localities, which are in many cases important boundaries for the community. Names for smaller localities may also be mythological if they refer to a place with a key location or a special topography (e.g. steep or rocky places). I also discuss the stories involved with specific places in the data, such as stories about supernatural beings. Each of the name groups discussed in the study has its own profile. For example, Naara(s) names are so old that naara is no longer understood to refer to a woman. These names have thus often been misinterpreted in onomastics. Names beginning with Morsian, on the other hand, appear to be of fairly recent origin and may be attributed to an international cautionary tale. Names beginning with Nais, Neitsyt, Akka and Ämmä highlight the duality of the data. They include both old names for important natural localities or boundaries and more recent names for modest dwellings, small cultivated areas and useless marshy ponds. This distribution of place names may reflect a cultural shift that changed the status of women in the community.

Proekt tipovogo samannogo doma pod gontovoǐ krysheǐ dli︠a︡ evreǐskikh pereselent︠s︡ev obsluzhzhivaemykh "Agro-dzhoǐntom"

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Plan poselka "Poltavt︠s︡y"

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Proekt tipovogo 2-kh kvartirnogo pereselencheskogo doma

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Proekt tipovogo 4-kh kvartirnogo pereselencheskogo doma

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Proekt tipovogo doma dli︠a︡ pereselencheskikh uchastkov obsluzhivaemykh Agrodzhoĭntom

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Proekt doma

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Tipovoĭ zhiloĭ dom pereselent︠s︡ev evreev Khersonskogo okruga po planu stroitelʹstva 1926 goda

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Proekt glinobytnogo doma tipa 7.50x4.00

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