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Full-Text Articles in Architecture
Using Purchasing Power Parity To Assess Construction Productivity, Rick Best
Using Purchasing Power Parity To Assess Construction Productivity, Rick Best
Rick Best
For many reasons comparing construction productivity between countries is a difficult task. One key problem is that of converting construction costs to a common currency. This problem can be overcome relatively simply by using a basket of construction materials and labour, termed a BLOC (Basket of Locally Obtained Commodities), as a unit of construction cost. Average BLOC costs in each location are calculated from data obtained from a number of sources (quantity surveyors, estimators). Typical building costs obtained from published construction cost data are expressed in BLOC equivalents. Lower BLOC equivalents represent higher productivity as other inputs (largely materials) are …
Assessing Occupant Comfort In An Iconic Sustainable Education Building, Rick Best, Brian Purdey
Assessing Occupant Comfort In An Iconic Sustainable Education Building, Rick Best, Brian Purdey
Rick Best
The building that houses the Mirvac School of Sustainable Development at Bond University is the first educational building to achieve a six Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. It has won numerous awards since opening in August 2008 including being judged the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Sustainable Building of 2009. After more than two years in use a post-occupancy evaluation study was carried out to assess the performance of the building from the viewpoint of the users; both resident staff and transient students. Results for factors such as lighting, thermal comfort, noise and air …
International Comparisons Of Cost And Productivity In Construction: A Bad Example, Rick Best
International Comparisons Of Cost And Productivity In Construction: A Bad Example, Rick Best
Rick Best
In a report published in June 2012 the Business Council of Australia (BCA) reported that it costs considerably more to build a variety of types of infrastructure in Australia than it does in the US. Airports (90 per cent more costly) and hospitals (62 per cent) were quoted as the worst cases with other projects ranging from 26 to 43 per cent more. They used these figures to conclude that Australia is a high cost, low productivity environment for building infrastructure projects. These claims were based on cost/m2 figures published by a major international construction consultancy. The method used by …
Specifying And Sourcing Materials For Best Practice Sustainable Education Facility, Rick Best
Specifying And Sourcing Materials For Best Practice Sustainable Education Facility, Rick Best
Rick Best
The new building that houses the Mirvac School of Sustainable Development at Bond University (Australia), opened in June 2008, is the first education building in Australia to receive a rating of six Green Stars under the Green Building Council of Australia's environmental rating scheme. It was awarded the RICS Sustainability prize for 2009. The building features a wide range of techniques and initiatives that combine to make the building a landmark for sustainable design and building in Australia and beyond. Central to the design is a range of technologies including extensive use of recycled materials, particularly Australian hardwood, onsite power …