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Don't Underestimate the Impact of Being Proactive!

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    Don't Underestimate the Impact of Being Proactive! One of the most interesting things I've seen come out of the introduction of BCA A2.2(4) last year is the light it has shed on the importance of deliberate and proactive design choices. Furthermore, it has exposed a considerable misunderstanding amongst practitioners of how compliance with the NCC is actually achieved. With the requirements for the performance based design brief and formalization of the technical analysis process, design practitioners need to make active decisions early in the design development on how to tackle compliance - deemed to satisfy, performance solution, or a combination of both. This decision making early in the process is critical to ensure smooth sailing come building permit application time.  Gone are the days where a performance (or "alternative") solution was often the result of finding a way of making designs "work" when the deemed to satisfy provisions could not be co...
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Don't Be Tempted by False Economies

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Snapshot: What to Expect from NCC 2022 Volume 2

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    Snapshot: What to Expect from NCC 2022 Volume 2  Whilst the preview of NCC 2022 is not due for release until 09 May 2022 (and later for energy efficiency and condensation matters) and adoption delayed until 01 September 2022, there's no time like the present to start wrapping our heads around what to expect. There are some big changes proposed and an adjustment period to really understand and correctly apply the provisions is a necessity.  Transitional periods are always challenging. It takes time for all practitioners to fully comprehend the impact changes have on designs and regulatory assessments.  There is also a new referencing system. So, for some time you'll need to be able move between the two systems - documentation notations, building permit referencing, etc. The actual logistics of transitioning a building permitting system is sizeable, particularly where applications under NCC 2019 are still active. Summary of Changes Based on the draft published...
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Got the Building Permit Blues?

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Got the Building Permit Blues... Sounds like the headlining number for most designers and builders these days. The increasing demand on building practitioners is being felt at all levels and it's having serious consequences on project outcomes and stakeholder relations. Whilst there's no one single reason to this industry wide headache, anecdotally, the primary sources of pain seem to be the perpetual regulatory changes, increasing levels of required documentation and inconsistent interpretations of the regulations. There's a great divide between the building permit application stakeholders and the relevant building surveyor. The Building Surveyor On 01 January 2021, the VBA released the first Code of Conduct for Building Surveyors. The Code of Conduct was introduced to establish a baseline for the professional conduct of building surveyors and an avenue of enforcement for inappropriate conduct. According to the VBA, the ultimate goal of the Code is to improve safety and ov...
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