Foreword: In November 2018, one of Australia’s leading offsite manufacturers in the residential market, Strongbuild, went into voluntary administration. In response, DFC Australia Managing Director Alexia Lidas shares her thoughts on the status of innovation in the market. Researching and sharing, listening and learning from colleagues over coffee: that’s how I spend a lot of … Continued
When I stepped into the role of president of tvsdesign in January 2017, I was only the third person to hold that position since we opened for business in 1968. Having been a leader at tvsdesign as a studio principal, I was already deeply passionate about the firm, and understood the challenges and opportunities I … Continued
In 2015, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) research facility, conducted a study for DOE on buildings of the future and developed a vision framework. Five key building interactions were considered, based on the roles a building should and could play in the future: • Building and environment • Building … Continued
David Ronksley—managing director of C2R Consulting (a DFC Australia member firm)— talked with Mark Farmer, founding director and CEO of Cast Consultancy, about the future of construction. This is part two in a two-part series David Ronksley (DR): So, to go back to the offsite construction challenge, what remains the biggest barrier? Mark Farmer (MF): … Continued
As a venture capitalist, I believe creating a more sustainable environment is an investment opportunity that is not only profitable, but necessary for our future. Our physical world is under increasing pressure, and not living sustainably now will perpetuate future problems. For example, today the largest contributor to landfills is construction waste. The operation of … Continued
Up until now, we in A/E/C have spent our careers working through a layer of abstraction—a two-dimensional screen. We design and build something that is three dimensional, but the 2D screen acts as the interface between us and what we’re designing. Removing the 2D layer of abstraction has proven to be an effective solution and … Continued
A recurring question about any professional school is “What is the primary goal of the education process?” Are universities supposed to equip students with a foundational knowledge of a profession or are they supposed to prepare a student for practice and exploration? Or, as most of us now practicing have learned to ask, “Is architecture … Continued
Thornton Tomasetti is a 1,500-person E/A firm with the audacious goal to be the global driver of change and innovation in our industry. To accomplish this, we need to be ambidextrous. What that means is we need to focus on our current business and results while at the same time, make relevant bets to insure … Continued
The design profession, in its many guises, is resolutely optimistic. For a designer, no challenge is so large that he or she can’t develop a solution that will both overcome it and enhance the human experience. Yet, given the recent onslaught of disheartening news regarding climate change, maintaining such optimism becomes something of a daily … Continued
Alexia Lidas
Janet Simpson
Dr. Nora Wang
Mark Farmer and David Ronksley
Jesse Devitte
Joel Pennington
Troy Thompson & Dave Ferguson
Ray Daddazio
Rives Taylor & Brenden Jackson