SBE Australia offers a unique industry-government-research collaboration to improve Australia’s built environment industry. The three research streams focus on environmental, social and economic sustainability, areas identified by national industry stakeholders as the key areas that will drive productivity and industry development in the built environment industry.
Population ageing requires a structural shift in the way policymakers and practitioners think about housing. There is presently a mismatch between Australia’s housing stock and...
2025 - 2028
In the era of climate change awareness and sustainable development, accurate carbon accounting has become imperative for businesses and governments alike.
2025 - 2027
In the era of climate change awareness and sustainable development, accurate carbon accounting has become imperative for businesses and governments alike.
2026 - 2027
This project will identify and evaluate innovative design strategies and technology-agnostic solutions to enhance energy security, decarbonisation and climate resilience in regional communities.
2025 - 2026
The project will make a significant contribution by establishing a consistent circular economy framework for the built environment. This clarity will enable businesses and industries to develop realistic action plans and targets for their circular economy initiatives.
2024 - 2026
The building and infrastructure sectors are under significant scrutiny from regulators, investors, and the public to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and social responsibility.
2024 - 2026
In the era of climate change awareness and sustainable development, accurate carbon accounting has become imperative for businesses and governments alike.
2024 - 2026
This project will investigate the challenges and opportunities in scaling social and affordable housing delivery. By identifying the potentials for improving construction practices, overcoming supply chain hurdles, and enhancing the stakeholders’ decision making, strategic recommendations will be developed to facilitate cost-effective delivery of social housing project at scale.
2024 - 2026
This project aims at designing and implementing a pilot program which will contribute to the development of the entire industry supply chain for hydrogen fuelled heavy haul vehicles in WA, including hydrogen production, transportation, refuelling infrastructure and vehicle marketing.
2022 - 2025
Built assets are responsible for 50% of resource consumption, 36% of energy consumption and 38% of energy-related carbon emissions.
2023 - 2024
To address current critical challenges facing the social and affordable (SAH) sector, this research will investigate the potential of Build-to-Rent (BtR) to increase the supply of rental housing in Australia including the practicability of seeking to secure a portion of social and/or affordable housing through multi-sector partnerships.
2023 - 2024
This project aims to drive reductions of embodied carbon in the Australian built environment by leveraging organisations’ purchasing power and enhancing their procurement processes and practices.
2023 - 2024
This project will identify strategies to enhance the economic and environmental performance of projects using products with recycled and recyclable content;
2023 - 2024
To develop a governance and procurement model that integrates public and private interests into the delivery of mid-tier transit corridors and station precincts along main road corridors, as part of the journey to net zero cities.
2023 - 2024
This project aims to address industry challenges with a focus on sustainable energy solutions. It will study two key areas; the design of efficient and cost-effective networked renewable energy and hydrogen microgrids for regional/remote and national park applications, and decarbonisation of construction materials, sites, and processes, as well as the promotion of low-carbon building products.
2023 - 2024
This project is funded partially by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council.
2021 - 2024
This project will build on previous projects related to mid-tier transit solutions, activated transit corridors and housing diversity.
2021 - 2023
The project will make a significant contribution to the construction industry by enhancing the use of products with recycled content.
2021 - 2023
Digital engineering in the built environment has been the subject of changing practice and research for years and life-cycle consideration of the usefulness of the digital models has attracted much attention.
2021 - 2023
This project aims to develop sustainable and resilient construction supply chain capabilities, especially for SMEs in Australia to bridge the gap between supply chain capabilities and client expectations.
2021 - 2023
The current social and affordable housing (SAH) market is facing several challenges relating to persistent issues around long waiting lists and homelessness.
2021 - 2023
This project seeks to investigate through a proof-of-concept approach the potential for near real-time data to be securely exchanged between freight operators and transport agencies through a trusted intermediary in a manner that delivers mutual benefit.
2021 - 2023
It is clear that through advances in small scale renewable energy generation and storage, the energy sector has changed forever, and more specifically that a centralised energy system is no longer suited as the basis for a city or a nation’s energy supply system.
2020 - 2022
This project is funded partially by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council.
2019 - 2022
Digital engineering in the built environment has been the subject of changing practice and research for years and is often complicated by inconsistency in data standards from various stakeholders.
2020 - 2021
Ensuring liveability and accessibility in medium to high density urban housing and precincts in our cities is critical to maximise investment and minimise future risks to our community.
2019 - 2021
There is an increasing community expectation to support sustainable products and practices through the billions spent by government and industry in their commercial operations.
2020 - 2021
This project aims to help deliver the new concept of Transit Activated Corridors (TAC’s) which are main road corridors refurbished to provide higher capacity new technology transit integrated with higher density urban regeneration and affordable housing projects.
2020 - 2021
This project seeks to develop a national understanding of the operation and capacity of existing end markets for C&D waste in Australian jurisdictions.
2020 - 2021
Freight vehicles depend on and impact the transport network, however a reluctance to exchange data has led to little interaction between the two systems, resulting in missed opportunities to gain efficiencies.
2020 - 2021
This project is funded partially by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council.
2018 - 2021
The primary aim of this project is to develop new techniques in creating cyber infrastructure, for bridges in particular, to improve current performance assessment and future capacity estimation.
2017 - 2020
Lifecycle thinking has significant potential for improving the delivery, maintenance and operation of facilities. Industry disaggregation, poor marketing of the value and disparate market drivers have limited the potential for greater uptake along the supply chain.
2018 - 2020
A holistic national approach is required to handle the growing issue of construction and demolition (C&D) waste management in Australia.
2018 - 2020
Australian cities are going through a transition, with a clear priority to make more productive, sustainable, liveable centres.
2018 - 2020
This project will explore a range of digitally-driven opportunities and challenges in seeking to get cities moving and functioning better;
2018 - 2020
This research will map the social and affordable housing sector in Australia, to help improve the productivity, effectiveness and efficiency of the system and thus enhance access.
2018 - 2019
This project will innovatively integrate a decision support system, virtual design and construction, and onsite monitoring into one dynamic planning system to significantly improve construction site productivity.
2015 - 2019
The disparity found between the predicted energy consumption in the design stage of buildings and the actual energy use during operation is known as the energy performance gap.
2017 - 2019
CONie is the proposed common name for a specification for information exchange for horizontal infrastructure. The name is drawn from the universally accepted equivalent specification for vertical infrastructure named COBie (Construction to Operations for Building information exchange).
2017 - 2019
Non-conforming building products (NCBPs) have been of concern to regulatory authorities for a number of years but most of the collected data to date has been largely ad-hoc in nature.
2018
Asset management in the built environment has been the subject of changing practice and research for years and is often complicated by inconsistency in measuring and monitoring the condition and performance of assets across the industry.
2017 - 2018
This aim of this project is to assist Australian transport related agencies and infrastructure consultants navigate the transition to technology enabled vehicles and transport infrastructure in the coming decade.
2017 - 2018
Resilience of buildings is a national objective in disaster mitigation. Maintenance is the missing link to improving the resilience of buildings in extreme events.
2017 - 2018
Cities in Australia and globally find it difficult to integrate transport infrastructure with land development. This project will seek a new model for how private finance and Public-Private Partnerships can be used to create this integration.
2017 - 2018
Improving the suitability, supply and provision of housing infrastructure is needed to address current issues of affordability and access.
2016 - 2017
In the coming decades Australia and other countries will be facing challenges as a result of a changing climate and rapid technological progress.
2015 - 2017
Mechanisms that improve collaboration and communication in the construction process are becoming ever more critical in the quest for increased productivity.
2015 - 2017
Accelerating the growth of building manufacturing in Australia presents significant opportunities for the building sector.
2015 - 2017
New data suggests Perth and Brisbane are likely to reach a population of 5 million, whilst Sydney and Melbourne will be 8 million by 2050.
2015 - 2017
A key focus for the management of main roads is to consistently deliver users decent travel times, safe higher speed travel and reduced interruptions, while achieving minimal operating costs and reducing capital investment in infrastructure upgrades.
2015 - 2017
Housing is more than human shelter – it is a significant national and family asset, requires considerable upfront and ongoing capital, contributes to national carbon emissions, impacts on physical health and wellbeing, and reflects social and cultural identity.
2013 - 2015
Governments occupy over 25% of Australia’s commercial building stock and collectively spend over $1 billion annually on energy and water utilities associated with their buildings, with the Commonwealth alone spending $450 million per annum.
2015 - 2017
A critical challenge for those delivering social housing infrastructure is how to effectively demonstrate the value of investing: from a whole-of-government perspective, for the community and for the private sector.
2015 - 2016
In an economic downturn, it is of critical importance to ensure that asset management plans represent the reality of current conditions and the prediction of road performance fits the real behaviour of assets, so that loss of productivity due to mis-allocation of maintenance funds can be avoided.
2015 - 2017
At a very broad level, productivity measures are often used to indicate the capacity of a nation to harness its human and physical resources to generate economic growth.
2015 - 2016
Temporary structures like scaffolding have a significant impact on the quality, safety and profitability of construction projects.
2014 - 2016
This research will contribute to realising productivity benefits of digital modelling and integrated project delivery for the Australian construction industry through a focus on the use of building information modelling (BIM) and virtual design and construction (VDC) in the delivery of transport infrastructure projects.
2013 - 2014
The coming decades will see a great deal of innovation and creativity in the way that our road networks are designed, constructed, and maintained.
2014 - 2016
Governments around the world are recognising that a ‘carbon-constrained future’ lies ahead, and that leadership is needed to transition economies to low carbon operation, especially in the area of public procurement.
2014 - 2016
This project will work closely with both public sector housing authorities and private sector organisations to inform the on-going delivery of social housing to further...
2014 - 2015
A number of geographic areas within Australia are subject to frequent and significant natural disasters such as cyclones, bushfires and floods.
2014 - 2016
This research project aims to improve the understanding of how to leverage greater value from the manufactured buildings industry and increase the robustness of the supply chains involved.
2014 - 2016
In 2013, the Australian Department of Industry identified lifting productivity and economic growth as one of the most important challenges that Australia is facing.
2014 - 2015
Australia is experiencing a rising trend in the use of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in, drive-out (DIDO) workers within the construction sector associated with the resource extraction industry.
2013 - 2015
This research will develop new project management models for productivity improvement in infrastructure, including enhanced approaches to project management systems, data structures and construction management processes to support productivity improvement in both project management and construction management of infrastructure projects.
2013 - 2014
The community’s concern with environmental cost of the built environment is growing, so there is a pressing need for industry to identify and reduce the environmental cost of production.
2010 - 2012
The overarching goal of this project was to enhance the safety of all workers engaged in the Australian infrastructure and building construction workforce by reducing the risk of accidents resulting from impaired performance caused by the use of alcohol and other drugs.
2011 - 2013
The goal of this project is to find ways to improve supply chain confidence in off-site manufacturing (OSM) and its associated technologies, and to develop better supply-chain processes to support increased technological adoption for OSM.
2011 - 2013
The overarching goal of this project is to better match funding strategies to industry needs to maximise the benefits of R&D to Australia’s infrastructure and building industry.
2011 - 2013
The purpose of this project was to provide a low cost, low complexity tool that can be used across the building sector and around the world to assist efforts to sustain improvements in the energy performance of existing commercial buildings and foster a productive workplace.
2010 - 2013
In the coming decades the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of roads and transport infrastructure will face a range of new challenges and as such will require a number of new approaches
2011 - 2013
The concept of ‘Biophilic Urbanism’, championed by Tim Beatley and Peter Newman for decades, has been used widely to create more liveable and vibrant cities.
2011 - 2013
Climate variation, resource depletion and increasing urbanisation are converging global issues that are challenging the way we design, construct and operate buildings.
2010 - 2013
The aim of this project is to improve industry productivity by extending the current paradigm of computer-aided design (CAD) libraries to support the design, construction, facilities management and demolition/re-use information across disciplines and throughout the building lifecycle.
2011 - 2013
In the era of climate change awareness and sustainable development, accurate carbon accounting has become imperative for businesses and governments alike.
2025 - 2027
In the era of climate change awareness and sustainable development, accurate carbon accounting has become imperative for businesses and governments alike.
2026 - 2027
In conjunction with International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) International and the proposed Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) for Roads project develop and implement interoperable standards that set the...
2007
Project goals include: developing dynamic National Guidelines based on experience and practical examples that promote consistency in the implementation of digital models for building and...
2007
The Project will review and analyse the current capability of model servers leading to an open software specification which will cater for Industry Foundation Classes...
2007
This project builds on the research in 2003-050-A Construction Site Safety Culture [Cipolla, JHG] by examining what safety effectiveness measures could be used by industry...
2007
The aim of the project was to identify and communicate to key industry stakeholders recommended change management strategies to avoid dispute between clients, contractors and...
2007
Construction Innovation has published a report on the outcomes of the Sydney Opera House FM Exemplar research project. The FM as a business enabler: Solutions for...
2006
This project seeks to develop a checklist system that will enable managers to identify possible knowledge management issues in relation to managing external contracts. In...
2006
This project aims to evaluate the impact of the current policy of leveraging social outcomes from the procurement of public works. Specifically, this research project...
2006
This project will undertake a study into best practice project delivery in terms of identifying appropriate procurement methods. A procurement decision support toolkit will be...
2006
This project is working collaboratively with the Engineers Australia-convened Taskforce for Construction Safety, chaired by Leighton Holdings Chief Operating Officer, Bill Wild. The Taskforce seeks...
2005
This project seeks to develop a software prototype that will provide early warning signals to predict the performance of construction firms. By using existing financial...
2005
This research projectis benchmarking the utilisation of a specifically developed integrated web and mobile communications software product developed by Melbourne-base technology company BSITE on a...
2005
Your Building is a web-based information portal that is under development. Once on-line in mid 2007, it will be a one-stop-shop for answers to the...
2005
The project will further develop the software tools created in previous case-based reasoning in construction and infrastructure for lifetime prediction of metallic components projects, to...
2005
This project will develop understanding of the business drivers and barriers to digital building information models adoption in the Australian property, construction and facilities management...
2005
This project extends the original work done on estimating costs for concrete on building projects (Stage 2 – Managing information flows with models and virtual...
2005
Off-site Manufacture (OSM) has long been recognised, both in Australia and internationally, as offering numerous benefits to all parties in the construction process. More importantly,...
2005
This current project uses a case study approach to evaluate the eTendering systems of the Queensland Department of Public Works and Brisbane City Council against...
2005
Innovation typically refers to positive changes ― improving existing arrangements and developing new ones. Twelve BRITE innovation case studies have now been completed and show how innovations can be...
2004
The CIBE projectis undertaking a comparative analysis of the context and content of regulations and policies affecting the construction industry inAustralia and analysing the implications of Construction...
2004
This current research project aims to improve economic, social and environmental sustainability of the pre-cast concrete, and construction and demolition waste supply chains through the...
2004
A model for estimating indoor air quality in commercial buildings will be developed by combining existing indoor air measurement, product emission and ventilation/filtration knowledge into...
2004
The SpecNotes component of the project was envisioned as a way of linking a building specification with components of a building model, and then leveraging...
2004
The successful completion of the 2001-014-B [Drogemuller] Automated Code Checking: Feasibility Study has demonstrated that automating sophisticated code checking on building projects is feasible and that focussed...
2004
Presently, there are individual tools available for the assessment of shading, thermal, radiation and wind flow characteristics of a proposed design that require assessment by...
2004
Stage 1 of this project included a worldwide review identifying those wayfinding systems and technologies that could be used to make it easier and safer for...
2004
The objective of this project is to develop a tool that will help interpret the symptoms of degradation of concrete structures, estimate residual service life...
2004
It is not uncommon to see two construction projects/sites which have robust Safety Management Systems in place, which have similar scopes of work, technology and...
2003
The aim of the project is to develop a greater awareness in the construction industry of the value of eBusiness to organisations and to increase...
2003
This current project is designed to assist in the delivery of demonstrably superior green buildings in respect of: eco-efficient re-design: achieving a smaller ecological footprint...
2003
Completion of the deliverables for Project 2001-007-C Managing Information Flows with Models and Virtual Environments has demonstrated the feasibility of generating Bills of Quantities and...
2003
Road agencies, like all public infrastructure agencies, face many challenges in the short to long-term. These include: the issues that surround ageing infrastructure the increasing...
2003
The project objectives are to investigate the characteristics of re-life projects that impact upon the effective management of the construction process, such as the identification...
2003
Despite the Federal Governments Electronic Transaction Act of 1999 confirming the general principle that there is no impediment to a person entering contracts via electronic...
2002
This project addressed the question How do construction sector design firms internationalise and develop sustainable business models? This investigation identified the barriers and success factors...
2002
This research will focus on the promotion, management and diffusion of ethical practices in the construction industry and identify ways in which these factors could...
2002
This research project investigated how culture change can be managed in the context of a new approach based upon relationship management. Successful implementation of relationship...
2002
The aim of the research is to determine the relationship between Bureau of Meteorology monitoring stations and a variety of dwelling types through monitoring of...
2002
With a long term goal of promoting the integration of smart and sustainable features in Australian housing development, the DISCOVER project aims to bring together...
2002
This is an investigative study which brings an integrated team together to identify the energy-efficiency demands of dwellings from a sub-division viewpoint as well as...
2002
This research project plans to investigate leading edge software tools and develop, as necessary, interfaces to promote the rapid optimising of architectural layout and structure...
2002
The project has two major objectives being to develop an engine that uses Case Based Logic (CBL) to link together process modules to form tailored...
2002
Over designed environmental control systems indicate inefficient use of capital in terms of initial cost, increased outgoings to purchase energy for heating, cooling and ventilation...
2002
In this project, the primary focus is the drive towards improved social (e.g.health), economic (e.g. worker productivity) and environmental (less energy and water use, improved...
2002
Recent developments in networked 3D virtual worlds and the proliferation of high bandwidth communications technology have the potential to dramatically improve collaboration in the construction...
2002
This project builds on state of the art practice and research in Australia and Internationally. One notable development is the property condition index (PCI) of...
2002
The main focus of this research is to conduct a comparative cost/benefit assessment of noise amelioration by means of alternative treatments outside the road reserve...
2002
This project has two streams that consider the use of pervasive computing technologies in two very different contexts. The first context is the on-site (construction...
2002
This project will use the Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) as the basis for developing a first draft construction schedule for buildings. It will also provide...
2002
The project aims to identify technologies and systems that will make it easier and safer for people who have a sensory impairment to find their...
2002
Poorly performing projects are the bane of clients, designers and contractors alike. Adverse impacts range from cost and time overruns, inadequate build quality, poor project...
2002
This Feasibility Study tests the notion of developing a standard set of tender evaluation criteria based on best-value criteria (to which individual clients can attach...
2002
The objective of the project is to develop a decision support tool to enable asset managers of concrete infrastructure to select the most suitable technique...
2002
This project created a model that identifies critical success factors in ICT-mediated supply chains, and provides a best-practice model, acknowledging the differing needs of individual...
2001
See www.brite.crcci info for details. The project is intended to build-up a longitudinal data base about innovation activity within the Australian construction industry. In the first year,...
2001
This report proposes a web-based commercial benchmarking service that would provide: a mechanism by which construction firms can measure the performance resulting from their ICT...
2001
If the construction industry is to become more innovative and take better advantage of innovation it must improve the way it generates and manages knowledge...
2001
This project is a scoping study to assess the capacity of object-based CAD systems to support automated checking of designs for compliance against requirements and...
2001
The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is currently developing a Future Building Code that will replace the 1996 Building Code of Australia. The purpose of...
2001
The principal drivers for building design in Australia continue to be short-term cost related not lifetime environmental factors. Most developed countries, including Australia, have now...
2001
A buildings occupants productivity and health is influenced by conditions of the indoor environment, particularly the indoor air quality, thermal comfort and lighting. In the...
2001
This project examines the development of a modelling tool within a 3D virtual environment that will enable facility planners and managers to visually simulate and...
2001
This project examines the performance of commercial buildings as investment assets. Its purpose is to enhance commercial real estate performance within both operational and investment...
2001
This project aims to develop an investment decision-making framework that will enable funds in the area of civil infrastructure, such as roads, buildings, railways and...
2001
This project focuses on the potential of information and communication technology to integrate construction project teams and consists of two complementary components: Part A: Scoping...
2001
This project involves the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve the design and construction process. It examines information flows using models and...
2001
Value alignment process for project delivery is a decision tool to assist clients and others to optimise the project delivery system to meet the needs...
2001
Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre