Fastbrick capital raise delay averted
Bricklaying robot builder Fastbrick’s plan for a major capital raise were almost crushed until the government’s takeover panel stepped in.
Shuttered car factories in Australia could be repurposed to make houses faster and cheaper
By Ehsan Noroozinejad, Western Sydney University Australia is in the grip of a severe housing shortage. Many people are finding it extremely difficult to find a place to live in the face of rising rents and property price surges. Homelessness is rising sharply. Tent cities are becoming more common. The federal government has pledged to…
Coffee concrete wins national research award
RMIT University’s coffee concrete innovators won an award at Universities Australia’s Shaping Australia Awards in the Problem Solver category after tallying the most votes from the public, according to a statement released by the university. The team, led by Dr Rajeev Roychand and Professor Jie Li, developed concrete strengthened by 30 per cent using biochar…
James Hardie sees income plummet on weak demand
Global fibre cement maker James Hardie has seen net incomes drop 15% in the third quarter, blaming volatile North American conditions for the fall.
ClearVue links with UK glass fabricator for solar PV glass facades
Building-integrated photovoltaics company ClearVue Technologies has entered into a Manufacturing and Distribution Licence Agreement with a leading UK glass fabrication company that has worked on iconic projects such as One World Trade Centre in New York. Perth-based ClearVue has linked with My Glass Projects which is granted non-exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute products incorporating…
Luyten sells giant 3D printer to construction startup
Melbourne-based Luyten 3D, which makes large-scale concrete printers for the construction industry, has announced the sale this week of a Platypus X4 Special Edition machine to startup 3VIMA. According to its website, the machine sold is able to “construct large-scale projects with complex geometries” up to four metres high, eight metres wide, and 16 metres…
Flat pack tubes pop up to make building materials
Engineers at RMIT University have designed an innovative tubular structural system that can be packed flat for easier transport and pop up into strong building materials. This breakthrough is made possible by a self-locking system inspired by curved-crease origami — a technique that uses curved crease lines in paper folding. Lead researchers, Dr Jeff (Ting-Uei)…
Building decline causes $172m bite for Brickworks
A construction slowdown in Australia and North America has forced a $172 million pre-tax write-down at brick manufacturer Brickworks.
Hadrian X builds first US homes
Robotic technology company FBR has completed the walls of the first home in its US Demonstration Program with CRH Ventures, with the walls certified as compliant with the design and building code. This marks a significant milestone in the commercialisation of FBR’s technology, being the first build ever completed by the recently updated Hadrian X…
Next gen Hadrian X robot achieves site acceptance in the US
Robotic technology company FBR has received confirmation from CRH Ventures that the first next-generation Hadrian X block laying robot has successfully met their requirements and has completed Site Acceptance Testing at its Fort Myers facility in Florida, United States. An independent structural engineer provided confirmation that the walls of the test build were consistent with…