A new resource promises to save architecture practices time and reinforce safety and sustainability when specifying products and materials. Here’s what you need to know…
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Three key takeaways:
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Regulators have product and material procurement in their sights following the release of the Shergold-Weir Building Confidence report in 2018.
In response, the Australian Institute of Architects has developed a new online catalogue which increases transparency and will help architects to better interrogate supply chains.
The Institute’s chief executive officer, Julia Cambage, says “solving the searchability issues” of existing libraries will save “a significant amount of time”.
“This is a tool designed by industry for industry that collates all the information architects need in the design development phase to speed up their search prior to specification.
“The library will also streamline the process architects need to go through when safely specifying products and materials.”
The library catalogues hundreds of products and materials: flooring, finishes, fixtures, building materials, lighting and smart technology, windows and doors.
Architects will be able to check whether products and materials align with a range of certification and registration schemes. These include the federal government’s Climate Active certification, Good Environmental Choice Australia, timber certification schemes FSC and PEFC, and the Infrastructure Sustainability Council’s IS rating system.
The library also cross-references the International Organization for Standardization, ISO, EPD Australasia, Australian Made and the Building Code Board’s CodeMark.
Cambage says the library will also be a “win-win” for manufacturers and materials suppliers, as it match products with specifiers’ needs more quickly.
The library will also include links to specification documentation and building information modelling files.
The Australian Institute of Architects is now putting the call out to suppliers and manufacturers wanting to include their products and materials.
