The potential dangers in high-rise apartment living have come under the spotlight recently: the Opal Tower in Sydney with its \u00e2\u20ac\u0153construction issues\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and the fire in the Spencer Street block in Melbourne \u00e2\u20ac\u201c both requiring evacuation of residents. These events follow on the Lacrosse Apartments fire in Melbourne of some years ago, and the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017 which caused the deaths of over 70 people.<\/p>\n
Governments in Australia and internationally have responded with inquiries, taskforces, audits, reports, and legislative changes. In Victoria, thousands of buildings have been inspected by the authorities, looking in particular into the use of combustible cladding. High levels of non-compliance have been found with the use of combustible cladding over decades. In NSW, the Building Products (Safety) Act 2017 <\/em>(NSW), enacted in response to the combustible cladding issue, gave the Commissioner of Fair Trading power to prohibit use of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153unsafe\u00e2\u20ac\u009d building products.<\/p>\n In the current issue of the Building and Construction Law Journal<\/em><\/a> (Vol 34 Pt 5<\/a>), Jeanette Barbaro and Dr Giorgio Marfella in their article \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Back to the Past \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Future Challenges for Better, Safer, Building Design and Construction\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/a> consider how we have come to this point, and suggest regulatory reform.<\/p>\n As to the how, they identify a matrix of interconnected factors, including the prevalent construction technology, population growth, government policies promoting high-density living, and privatised building certification\/approval regimes.<\/p>\n Underlying these factors are the market imperatives of the present housing development model. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The prevailing model is high-rise and high-density development, often speculative residential apartments purchased \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcoff-the-plan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 for investment purposes,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d write Barbaro and Marfella.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The market drivers in the present market are not necessarily linked with the production of quality or space. There is hardly any market-driven incentive for developers of tall apartment towers to provide long-term built quality as a condition of economic success for their projects.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It may be contended that the counterpoint to such a model of housing \u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a commodity to be bought and sold\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is a people-centred approach: housing for all which is decent, affordable, safe.<\/p>\n Barbaro and Marfella suggest reform to the regulatory approach, to achieve national consistency (in contrast to the present \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fragmented\u00e2\u20ac\u009d building regulatory systems) and to resolve the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153contradiction\u00e2\u20ac\u009d inherent in the prescriptive versus performance outcomes approaches at the core of the National Construction Code, thereby balancing public and private interests. They propose introduction of a two-tiered \u00e2\u20ac\u0153system-based\u00e2\u20ac\u009d approach to building regulation premised on the redefinition of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153 \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcacceptable risk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in light of the new world we live in\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00c2\u00ad\u00e2\u20ac\u201c requiring that higher standards be met in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the methods and materials used for construction\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The test ought to be innovation that ensures public safety and compliance, not merely speedy construction and the reduction of building costs,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d argue Barbaro and Marfella.<\/p>\n A \u00e2\u20ac\u0153system-based\u00e2\u20ac\u009d approach may help resolve building regulation dissonance, but does dealing with the problem of unsafe high-rise apartment buildings also perhaps require addressing the fundamentals? The answer to this question would seem critical. Lives are at stake.<\/p>\n Please note that the links to the content in this post will direct you to Westlaw AU.<\/p>\n To purchase an article, please email: LTA.Service@thomsonreuters.com\u00c2\u00a0or\u00c2\u00a0contact us on 1300 304 195\u00c2\u00a0(Australian customers) or +61 2 8587 7980\u00c2\u00a0(international customers) during business hours\u00c2\u00a0(Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm AEST).<\/p>\n