A professor from the Queensland University of Technology has stood up in front of the Healthy Housing 2016 Conference and said Brisbane needs better building designs and codes to go up against mother nature.
QUT Associate Professor Rosemary Kennedy said the city’s multiple dwelling code should be reviewed and better designs were needed, and that Brisbane’s new apartment designs are “over-glazed hot boxes” not suited to our subtropical climate.
Speaking to delegate researchers from Japan, Portugal, Vietnam, China, Germany, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the US and New Zealand, Professor Kennedy said there were four common failures in meeting the code’s sustainable subtropical design principles.
The principal Professor Kennedy challenged include:
Lack of cross ventilation
The extensive use of glass on facades regardless of a building’s solar orientation
Unsophisticated use of shading, and
Limited private outdoor living areas