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Your location: Home > Smart Housing > News > Smart Housing Update - August 2002

Smart Housing Updates - August 2002

Download the August 2002 Smart Housing Update (173Kb) for printing.

In this update…

• QMBA Smart Housing Design, Construct and Display Awards 2002
• Mozzie-Borne Disease Drive New Development Guidelines
• Media Promotes Smart Housing Message
• Smart Housing Hits the Streets
• ARLEX Brisbane Exhibition
• Useful Resources
  

QMBA Smart Housing Design, Construct and Display Awards 2002

This year's Smart Housing, Design, Construct and Display Awards close on 28 August 2002. All Queensland licensed builders building in Queensland have the opportunity to enter and share in a total prize pool of $25,000. One lucky winner will have the chance to construct their winning design in a QMBA display village in south-east Queensland. Don't miss this opportunity - contact Robin Shaw at the Queensland Master Builders Association on (07) 3404 6421 for entry details.

Mozzie-Borne Disease Drive New Development Guidelines

Queensland Health has recently released Guidelines to Minimise Mosquito and Biting Midge Problems in New Development Areas. The guidelines, developed in consultation with other government departments and local governments, aim to improve community by providing guidelines prevent or minimise the impact of mosquitoes and biting midges in new development areas. For further information or copies of the guidelines phone Queensland Health's Communicable Diseases Unit on (07) 3234 1155.

Media Promotes Smart Housing Message

The mainstream national media is starting to pick up the importance of accessible housing.

The August issue of Australian House and Garden magazine features an article titled "Access All Areas". The article makes the point that having an visitable home is important not only for people with a disability but for those who want to be able to have friends and relatives with restricted mobility to visit or those who want to stay in their own home as their lifestyle needs change. A universally designed home makes sense for everyone.

The article recommends a number of solutions and lists contacts on where to go for more information. Among these is the Independent Living Centre which can be contacted in Queensland on (07) 3393 1224.

Smart Housing hits the Streets

Smart Housing's new display featured at the Smart Housing's display in the Queensland Government pavilion at the recent Brisbane Exhibition (August 8 - 17). Contrasting thought-provoking images of people in "smart" and "not-so-smart" houses, the display aims to encourage people to think about how the way their home is designed impacts on them personally.

The new display challenges people to consider how they use the home environment, and the consequent benefits that Smart Housing offers.

Smart Housing displays will also feature at the 2002 Brisbane Home and Design Show, (October 9 to 13) and the Retirement and Lifestyle Expo (October 18 - 20). Both events will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

ARLEX Brisbane Exhibition

Do you need to reach people in the disability sector? One of the best ways is the ARLEX exhibition (Australia's Rehabilitation Lifestyle and Equipment eXhibition). The ARLEX expo offers the opportunity to promote goods and services targeted to aged people and people with disabilities.

ARLEX Brisbane will be held at the RNA Showgrounds, on Sunday 22 and Monday 23 September 2002. Bookings are now open.

For more details contact:
Jeff Heath
Director, ARLEX
GPO Box 909, Adelaide SA 5001
Phone - 08 8377 2295
Fax - 08 8296 1688

Useful Resources

• Healthy Housing isn't just a dream for the future. It's a reality, right now, right here - and it works! Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) Healthy House in Toronto is healthy for the people who live in it, the community and the earth - without costing a fortune. What is truly amazing is that CMHC's Healthy House in Toronto provides all the comforts of home - without using municipal services. It has been designed to rely on sun and precipitation as the basis of its heating, electrical, water and waste water management systems. Right from the start, the way it is built and the materials used in construction mean more comfort, less maintenance and lower operating costs. That goes for the landscaping, too. CMHC's Healthy House in Toronto is located near public transportation, and is designed to provide maximum useable space on a minimum amount of land, to limit air and water pollution, and to use locally available materials and durable renewable resources wherever possible. It is an affordable solution to housing now that will keep on working for many years to come. Learn more about the different systems and how they work in CMHC's Healthy House in Toronto by visiting the The Toronto Healthy House website.

• The Australian Centre for Construction Innovation (ACCI) at the University of New South Wales has a reputation as a leading national research provider for the Built Environment Industry. Resources are available from its Faculty of the Built Environment website.

• Ecological Homes in NSW has released the speakers' notes from their recent Public Forum on Sustainable Housing. You are welcome to download a free copy of these notes from the Ecological Homes website.
  

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For more information on Smart Housing, please contact us on (07) 3224 4961, email smarthousing@publicworks.qld.gov.au

Last updated March 2007