A question of performance for buildings and builders alike

Before the mid-90s, Australia’s building code came with a clear set of rules. If you wanted to construct a building, you used this material, that room height, this type of insulation, that technique. 

But in 1996, Australia made the switch to a performance-based code. 
 
“Historically, we had what we called a prescriptive building code, which basically said, ‘This is the result we want; this is how you’ll do it,’” says UTS Professor Ray Loveridge, who teaches a UTS short course on performance-based building design.  
 
“Essentially, a performance-based approach says, ‘These are the results we want, these are the performance requirements your building must achieve, but how you go about it is really up to you and the certifier.”

Today, construction professionals can choose from at least two options when it comes to building projects: deemed-to-satisfy (DTS), which provides a ‘recipe’ for construction projects, not unlike the prescriptive code of years past; or the newer, more flexible  performance solutions, which are developed to meet the needs of individual projects. 

Performance solutions allow for novel design and technology components to be embedded in the construction process, thereby creating the potential for more innovative – and cost competitive – outcomes. 

“Companies who use performance solutions can create a market edge, because it means they can achieve the clients’ requirements in a more cost-effective manner than the old prescriptive methods,” Loveridge says. 

But despite the potential of performance-based design, many construction industry professionals are yet to embrace these performance solutions. A lack of clarity around how to use them, coupled with the complex National Construction Code (NCC) they sit within, mean that a lot of builders remain reluctant to take the leap.

Loveridge aims to make that leap easier with a four-day short course aimed at professionals in construction, engineering, architecture and planning who need a better understanding of this critical area of building design and construction. A former director at the Australian Building Codes Board and former executive director of the Housing Industry Association, Loveridge has had extensive experience developing and delivering performance-based building design education across the construction sector.

Called Performance-based Building Design, the course covers the theory and practice of performance-based design and alternative pathways to NCC compliance, and prepares students to work collaboratively with other stakeholders to deliver safe, cost-effective construction projects in line with NCC requirements. 

For student Jerry Tyrrell, Loveridge’s course is well overdue. The founder of Tyrrell’s Property Inspections, Tyrrell has both building and architecture qualifications and has been working on building sites for more than 45 years. 

Tyrrell signed up for Loveridge’s course in 2019 based on his belief that technology will continue to disrupt the future building landscape. As such, he wanted to better understand how to deliver cost-effective performance solutions that take advantage of new innovations in the construction sector.  

“Ray explained the way the regulations achieve compliance. He then gave us a series of scenarios that allowed us to see performance solutions as a different way of getting a satisfactory outcome – in some cases, superior outcomes, because this approach saves money, it’s innovative, and it encourages brainpower in our industry, not just slavish following of the rules.

“This is why the Performance-based Building Design course is important – it’s opening up the portal to more innovative solutions.”

Key to the curriculum is an industry-standard model that provides a clear framework for developing performance solutions. It covers everything from preparing a brief and consulting with relevant stakeholders to conducting a site analysis, collating the results and measuring them against NCC criteria, all the way through to preparing a final report. 

But the real game-changer is this: in 2019, the Australian Building Codes Board proposed that this model should become a mandatory part of the performance-based building design process as of 2020. If the proposal is adopted, Loveridge’s course will become a critical resource for construction industry professionals.