The evening would not happen without the backing of our sponsors and I thank them for supporting the landscape architectural profession in South Australia: our GOLD sponsor Robin Wilson Agencies, our SILVER sponsor Jefferies and other sponsors, Heyne’s Wholesale Nursery, Hassell, Lanser Communities, Landscape Construction Services, Locker Group, Construction Landscape Services, Peats Soil & Gardens, Oxigen, Street & Park Furniture, Cosset, Swanbury Penglase, Taylor Cullity Lethlean, Thorn Lighting and Tidswell Wines.  Please thank them and think of them for your future work and commitments.

This year saw 30 award entries – 18 in the design category, 10 in the planning category, and 2 in Research and Communication.  PLACE (as part of The Adelaide Review) will be presenting the awards in the November issue.

 None of this would have happened without a lot of behind the scenes work.  Firstly I would like to thank the jury led by Graeme Hopkins (who unfortunately is not present as he is defending his canoeing prowess at the Masters Games in Sydney) along with Mandy Rounsefell (now our National President), Rick Atkinson, Martin Corbin, Heike Rahmann and Amy Ford.

The awards Committee was ably led by Nick Pearson and assisted by Ben Willsmore, Heath Edwards, Josh Palmer, Frank Smith, Beth Mason, Carina Green, Aleck Whittam, and Janelle Arbon  (also special thanks to their offices –Hassell, Taylor Cullity Lethlean, Swanbury Penglase and Oxigen).  Petra Wiesner from the National Office in Canberra have also been invaluable with assistance in certificates, invoices and taking all your bookings.  Many thanks, too, to those who have taken the time to prepare award submissions. 

Alison Radford

President
SA Group

The 2009 AILA SA AWARDS WINNERS announced - click here for the listing and Jury Report

and

Kevin Taylor announced as an AILA Fellow

BEDP NEWS IN BRIEF
October 2009

This and previous editions are also available at: http://www.bedp.asn.au/news/

BEDP is the peak body for the built environment design professions. Through its member organisations, it represents more than 100,000 architects, engineers, planners, quantity surveyors, lighting designers and landscape architects throughout Australia.  Collectively these professions form the nucleus of the built environment design consulting industry.

www.bedp.asn.au

BEDP South Australia Update

Keith Neighbour has announced his retirement as chair of BEDP in South Australia. Keith has been involved in BEDP almost since its inception, and his energy and wisdom has been much admired and appreciated by all building professionals.  BEDP would like to acknowledge Keith’s input into the council and appreciate the many hours of effort. 

BEDP welcomes the new appointment of John Held as the State Chair for BEDP SA, Director of Russell & Yelland Architects.
  

BEDP National

Some of the key activities and initiatives for BEDP that are currently being developed include:

Building Information Modeling Seminars

BEDP is currently planning a series of half-day seminars to be held during March and February 2010 focusing on Build Information Modeling (BIM).  The seminars are proposed to travel to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart.  The event will be supported by 5 – 6 key specialist speakers.  The seminars will cover topics in areas of BIM now, BIM future, BIM overseas and Product Data.  The speakers secured include:

·         John Mitchell, Principal CQR Pty Ltd
·         Darren Tims,Prinicipal, Rice Daubney
·         Andrew Hill, Geospatial, Consulting & Development Solutions Director, AEC Systems
·         Paul Nunn, Design Manager - Building, Laing O'Rourke
·         Peter Scuderi, Chief Operating Officer, Research & Commercialism, CRC for Construction Innovation

Development of Buildings Database

BEDP is currently investigating the establishment of a web-based national buildings database for Australia to provide one common source of information on the built environment design professionals responsible for the planning and design of each building.  Discussions have commenced with State Health Departments to gain support for a national data-base for hospital buildings as a pilot study for this project.
  

Special Policy Announcement for the BEDP - The Australian Council of Built Environment Design Professions

A new Proposed National Policy on Sustainable Settlement

The BEDP has announced a new policy that is directed to the Commonwealth requesting the Australian Government adopt a national policy to achieve sustainability at all levels of human settlement throughout Australia.

Copies of the Policy can be downloaded at:

http://www.bedp.asn.au/settlement

  
Review of the Migration Occupations in Demands List:  Comments on Issues Paper No. 1

Introduction

Engineers Australia is the peak body for engineering practitioners in Australia, representing all disciplines and branches of engineering. Membership is now approximately 89,000 Australia wide and Engineers Australia is the largest and most diverse professional engineering association in Australia. All Engineers Australia members are bound by a common commitment to promote engineering and to facilitate its practice for the common good.

Engineers Australia is the national forum for the advancement of engineering and the professional development of its members. Engineers Australia believes that Australia requires sufficient engineers to meet the aspiration of its people; that practicing engineers offer the highest levels of professional standards and that engineers continue to develop their knowledge and professional expertise through whole of life learning and professional development.

Australia has experienced an acute shortage of engineers for some time, in part because insufficient engineers are graduating from Australian universities and in part because of the large increase in the demand for engineers resulting from the commodities boom. The economic downturn has temporarily eased the situation but the recruitment difficulties experienced by employers will resume with economic recovery, especially in the export sector. Migration has been the only short term option to fill the gap and Australia’s annual supply of new engineers is now disproportionately dependent on migration.

The passage of time and an accumulation of policy changes mean that a review of the MODL is appropriate. Engineers Australia agrees that a distinction needs to be drawn between nation building objectives which require a step-wise increase in the number of new engineers and cyclical factors which result in temporary variations in the demand for engineers. The model proposed in the discussion paper will meet these objectives but significant difficulties will need to be resolved.

The basis of the present MODL is an out-moded view of what engineers are and do. Replacing the old ASCO system with the skills based ANZSCO system for classifying occupations is an important step in the right direction, providing all occupations in which engineers work in a modern and sophisticated economy are taken into account. This is not the case at present and is a bone of contention. The discussion paper raises the possibility of moving to a skills basis by focusing on the qualifications held by prospective migrants supplemented by occupational information relating to work experience. This approach is preferred by Engineers Australia because it is consistent with the competency based assessment methodology used to accredit Australian university Bachelors Degrees in engineering as well as assessing the qualifications of prospective visa applicants.

For the full version of the media release visit:
http://www.bedp.asn.au/papers/