Professor Peter Newman, former New South Wales Sustainability Commissioner in Sydney and Project Leader for the CRC for Low Carbon Living (CRCLCL), recently stated that the modular building industry in Australia is on the rise, and opportunities were available for the building industry.

“The modular building industry is growing at a great pace. The key reason for this is that buildings can be erected 30-40 per cent faster than conventional buildings, meaning less cost and more affordable housing.

“However, only 3 per cent of Australia’s building industry is currently modular and there is a huge opportunity to develop this industry, transfer skills from our dying auto industry and provide jobs, and compete with a growing level of manufactured building imports from the region,” he said.

In 2012 the modular construction industry was estimated to be a $90 billion global industry. In Australia, the estimation is that this industry will grow from 3 to 10 per cent by 2020.

Modular building also means less waste and lower emissions for all involved.

“With demand for affordable housing on the increase in Australia and elsewhere, investing in developing the modular building industry makes sense so we can meet that demand,” said Professor Newman.

For additional information on modular building in Australia and Professor Newman’s research on sustainable building, you can read more on the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre website.