Residential developers are encouraging new homebuyers to adopt more environmentally friendly materials when building - a trend that is growing in strength throughout many Australian capital cities and regional towns.

The Old Broome Estate's Sustainable Home Award is offering $20,000 cash as a first prize incentive to a homeowner/builder who can best meet the sustainable design guidelines.

One sustainable element specified in the guidelines included using a non-toxic white ant deterrent such as Termimesh, a stainless mesh barrier manufactured by ASSDA member, TMA Corporation (formerly Termimesh Australia).

Termites nest in the ground underneath homes and if left unchecked can make

An Australian firm has won the kitchen design category of the prestigious Stainless Steel Awards conducted by the South African Stainless Steel Development Association.

Competing against entrants from all over the world, Queensland fabricator Bell Stainless won with its Crerar design, which was judged to be the most attractive and functional domestic kitchen installed during the past two years. The competition criteria were that the kitchen had to be designed using stainless steel appliances, kitchen accessories as well as stainless steel wash-up equipment, such as sinks and preparation bowls.

The objective of the Awards program is to encourage creativity, competitiveness

When a Melbourne design company decided to expand their business to a neighbouring space, a challenge was set: the adjoining office was on an upper level and a walkway was needed to connect the two.

The challenge was met by Carr Interior’s Daniel Stellini who envisioned a simple, strong and aesthetically refined stainless steel “hanging” staircase to allow for transit between the floor levels. 

“Considering the portal represents such a high traffic area, we required a material that was durable, strong and low maintenance: stainless steel met our brief on all three counts,” he said.

“It was our intent to

Benefits in the areas of cost, appearance and durability were the key factors in the NSW State Rail Authority's decision to specify stainless steel for the construction of a fleet of new passenger trains to be delivered over the next five years.

United Goninan, a leading designer and manufacturer of railway rolling stock based in Newcastle, has been chosen to design and manufacture 161 double deck electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger cars over three stages.

Stage 1, to be completed in 2006, comprises 41 cars, with 80 to be delivered the following year and a further 40 cars the year

The construction of the Epping to Chatswood rail line in Sydney is the largest publicly funded infrastructure project underway in New South Wales. The project, managed by the Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation, will increase the capacity of the CityRail network and provide direct rail access for the first time to the growing North Ryde/Macquarie Park area. Due to be completed in 2008, the 12.5 kilometre underground passenger line will include four new underground stations at Epping, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park and North Ryde.

Following a tender process, Contractors AW Edwards appointed ASSDA Accredited Fabricator Townsend Group to design, engineer, manufacture

When ASSDA Accredited Fabricator Bridgeman Stainless won a tender to supply stainless steel balustrades for Queensland Rail, supplying quality materials with excellent fabrication techniques was at the forefront of their mind.

The upgrade of Oxford Park and Grovely rail stations in Brisbane’s North West was a 12-month project, headed by Arup and Moggill Constructions, and included significant use of stainless steel for the hand rails and balustrades.

Director Len Webb says the job was an excellent opportunity to showcase stainless steel at its best, rather than reverting to cheaper, less reliable materials and fabrication techniques.

“The project manager, Allan Bolt,

Posted 1 July 2003

A fire at sea is a traveller's worst nightmare. To guard against such a disaster there exist stringent safety standards, maintained through a process of testing and certification. The pre-eminent authority is Lloyd's Register of Shipping, an organization founded in 1760 to inform underwriters and merchants about the condition of the ships they insured and chartered.

Today, certification by Lloyd's Register is a significant commercial achievement. Earlier this year, Lloyd's issued a 'Certificate of Fire Approval' to a new stainless steel fire damper for use on merchant and passenger ships. Grade 316L stainless steel was used

Queensland’s largest ever road and bridge project will rely, in part, on innovation within the stainless steel industry to meet its design life of 300 years.

The Gateway Upgrade Project in Brisbane, which includes construction of a second Gateway Bridge and is being delivered by Queensland Motorways with design, construction and maintenance by the Leighton Abigroup Joint Venture (LAJV), will use reinforcement bar made for the first time from Outokumpu Group’s LDX 2101® duplex stainless steel.

A total of 130 tonnes of duplex stainless steel will be used in the bridge’s most critical structures: the splash zones of the two

McColl's Transport carts a variety of chemicals such as caustic soda and formaldehyde. The tanker barrel has been wrapped and not rolled, with full length stainless steel sheets used to eliminated circumferential welds. There’s a new breed of tanker being put through its paces along Australia’s east coast carrying aggressive chemicals and class three petroleum products for McColl’s Transport.

Dandenong based tanker manufacturer, Marshall Lethlean, has constructed FACT, a Frameless Aggressive Chemical Tanker with some unique operating attributes.

Marshall Lethlean constructed the 25,800 litre, 11.5m long stainless steel tanker with a chassis that’s up to 300 kilos lighter than

Newcastle's public transport stocks are to be boosted by the addition of 30 new stainless steel buses, the first of which was delivered this month.

Their advanced design combines passenger comfort with environmental awareness. The Volvo B12BLE bus chassis meets the latest Euro III exhaust emission standards, making it the cleanest diesel bus on Australian roads.

The buses are being built by Custom Coaches, the largest Australian bus manufacturer with plants in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. Stainless steel supply is by ASSDA member Fagersta Steels.

The buses have features to make travel easier for visually impaired passengers

Significant petrol savings, longer service life, lighter tare weight and reduced maintenance costs are just a few features of Australia's first stainless steel bus.

Two prototype buses with grade 304 stainless steel body shells are being manufactured by Gold Coast-based company, Bus Tech Pty Ltd for Volvo Australia.

Stainless steel buses are used extensively in Europe and the United States of America to guard against corrosion caused by icy, salted roads. Corrosion of buses is also a problem in Australia with vehicles subject to regular frame inspections and refurbishment costs. Corrosion in buses results not only from exposure to marine

First impressions count the most when marketing a state to the rest of the world and Adelaide Airport achieved this aim with the construction and opening of a new terminal that combines glass and stainless steel to stunning effect.

Officially opened by Prime Minister John Howard on 7 October 2005, the new terminal is one of South Australia's most significant privately-funded infrastructure projects.

With 14 glass-sided aerobridges, the new terminal will give air travellers all-weather access for the first time in Adelaide Airport's 50 year-history and provide spectacular views across the Adelaide CBD and Mt Lofty Ranges on departure and

Showcasing the use of long lasting powder coated architectural finishes

The materials used for the Assembly Hall and Music Department of the Sacred Heart School of Performing Arts have set a new benchmark of possibility for the fusion between decorative and functional design.

ASSDA member Stainless Sections provided the stainless steel cladding for the Adelaide school building, for its hard wearing and low maintenance properties.  However, keeping to the creative nature of the activities to be performed within the building, a strong focus on the aesthetics was adopted.

The face side of the stainless steel was powder coated and then

Following the tragic death of 15 people in the Palace Backpackers fire in the Central Queensland town of Childers in 2000, there were calls for tighter fire safety regulations.

Central Queensland University Rockhampton recently upgraded facilities at its Capricornia Residential College to increase safety, enhance student well being and ensure compliance with legislative requirements, building codes and duty of care.

CQU's Division of Facilities Management made alterations to Capricornia College as part of a $6.4 million project to upgrade facilities at Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg and Mackay campuses.

The CQU division worked alongside Andrews and Girle Architects, Project Services and John

Shining the way in major urban renewal precinct development is the Fujitsu Building, a speculative office building utilising stainless steel cladding to form a striking ‘gateway’ into Brisbane city.

Situated on Breakfast Creek Road, the five-storey Fujitsu Building is the first of three buildings in the ‘Portal Business Community’ to be developed by Ariadne Australia under a master plan by architects and planners, Cox Rayner.

‘Portal’ reflects an urban renewal of the former industrial site that has been used for petroleum storage and as a gasworks since the 1880’s including the preservation of Queensland’s oldest metal frame gasometer.

With this

Warren Pryde has good reason to be proud. His company, Pryde Fabrication, is celebrating a ten year anniversary as a fabricator in the stainless steel industry.

Pryde Fabrication began in 1995 in Capalaba, Queensland, when Warren saw an opportunity to install stainless steel commercial kitchens for fabricators followed by a venture into architectural balustrading installation.

“I started with just myself, a ute and a toolbox. There was just one offsider which was my father-in-law.

“Six to eight weeks into it, there wasn’t enough hours in the day. I think I was working probably eighteen hours out of twenty

Showcasing Art with Stainless

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) houses one of Australia’s most important visual arts collections. However, with the passage of time, the collection had outgrown its facilities.

Since the existing building opened in 1968, the collection had doubled in size and only five percent of the Gallery’s collection was on display at any one time.

As part of a major upgrade and renovations to the existing Gallery, the Victorian State Government called on construction company Baulderstone Hornibrook to lead the project.

Architect Mario Bellini, from Milan, with Australian firm, Metier 3, used stainless steel to stunning effect

Stainless Steel Fish Bar

Development of Melbourne's Docklands Precinct has inspired an exciting range of creative architecture, featuring a diverse selection of building materials.

Special finish stainless steel enhances the facades of the prestigious NewQuay follies on Victoria Harbour promenade. The Fish Bar folly, clad entirely in blue mirror stainless steel, brings life to the water's edge by combining public convenience with creativity to produce a unique example of urban art.

The design is the result of a successful collaboration between the developer MAB Corporation, SJB/FKA architects and students from the upper design pool of RMIT's School of Architecture, which

A new Stockland housing development on the Gold Coast has incorporated the use of art to promote outdoor living and community engagement. And, with a public lake the intended destination, artists Lubi Thomas and Adrian Davis knew stainless steel would best fit the bill.

The Highland Reserve development in Upper Coomera, 40 minutes south of Brisbane, boasts a mountainous backdrop and sprawling native bushland.  The additional inclusion of a lake within the development prompted Stocklands to commission a public artwork for the area.  Following a process of concept pitches from various artists, Lubi Thomas and Adrian Davis of Davis-Thomas were

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) or the ‘G’ as it has become affectionately known, has an important project deadline.

The national sports icon is currently undergoing a redevelopment in preparation for the 2006 Commonwealth Games to be held in March.

When complete, the ‘G’ will boast three impressive glazed entry structures over the Ponsford Gate, the Members Entrance and the Olympic Stand Entrance, each with its own network of high tensile stainless steel members.

The project is a collaboration between Ronstan’s architectural division and steel contractor, Materials Fabrication.

ASSDA member, and Australia’s own world leader in tension structures, Ronstan Architectural