The workplace should represent a company’s brand and corporate values, and enable staff productivity and efficiency. This has always been part of the brief for workplace design and construction but nowadays tenants are dealing with a society that demands an enormous emphasis on health, wellbeing and sustainability. It is not uncommon for commercial office buildings and workplaces to have wellness centres, change facilities and collaboration hubs, all with multiple tenants under the one roof. So what is the impact on cost and how do landlords and tenants balance budgets and modern day pressures to deliver a workplace that “has it all’?

With Australia’s population ageing, a one-size-fits-all approach to aged care is no longer possible. While most Australians want to ‘age in place’ – and technology and reforms to home care are helping them do so easier than ever before – the retirement living and aged care industries are changing at light speed. As they do, they are providing people with more choice than ever before. As specialists within the aged care and retirement sector, Slattery brought together a range of experts to discuss emerging trends and future possibilities within the aged care sector.

Australia's population is expanding, our cities are densifying and land is more expensive than ever before. Growth in our inner-city suburbs is placing pressure on every part of our cities, but especially our schools. In this environment, the only way is up. Our National Education Sector Lead, Sarah Slattery explores the cost drivers associated with vertical schools.

What’s the knock on wood? Engineered timber is a renewable building material offering multiple environmental, architectural and program benefits. The material is starting to be seen as an alternative building material compared to the more traditional material such as concrete, steel and masonry Due to greater awareness and availability of some Australian made products that can assist with timber construction within buildings, there is an emergence of this product used in construction in Australia today. In our new paper, Slattery explores the key considerations for a wholly timber construction project and the steps universities can put in place to mitigate perceived risks. We examine recent Australian and international leading examples to determine the considerations and benefits including cost saving and sustainability.

In this paper we outline the challenges and opportunities with brownfield hospital developments and the opportunity for quality facilities, including an insight into common budgetary, time and operational constraints associated with these developments. Slattery explores how the opportunity for quality facilities can be delivered whilst acknowledging the constraints of an existing site, ultimately generating value for the community

With space in Australian cities at a premium, investors and developers will often look to height to maximise yield through the construction of tall buildings. However, a multitude of not-so-obvious hidden costs need to be considered as part of any feasibility study to make sure the uplift in scale is equal to a profitable return for investors and developers.