{"id":7607,"date":"2019-07-16T01:00:12","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T17:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/the-future-is-modular\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:26:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T08:26:34","slug":"the-future-is-modular","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/the-future-is-modular\/","title":{"rendered":"The future is modular"},"content":{"rendered":"

Construction and demolition waste currently contributes to at least 40 per cent of Australia\u2019s landfill. With many homes in Australia designed for just a 30-year life span, it\u2019s time to rethink the future of housing if we want to reduce our resources waste and live in homes that last.<\/p>\n

Timothy O\u2019Grady and Roberto Minunno from the Â鶹ֱ²¥ Sustainability Policy (CUSP) institute may just have the answer to Australia\u2019s housing state. Under the supervision of CUSP Director Professor Greg Morrison, the PhD researchers have designed the Legacy Living Laboratory (L3) \u2013 a building constructed from sustainable materials that not only looks great, but can be easily \u2018packed up and down\u2019 and relocated as required. Forget demountable buildings, enter modular<\/em> living.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do with the living lab is build a circular economy building. Circular economy basically means \u2018reduce, reuse, recycle,\u2019\u201d O\u2019Grady explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith urban sprawl, it\u2019s not feasible to keep building standard houses, only for them to be knocked down or renovated decades later. There is no point in creating all that waste.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cBut if those buildings could be disassembled and transported instead of demolished, that\u2019s a more viable option.\u201d<\/p>\n

Circular economy replaces the traditional model of \u2018dig, process, use, chuck\u2019 with one that returns materials back into the system, thus extracting more value while reducing our carbon footprint. O\u2019Grady and Minnuno published a research paper<\/a> last year detailing how circular economy can be successfully applied to modular buildings, with L3 as the prototype.<\/p>\n

Their research is backed by Curtin, LandCorp and Fleetwood, a Perth-based modular construction company, and has sparked the interest of the state\u2019s housing and construction industry. So far, 15 companies have partnered with O\u2019Grady and Minunno to contribute a range of innovative products, materials and technology to construct L3.<\/p>\n

By definition, L3 is your typical modular building. Modulars comprise boxes or modules made from steel frames that are built offsite in a factory environment before being trucked to site and connected together to create a finished building. L3 is made up of eight rectangular modules; five fit together to form the ground floor, and three modules fit on top to make the second storey.<\/p>\n

\"Rendered
The appeal of the modular construction method lies in its quick assembly, repeatability and affordability \u2013 important elements of circular economy. Image: Emma Whettingsteel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cModular construction has been shown to have many benefits, such as reduced construction periods resulting in minimal site disruption,\u201d O\u2019Grady says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther benefits include better build quality and reduced waste due to standardised manufacturing techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n

What makes L3 different is it\u2019s the first of its kind in Australia to be constructed from salvaged or recycled materials.<\/p>\n

For example, its foundation steel frames were rescued from the scrap heap. The ceiling panels are made from recycled plastic bottles, which are also sound absorbent. The carpets were donated from a refurbished building that was newly leased and consequently redecorated. The stairs that connect its two storeys are reclaimed steel from a failed building project, and the stair treads are 100-year-old jarrah sourced from a disused factory in Fremantle.<\/p>\n

It may sound like Frankenstein\u2019s creation but the end product is an original, organic structure that boasts form and function.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhile it may not be typically beautiful, you can see the work that has gone into it, you can see it\u2019s been reborn,\u201d O\u2019Grady says.<\/p>\n

More importantly, O\u2019Grady and Minunno\u2019s latest research has shown that due to its disassembly and reuse, L3 saves 16 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions compared to the best common practice of recycling building materials.<\/p>\n

\"O\u2019Grady
O\u2019Grady (centre) and Minunno (right) at the launch of L3 at Fleetwood Australia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

L3 is a step-change for housing construction and sustainability, but despite its evident benefits, O\u2019Grady has faced opposition throughout the design and building process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenging thing has been trying to get people to do things differently. A lot of the time people say \u2018no\u2019 because it\u2019s just not how things have ever been done.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m not here to replicate what has already been done, I\u2019m here to try and push the boundaries of what we can do.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Indeed, O\u2019Grady says Australia lags behind many other countries when it comes to modular building, and sustainable modular building in particular. Currently, modular accounts for just six per cent of the nation\u2019s construction market share. But with Australia\u2019s housing affordability crisis<\/a>, coupled with population increase and dwindling natural resources, there has been a growing interest from government and industry to look at smarter ways to build.<\/p>\n

While L3 holds promise, O\u2019Grady explains there is still a way to go to ensure waste materials are readily available.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith circular economy, you need to close the supply chain. Right now, there is no standardised way of salvaging or sourcing building material waste and supplying it to industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there is certainly an opportunity there to connect the two sides and put that \u2018waste\u2019 back into the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Reusable
Many building materials can actually be salvaged and reused for a fraction of the cost of purchasing new materials.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

L3 is set to test just how economical \u2018rubbish\u2019 can be when it\u2019s transported to a LandCorp-donated site at the East Village in Fremantle in August. For the next two years, it will be tested, assessed and modified by industry, making it a living experiment in sustainable construction and design.<\/p>\n

The lab will also feature an iHUB facility, connecting Curtin with four other Australian universities \u2013 the University of Queensland, UNSW Sydney, Swinburne and Monash \u2013 enabling test data to be instantly collated and shared.<\/p>\n

For O\u2019Grady, a crucial aspect is that L3 will be open to the public during its testing phase, ensuring people can learn about circular economy and experience first-hand the future possibilities of modular living.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t actually know that there are others ways to build, as it\u2019s never been presented as an option,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be a way to demonstrate that you can build differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Grady and Minunno\u2019s PhD is funded by the ARC Centre for Advanced Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing (CAMP.H). O\u2019Grady is also partnered with Quantify Technology as part of a state government PhD Fellowship program that aims to reduce energy consumption by advancing smart home technologies.<\/p>\n

Learn more about the Legacy Living Laboratory<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two Curtin PhD researchers have designed a modular laboratory made from reused and recycled materials to test the viability of sustainable housing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4182,"featured_media":7608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,91,41],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-7607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-and-global-community","category-climate-change-and-conservation","category-environment"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"Partner industries of the Legacy Living Lab","content":"

Quantify Technology, Bluescope Steel, Jason Windows, Weathertex, Delos, Armstrong Flooring, Proform Cabinets, Interface Flooring, Intelligent Home, Clipsal by Schneider Electric, Brajkovich Demolition, Stramit, Glyde, Enware, Reliance Worldwide Corporation (RWC), Ludlow Timber Products, Acoufelt, Gunnersen Timber, Innovative Timber Ideas (ITI), Metforce Balustrades, Infinite Energy.<\/p>\n","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"Construction Management","qualification":"Bachelor of Applied Science (Construction Management)","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/study\/offering\/course-ug-bachelor-of-applied-science-construction-management--b-conm\/","description":"","faculty":"Humanities"},{"title":"Architecture","qualification":"Bachelor of Applied Science (Architectural Science)","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/study\/offering\/course-ug-bachelor-of-applied-science-architectural-science--b-arch\/","description":"","faculty":"Humanities"}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}},"post_components":false},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/L3_1584X840-1000x500.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Zoe","last_name":"Taylor","display_name":"Zoe Taylor"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 22:59:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7607"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=7607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}