In addition to creating absolutely amazing homes, CplusC is a proactive and socially responsible practice which seeks to actively influence to the wider architecture and construction industry through a combination of research activity, public policy submissions and other contributions. Here’s a taste of just some of the written material that CplusC has prepared in the last 18 months.

  • Submission to 2017 Architects Regulation Review. A key ask of our submission was to call for paid overtime provisions to be included in architectural client agreements as part of the Code of Conduct. We’re incredibly excited that this effort has been reflected in the new regulations and Code of Conduct – 2017 which came into effect on 1 September 2017.
  • Submission to the Review of the Architects Award – We proposed an increase in the award pay rate for graduates and called for the existing overtime provisions to be enforced and simplified. This review is ongoing. There are now a range of tools for architectural employees to quickly assess award compliance, partly as a result of our sustained advocacy in this area.
  • Letter to NSW ARB Registrar Tim Horton regarding Statutory Declarations seeking to add Architect to the list of occupations which can witness a statutory declaration for federal purposes. The registrars made a joint submission to the Statutory Declaration Review as a result. The review is ongoing.
  • CplusC Letter to the Planning for Bushfire Protection Review – This review was not widely publicised and our response was prepared at very short notice. Our submission was critical of the recent changes to acceptable construction in Bushfire Attack Level Flame Zone (BAL-FZ), which were made with very little consultation but will have a large impact on construction budgets in bushfire areas. This review is ongoing.
  • Peer reviewed Conference paper Australian Architecture School  (AASA) 9th Annual Conference in September 2016. Architect as Builder conference paper by N Wake and C Cole.

The practice has also participated in an industry Building Code Energy Performance Trajectory workshop which is seeking to influence the direction and stringency of energy targets in the national building code and contributed to an upcoming issue of the Architecture Bulletin. We are proud to be sponsoring Agency, the 2017 student conference; and maintaining our ongoing participation in our local MBA chapter.