<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/consolidated-properties">Consolidated Properties Group</a> (CPG) is approaching the launch of its latest Brisbane riverfront development, Castile, on the dress circle Skyring Terrace in Newstead.

VIP buyers are now being engaged, with a full public sales launch coming later this year.

Positioned as the final opportunity to secure a new absolute riverfront residence on the East bank of Newstead, Teneriffe or New Farm, Castile at 47 Skyring Terrace has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/woods-bagot">Woods Bagot</a> as a timeless addition to the Brisbane skyline.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150489 project_image_fid=371113]

The name Castile draws on themes of permanence, sophistication and legacy, reflecting a broader vision centred on enduring architecture and timelessness in the rarest of riverfront positions.&nbsp;

CPG Chairman and CEO Don O’Rorke said the project had been envisioned as a future Brisbane icon.&nbsp;

“With 47 metres of direct river frontage and never to be built out views, 47 Skyring Terrace is the definitive address on the Brisbane River,” O’Rorke said.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150489 project_image_fid=371114]

“Rather than following trend-based apartment design, Castile draws inspiration from Brisbane’s great heritage buildings, reinterpreting classical architecture into a contemporary riverfront landmark designed to stand proudly for the next 100 years,” he said.&nbsp;

The approved development will comprise 227 apartments across a 25-storey tower alongside a boutique six-storey riverfront building of just 12 residences.&nbsp;

Construction is scheduled to commence in September 2026.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150489]

Joel Robinson

CPG unveils Castile Newstead ahead of upcoming sales launch

Australia’s online shopping habits have shifted dramatically over the last decade. As eCommerce volumes surged, so too did the frustrations that came with traditional parcel delivery: missed deliveries, long Post Office queues, parcel theft and the challenge of being home during business hours.

Australia Post’s Parcel Lockers emerged as one of the more practical responses to that changing consumer behaviour.

What started as a relatively niche delivery option has evolved into a nationwide network of more than 1,400 self-service Parcel Lockers positioned at train stations, shopping centres, supermarkets and Post Offices across the country. The system allows Australians to send, collect and return parcels 24 hours a day, fundamentally changing how many people interact with deliveries.

The appeal is relatively straightforward: flexibility.

Instead of waiting at home for a delivery driver or rushing to a Post Office before closing time, users can direct eligible parcels to a Parcel Locker location of their choice. Once the parcel arrives, Australia Post sends a notification with a collection code or QR access through the AusPost app, allowing customers to retrieve their package at any time within the collection window.

For apartment residents in particular, the system has become increasingly valuable.

Higher-density living has created logistical challenges around deliveries, especially in buildings without concierge services or secure parcel rooms. Missed deliveries are common, while parcel theft has become an increasing concern as online shopping volumes continue to rise.

Australia Post itself has repeatedly highlighted the growing issue of “porch pirates” during peak shopping periods, encouraging customers to use Parcel Lockers as a safer alternative to unattended home deliveries.

That security aspect is one of the key reasons the Australia Post Parcel Locker network has grown so rapidly.

Parcel Lockers are positioned as secure, monitored collection points that reduce the risk of theft while also improving delivery efficiency for Australia Post. Instead of multiple redelivery attempts, parcels can be consolidated into a single secure destination.

The Parcel Lockers themselves are free to use through a MyPost account and support a range of parcel sizes up to 16 kilograms and dimensions of approximately 35 x 44 x 61 centimetres.

Beyond receiving parcels, the system has increasingly become integrated into the broader eCommerce ecosystem.

Customers can now use Parcel Lockers to return online purchases, while retailers have embraced the model as a way to improve delivery success rates and reduce friction in the shopping process. Australia Post has actively expanded partnerships with major retailers and promoted Parcel Lockers as part of a broader out-of-home strategy.

The timing of that expansion aligns with broader changes in Australian shopping behaviour.

The acceleration of online retail during and after the pandemic placed enormous pressure on delivery infrastructure. Parcel volumes reached record highs, particularly during Black Friday and Christmas periods, with Australia Post delivering more than 100 million parcels during peak festive seasons.

That growth forced logistics providers to rethink the “last mile” of delivery, widely regarded as the most expensive and operationally difficult stage of the process.

Parcel Locker systems have increasingly been viewed as part of the long-term solution.

The concept itself is not unique to Australia. Parcel Locker networks have become common globally, particularly across Europe and Asia, where dense urban environments and apartment living create similar logistical challenges. But Australia’s geography and suburban sprawl made adoption slower initially.

Now, however, the convenience factor is driving mainstream usage.

For commuters, Parcel Lockers near train stations allow parcels to be collected on the way home from work. For apartment dwellers, they remove the uncertainty around access and missed deliveries.

The rise of the AusPost app has also streamlined the experience, centralising notifications, tracking and Parcel Locker access into a single platform. Australia Post has increasingly pushed customers toward app-based delivery management, partly as a way to combat phishing scams and fake delivery notifications, which have become more sophisticated in recent years.

The Parcel Locker model is also beginning to influence property development itself.

Parcel management has become a growing consideration in apartment building design, particularly as online shopping becomes embedded in everyday life. Many new residential developments are now incorporating dedicated parcel rooms or Parcel Locker systems into foyers and communal spaces.

For developers, parcel management is increasingly viewed as part of the broader resident amenity offering, alongside gyms, wellness spaces and communal work areas.

That reflects a wider evolution in how residential buildings are designed.

Apartment buyers are placing greater emphasis on convenience, security and operational functionality, particularly in higher-density urban environments. Parcel delivery, once considered a minor operational detail, has become an increasingly important part of that equation.

Australia Post’s Parcel Locker network sits at the centre of that behavioural shift.

What began as a simple alternative delivery option has evolved into a key piece of infrastructure supporting Australia’s growing eCommerce economy and changing urban lifestyles.

And as online shopping continues to expand, the role of Parcel Lockers is likely to become even more embedded in how Australians live, shop and receive goods.

How Australia Post Parcel Lockers changed parcel delivery convenience in Australia

Perth’s new apartment market recorded its strongest quarter of sales since Q4 2021, with 412 apartments sold in Q1 2026 and a record quarterly sold value of $537 million, according to Urbis’ latest Apartment Essentials results.

Urbis said the March quarter result reflects strong, highly product‑specific demand across both ends of the market, from more attainable projects delivering at scale, through to premium stock being absorbed by equity‑rich downsizers.&nbsp;

David Cresp, Partner at Urbis, said the key story in Perth is not demand, it is the market’s ability to convert demand into delivered housing.&nbsp;

“This is the strongest sales quarter since Q4 2021, and it reinforces that demand in Perth is real and it’s local,” David Cresp said. “But the task now is delivery, turning that demand into projects that can actually be built and completed.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110291 project_image_fid=302785]

<h2>Affordable product leads, premium demand remains resilient</h2>

Sales in Q1 were led by more affordable projects, with The Boulevard (SKS Group) recording 115 sales in the quarter, the presentation noting this is only the second time a single project has surpassed 100 quarterly sales. The project was able to offer more affordable housing product right next to a train station.&nbsp;

Palmyra West (Finbar) also delivered strong results with 28 sales in Q1, following 84 sales in Q4, with an average price of under $800,000, underscoring depth of demand for well‑located, attainable new stock.&nbsp;

At the premium end, Urbis said downsizer demand is continuing, with the results highlighting Romeo (Applecross, Finbar) recording 75 sales and reaching almost 50% sold in one quarter.

Jual (Shenton Park, Celsius Property) also posted a strong quarter with 28 sales, reaching 39% sold in one quarter.

Urbis noted that Perth apartment demand is not speculative, not investor‑led, and not uniform, describing it as localised, often equity‑driven and highly product‑specific, a pattern reflected in the polarisation between strong “attainable” performers and premium downsizer product.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=148957 project_image_fid=364102]

<h2>Prices underpinned by costs, and the delivery risk is growing</h2>

Urbis said pricing pressure is cost not demand‑driven: construction costs and delivery risk are now a central constraint, with the results noting build costs remain elevated and volatile, and that energy, fuel and labour uncertainty weigh on feasibility.

David Cresp said a growing challenge for private Build‑to‑Sell developers is simply securing a builder in the current environment.

“Developers are really feeling the pressure from a building market that was operating at capacity and securing a builder is challenging,” David Cresp said, adding that even where a builder can be secured, “trying to get to the price that makes the development financially viable is incredibly challenging in the current market.”&nbsp;

Urbis’ broader WA commentary also notes that industry remains at or above capacity with lot and housing creation, and that many builders are limiting new sales to manage stretched workforces and fixed‑price contract pressures, conditions that flow directly into apartment feasibility and delivery timing.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108869 project_image_fid=317905]

<h2>Supply: improving later, but still constrained, and Perth lags eastern benchmarks</h2>

While near‑term supply remains constrained, Urbis’ forecast shows completions lifting “Supply is forecast to be back above 1,500 apartments per annum for the first time since 2019”, with 1,775 completions forecast for 2026, and volumes remaining above that level over the following years.&nbsp;

Looking further ahead, completions are forecast to reach 2,500 in 2028, with the report noting 32% of that total is social/affordable, reflecting the role of government‑supported delivery in rebuilding the pipeline.&nbsp;

However, Urbis said Perth remains behind comparable markets on pipeline scale. In a national comparison of projects under construction, the report shows under construction Perth Build‑to‑Sell (BTS) at 3,446 apartments versus the Gold Coast at 7,922. Mr Cresp said “The challenge for Perth is how to we grow the delivery pipeline”.

Urbis’ conclusion is that Perth’s market is increasingly defined by product discipline and delivery certainty, with the research identifying “delivery certainty is key” and calling out builder risk and procurement models as core success factors, alongside “timing and staging”.&nbsp;

Perth apartment sales hit strongest pace since late 2021 as builder capacity tightens

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sammut-developments">Sammut Group</a> has secured development approval for its latest Brisbane apartment project, marking the Sydney developer’s next step in expanding its Queensland pipeline following the success of its debut Gold Coast development, Coast.

The approved project at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/44-glen-road-toowong-qld-4066">44 Glen Road, </a><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/toowong-qld-4066">Toowong</a> will deliver a 15-storey riverfront apartment building with 42 residences, significantly increasing the scale of the site’s previous approval for a smaller luxury scheme. Designed by Bureau^proberts, the development will comprise a mix of predominantly four-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments positioned to maximise Brisbane River and city views.

Sammut Director Julian Sammut said the group had been actively searching Brisbane for several years before identifying Toowong as the right fit.

“Brisbane was the right step for Sammut,” Sammut said.

“With the success of Coast we thought we should definitely look to do more in Queensland alone. We then pushed up to look at Brisbane. We've been looking for I'd say two to three years actually and it was hard to find the right location.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_75/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.14%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=dYAVIL7qdcGA8ojvkslSrLjczXFejSSx" />

Sammut said suburbs including New Farm and Teneriffe were considered before the group ultimately focused on Toowong due to its strong downsizer demographic and limited supply of developable riverfront land.

The site was acquired off-market after what Sammut described as a lengthy negotiation and planning process, with the developer pursuing an uplift to the original approval.

“We are DA approved now which is very exciting,” Sammut said.

“We've had our change approval come through and we've obviously doubled the height, 15 storeys plus rooftop. We've got 42 amazing apartments that are going to be coming to market soon.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,dpr_2.0,q_auto:good/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.26%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=ohkRkY0dIZlqdfME2EZePsCQavRiBadE" />

Bureau^proberts said the design responds to Toowong’s evolving urban character, balancing contemporary apartment living with the area’s established residential identity.

“A place where traditional Queensland living has taken place for centuries; Toowong is seeing a shift of contemporary influence, commercial and retail hubs mixed with well-considered residential offerings – all the while maintaining its character and charm,” the architect noted in planning documents submitted to Brisbane City Council.

The architecture practice said the project’s form was shaped by its riverfront setting, flood considerations, neighbouring building scales, and view corridors.

“They said the mix of four and two-bedroom apartments capture the ‘fundamental qualities of Queenslander living,’ translated into the context of a contemporary subtropical building.”

The development sits just off Coronation Drive within walking distance of Toowong’s retail precinct and the upgraded Regatta ferry terminal, while also benefiting from proximity to the incoming green bridge connection to West End. Sammut said the accessibility and amenity offering were central to the site’s appeal.

The approval adds to growing residential activity along the Toowong riverfront, joining nearby projects including Consolidated Properties’ Monarch Residences and Spyre Group’s ARC Residences.

Sammut secures approval for debut Brisbane apartment development in Toowong

Developer Lanevick is heading back into Sydney’s apartment market after focusing more heavily on the luxury townhouse and terrace sector in recent years.

Lanevick, founded and directed by Steve Maroun, is expecting to receive approval in the coming months for a new apartment development in Gladesville, with the aim to launch it to the market later this year.

The 51-apartment project, designed by Studio Johnston, will comprise a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments positioned toward the Hunters Hill downsizer market.

“Traditionally it’s been difficult for people in that market to downsize because there just hasn’t been the right product available,” Maroun said.

“We’re targeting buyers who might have 30 to 40 per cent of their house value sitting in the bank after downsizing.

“They still want good spacious entertaining areas, they still want quality design, but they also want flexibility and the ability to enjoy life a bit more after working hard for a long time.”

The project sits near Boronia Park and within close proximity to the Parramatta River foreshore, an area Maroun says offers more of a Hunters Hill lifestyle than a traditional apartment precinct.

“From a lifestyle perspective, it’s really more Hunters Hill than Gladesville,” Maroun said. “You’re close to the foreshore, close to parklands, and still connected back into the village precinct.”

From level four and above, apartments will capture water views&nbsp;toward Sydney Harbour. Communal amenity will include rooftop entertaining areas, wellness spaces, and a gym tailored toward owner-occupier buyers.

“We’ve really designed these apartments around that buyer coming from the Hunters Hill LGA and what they’re actually looking for in their next chapter.”

The proposed development has also been designed to respond to the changing character of the broader Gladesville town centre, where a growing number of mixed-use and residential proposals are expected to emerge over the coming years.

“Gladesville presented a rare opportunity to deliver a genuinely design-led residential project within an evolving lifestyle precinct, just moments from the growing Gladesville town centre, and we’ve approached the project with a strong focus on architecture, liveability and long-term community value,” Maroun said.

Maroun said Lanevick saw a first-mover advantage within the precinct as planning controls continue to evolve to accommodate greater housing density.

“We think there’s a real opportunity there that hasn’t really been serviced properly yet,” he said.

“There’s going to be a broader evolution of the whole Gladesville village precinct over time, particularly with more activation and mixed-use outcomes.”

The Venus Street proposal will include a commercial and retail component at ground level designed to contribute to that evolving streetscape activation.

“A big part of the thinking was how do you activate that area properly and create more vibrancy and amenity, which is what Hunters Hill has been looking for,” Maroun said.

Lanevick’s focus since 2020 has largely been on smaller-scale luxury townhouse and terrace developments. The developer recently completed Royale Randwick, also designed by Studio Johnston, where prices reached $3.65 million. The project was featured in the UDIA NSW 2026 Professional Development Prospectus and was also named a finalist for Development of the Year.

&nbsp;

Lanevick to cater for Hunters Hill downsizers with new Gladesville apartment development

Air Conditioning

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EXPERT OBSERVERS
 
It might be blisteringly hot outside, but if you work in an office building, the chances are it’s always reassuringly cool (or cold, depending on your preference) once you walk inside.
In Australia and much of the rest of the world, it’s become standard practice for offices to be cooled or heated to a uniform 22℃. In many Australian offices, this temperature is even officially enshrined in <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/17561451211211714" target="_blank">commercial tenancy agreements</a>.
And yet temperature is routinely one of the sore points of office politics – many office workers constantly feel too hot or cold at work. Of course, that might simply be because the air conditioning doesn’t work very well where you work. But it’s also reasonable to ask whether 22℃ is really such a magic number after all.
Our review of the available research, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261918318233" target="_blank">published recently in the journal Applied Energy</a>, suggests not.
The air conditioning industries certainly view 22℃ as the magic number, judging by guidelines published by the <a href="https://www.rehva.eu/fileadmin/Promotional_material/PPTs/Nr_6_Indoor_Climate_and_Productivity_in_Offices.pdf" target="_blank">European</a> and <a href="https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/ashrae-handbook/description-2017-ashrae-handbook-fundamentals" target="_blank">US</a> industry peak bodies. Both claim that office workers’ cognitive performance at different temperatures follows an “inverted U” shaped curve, which <a href="https://indoor.lbl.gov/publications/room-temperature-and-productivity" target="_blank">peaks at 22℃</a>.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261648/original/file-20190301-110150-ggyjuv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">Inverted-U function between temperature and cognitive performance. CREDIT
This explains why 22℃ has prevailed as the chosen figure all over the world, regardless of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778815302632" target="_blank">how much it might cost</a> to heat or cool work spaces to that temperature in different climates. In the heat of an Australian summer this typically involves lots of cooling, but the view is that the prodigious output of comfortably cool workers more than justifies the electricity bill.
But are things really as simple as the graph above would have us believe? To answer that question, we critically reviewed almost 300 studies from a wide range of disciplines including physiology, psychology, ergonomics, neuroscience, sports science, human-technology interaction, and more.
We concluded that the relationship between temperature and performance is not an “inverted U” but rather an “<a href="https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023&amp;context=jhpee" target="_blank">extended U</a>”. The evidence in fact suggests that human performance remains relatively stable across a broad range of acceptable temperatures, but then rapidly deteriorates once it gets any hotter or colder than this. The boundaries of the acceptable ranges depend on a lot of factors, such as the type of task you are doing, how demanding the task is, how adverse the temperature is, how skilled and motivated you are in doing your task, to name just a few. Our previous research found that workers <a href="https://theconversation.com/chill-out-a-slightly-warmer-office-wont-make-it-too-hot-to-think-93789" target="_blank">perform just the same at 25℃</a>, for instance.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261600/original/file-20190301-22837-ii9h2v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261600/original/file-20190301-22837-ii9h2v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a> Extended-U relationship between temperature and cognitive performance. CREDIT, Author provided
This is because humans are not just simple, passive machines. We can adapt in all sorts of ways to moderate levels of thermal stress. Common ways of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778897000534" target="_blank">adaptation</a> include behavioural adjustment, physiological acclimatisation, psychological habituation, and probably most important of all, expectation adjustment.
So it turns out that our brains can still be at their sharpest even if it’s not exactly 22℃. But that’s not the only reason why the magic temperature is a myth. The existing rationale conflates “cognitive performance” with “office productivity”, when in reality these are two very different things.
“Performance” is a person’s ability to produce “goal-directed activity”. In performance science, a job or task is often broken down into different performance components, such as memory, concentration, logical thinking, executive function and so on. “<a href="http://soh.iums.ac.ir/uploads/0415237920_95689.pdf" target="_blank">Productivity</a>” is the extent to which an organisation is progressing towards its systemic goals, whether that be the amount of products they sell in a year, or the number of customers served within a specific period of time and how satisfied those customers are with the quality of service they received.
But there is no standard way to <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/14630010710845730" target="_blank">quantify office productivity</a>. The common practice is to use performance measures as a proxy for overall productivity, but this is problematic for several reasons.
The first is that simulated performance tasks do not accurately represent the nature of real work carried out in actual workplaces. Standard cognitive tasks testing your memory, concentration and vigilance performance might not faithfully capture your ability to generate useful contribution towards achieving your company’s goals.
Second, productivity can also depend on many factors besides workers’ ability to perform. These might include workplace culture, organisational structure, job security and satisfaction, workload, management style, and personal factors such as injury, loss of sleep, life events, health and well-being, or financial stress. Distracted, disgruntled or worried workers aren’t going to be very productive, regardless of what the office temperature will be.
There are practical implications to this. Office managers might be wasting money chasing the “best” temperature for maximum productivity while ignoring other factors that have a much larger bearing on it.
An air-conditioning setpoint which is closer to the outdoor weather, aided by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132309000547" target="_blank">Personal Comfort Systems</a> (like a desk fan, or contact cooling/heating device) may <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261915016888" target="_blank">save energy bills</a> while maintaining high levels of workplace satisfaction and mental performance.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111823/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/fan-zhang-455627" target="_blank">Fan Zhang</a>, Lecturer in Architectural Science, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828" target="_blank">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-hancock-428234" target="_blank">Peter Hancock</a>, Professor of Psychology, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-central-florida-1925" target="_blank">University of Central Florida</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-de-dear-12933" target="_blank">Richard de Dear</a>, Director, Indoor Environmental Quality Laboratory, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-perfect-office-temperature-is-a-myth-111823" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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jrobinson-rf4aSBido9

Why the 'perfect' office temperature is a myth

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Air-conditioning giant Daikin has secured two new industrial trade centres, in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, just before the onset of the summer season.
Daikin had tasked Savills to assist with finding suitable facilities.
The deals were negotiated by Savills’ Shaw Harrison and Callum Stenson.
Both of the new Daikin stores open this month, with the Brisbane store located at 1/210 Robinson Road in Geebung totalling 710 sqm, and the Gold Coast store located at 26 Lawrence Drive in Nerang totalling 809 sqm. 
It will pay a combined rental of $263,750 per annum.
Daikin has committed to a three-year lease on both properties.
“While Daikin were particularly specific with their requirements we identified well over 20 suitable locations after conducting an extensive market search,” Harrison said.
The Geebung property was vacant prior to Daikin signing the lease, and the property owner assisted with renovating the building to suit Daikin’s showroom fit-out requirements. 
“The main road frontage along Robinson Road was exactly what they were seeking for their Brisbane display centre, with other trade-based industry users also located along this busy strip,” Harrison said.
The newly constructed Nerang facility in the Gold Coast was being marketed by GC Commercial after the previous tenant was involved in a major fire which required the building to be completely rebuilt. 
 
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

Daikin sets up new offices in Brisbane and Gold Coast ahead of summer

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/69410/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
As the weather heats up, Australian households won’t just be cranking up the air conditioning for themselves. Some households will be turning it on for their dogs or cats. 
Our research on energy demand and household cooling highlights a recent trend towards air-conditioning rooms or homes for pets. As well as cooling homes occupied by both humans and their furry friends, air conditioners may be left on when dogs or cats are home alone. 
Some pet owners also leave doors and windows open for their dogs and cats to move between indoor and outdoor areas. This means that air conditioners have to work harder and use more energy to maintain indoor temperatures.
Our research is consistent with an emerging international trend towards the “humanisation of pets”, which is contributing to energy use in households. 
A 2013 study released by E.ON UK (a UK power company) on “hot-dogs and thermo-cats” found that more than half (52%) of UK pet owners turn up the heating for their pets when they go out. Some UK households also leave radios or televisions on for pets so that they don’t get lonely when their owners leave the home.
In other areas of everyday life, cats and dogs now play iPad games, eat specialised diets, have heated mats or air-conditioned kennels, and have their own fashion accessories and electronic toys.
The energy impacts of home cooling
On average across Australia, heating and cooling make up 40 percent of our energy use in households, not including hot water. 
Most Australians who live in southern states use cooling in their homes sporadically, turning it on during hot summer afternoons and evenings when they get home from work or other activities. The rapid growth in residential air conditioning for this purpose has been one of the main contributors to Australia’s peak electricity demand, which has increased energy bills.
Trends in pet cooling could change the energy demand for cooling in homes. Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world, with 63% of households keeping an animal as a pet. 
According to a 2013 report by the Animal Health Alliance, there are 4.2 million pet dogs and 3.3 million pet cats in Australia. Of these, 76% of dogs and 92% of cats are kept exclusively or partly indoors. 
Providing air conditioning for pets during the day when people aren’t at home would raise residential energy demand. It could also extend and possibly increase electricity peaks if more areas of the property (such as kennels or garages) are being cooled for a longer time.
What makes pets hot?
Although cats and dogs differ in their physiology, in general older, sick or overweight pets may be less resilient to the heat. Some breeds may also be more vulnerable than others. 
For example, short-snout dog breeds (Bulldogs, Pekes and Pugs) are more likely to suffer from heatstroke. This also applies to short-faced cats like Persians or exotics. 
Many things can exacerbate heat stress for pets. For example, people living in apartments may find it more difficult to provide cool outdoor spaces for dogs, or to engage in “waterplay”, as recommended by Pets Australia.
How to keep pets cool
Advice on how to keep pets cool varies and is different for cats and dogs. Pets Australia recommends providing cool spaces such as shade, cold tiles or digging holes in the soil. Other examples include giving dogs cool treats like frozen meat, providing lots of water for hydration and stopping exercise. 
Some websites recommend keeping pets inside on hot days, preferably with an air conditioner or fan turned on. Other sites recommend cooling mats or vests such as gel pads, which can be refrigerated or frozen prior to use. 
Murdoch University provides advice on how to recognise heatstroke warning signs, and what to do if you suspect your pet is suffering from heatstroke. The growing market for pet cameras is one way to keep an eye on pets while owners are out of the house. 
What needs to be done?
As climate change continues to increase the severity and duration of heat waves, the incidence of heatstroke in pets is likely to increase too. This applies especially to those living in energy-inefficient housing or with access to poor-quality outdoor environments. 
There is a clear need to seriously consider pet cooling in the design of energy-efficient housing and in energy policy that targets households.
It may also be timely to reconsider pet types and breeds appropriate for the Australian climate. Siberian huskies, for example, prefer cooler climates and may be more likely to suffer from heatstroke than breeds with smooth or short coats.
More research is also needed to understand how Australian households are changing the ways they keep their pets cool, and what can be done to reduce heat stress in pets without increasing energy demand or electricity peaks in homes.
In the meantime there is a range of advice on how to keep pets cool. Many creative solutions are available that don’t require leaving the air conditioner running.
Yolande Strengers is senior research fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/yolande-strengers-15350" target="_blank">here</a>.
Cecily Maller is vice chancellor's senior research fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cecily-maller-15732" target="_blank">here</a>. Larissa Nicholls is research fellow, RMIT University, and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/larissa-nicholls-109087" target="_blank">here</a>.
All are authors for The Conversation.
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Hot dogs and cool cats: keeping pets cool without blowing your energy bill

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GUEST OBSERVER
Governments and private companies could save millions of dollars and drastically reduce their carbon footprint with a simple adjustment to the way they use air conditioning.
Air conditioning systems were generally fixed at what is considered to be an optimal 22 degrees based on an arbitrary standard which took no account of outside temperatures and employee comfort levels. It turns out that we heat and cool the built environment to a fixed 22 degrees. Why? Because it is the thermal comfort level of a forty four year old man which was determined by the Americans in the 1950s. I kid you not. This is an arbitrary point that makes little sense and which costs governments and industry millions of dollars a year to say nothing of the impact on the environment. In 2008 the United Nations, as a publicity stunt at its New York headquarters, adopted a temperature range of 19-25 degrees. A month later the UN estimated the savings at one hundred thousand US dollars. In Australia some 40 percent of our energy is consumed in the built environment and a large amount of that energy is used in heating and cooling. The question is why wouldn’t you adopt some flexibility with regard to your air-con temperature settings? If we did this in Australia in office buildings and shopping centres, it would save a hundred million dollars and three hundred thousand tonnes of carbon emissions per year and it would not cost a cent. Now let’s run that out through all the other property in the country including residential and then run that out around the world and we are talking billions of dollars and millions of tonnes every year. Irrespective of the dollar savings, it was incumbent upon governments and industry to make that adjustment as part of their social responsibility.
For more information, <a href="https://www.savills.com.au/research/australian-research/life-out-of-balance.aspx" target="_blank">click here</a>.
Tony Crabb is national head of research, Savills Australia and can be contacted <a href="https://www.savills.com.au" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Air conditioning at 19 to 25 degrees would save millions of dollars: Tony Crabb

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Governments and private companies could save millions of dollars and drastically reduce their carbon footprint with a simple adjustment to the way they use air-conditioning, according to new research by Savills. 
In a presentation posted to the online knowledge clearinghouse TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design), Savills Australia’s national head of Research, Tony Crabb, said air conditioning systems were generally fixed at what is considered to be an optimal 22 degrees based on an arbitrary standard which took no account of outside temperatures and employee comfort levels.
"It turns out that we heat and cool the built environment to a fixed 22 degrees. Why? Because it is the thermal comfort level of a 44-year-old-man which was determined by the Americans in the 1950s. I kid you not," he said.
"This is an arbitrary point that makes little sense and which costs governments and industry millions of dollars a year to say nothing of the impact on the environment.’’
By way of an example, Crabb said that in 2008 the United Nations, as a publicity stunt at its New York headquarters, adopted a temperature range of 19-25 degrees. A month later the UN estimated the savings at US$100,000.
"In Australia, some 40 per cent of our energy is consumed in the built environment and a large amount of that energy is used in heating and cooling. The question is why wouldn’t you adopt some flexibility with regard to your air-con temperature settings?
"If we did this in Australia in office buildings and shopping centres it would save a hundred million dollars and three hundred thousand tonnes of carbon emissions a year and it would not cost a cent. 
"Now let’s run that out through all the other property in the country including residential and then run that out around the world and we are talking billions of dollars and millions of tonnes every year,’’ Crabb said. 
Irrespective of the dollar savings, he said governments and industry should make the effort to adjust the air-conditioning as part of their social responsibility.
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