In a rarely reported story this week, the town of Austral was destroyed entirely by a climate related event. More than 100,000 residents were made homeless. Curiously, no government has acted to help them in any way, and even curiouser, there has not been a hue and cry in the media about this dereliction of responsibility. Actually, the town of Austral is Australia, and the townspeople are the homeless…

When a minority could maximise social housing. Those disappointed by the unedifying sight of Federal Labor bringing forward a pitiful housing policy can take some heart from the result in the NSW elections. As predicted in this column last week, Labor will form a minority government, with the Greens (who have a decent housing policy) holding the balance of power…

on bankrupt builders, politicians, chemists, housing, palm springs -

Among the many bad ideas from project managers, one of the worst was novating the architect to a builder once approval was received. The intention was to have the architect and builder collaborate in preparing construction drawings for a better build. The resulting ‘design / construct’ approach proved a disaster for quality control…

on booksellers, vinoly, AUKUS, acronyms, bookends -

William Stout, legendary bookseller for over 40 years in San Francisco, has sold his eponymous bookstore, and his personal library, to the Eames Institute, who sat down with him to discuss his life, legacy, and what he considers his rarest…