Tony O’Connell last presented at Master Builders’ Green Living Conference in 2016. Change occurs so steadily in the arena of sustainable design now that, only two years later, the director of TS Constructions can talk about plenty of good change that has taken place since he last addressed the attendees.

In 2016, TS Constructions was shaping big plans for a large development of green, low-impact homes at Cape Paterson, but had only one actually built.

“It was still just a bit more than a concept,” O’Connell says. “A lot of what I talked about was based on statistics, not actual proof from our own projects.”

In August 2018 it’s a different story—a much more complete one.

“Today, we have 15 houses on the ground,” he said, “and we’re averaging a nearly 8.2-star rating for each of them. Our long-term goal is 220 for the cape performing at that level.”

 This year, O’Connell plans to focus his discussion not just on his own company’s achievements, but about product development and the need for testing, to prove to clients what builders are saying about the green technology they have embraced.

“For example, ‘we’ve been getting blower door tests [a type that measures the air-tightness of buildings] done, and now we can demonstrate that what we’ve put on paper is what we’re delivering.”

But O’Connell finds that his clients speak louder than any statistics.

“They have become our best promoters,” O’Connell says. “ As part of Sustainable House Day this year we have six houses in the estate open to the public—four of them occupied. The owners are social and motivated. When they can get up on a really cold day and walk around the house in a t-shirt, they tell other people about it, and invite them inside to see what it feels like.”

A home at Cape Woolamai won TS Constructions the title of 2018 Regional Master Builder of the Year, South East.

Tony O’Connell and a panel of other industry experts will be presenting at the 2018 Master Builders’ Green Living Conference at the Building Leadership Simulation Centre (BLSC) on 31 August. The conference is an excellent way to make sure you’re aware of and understand the latest developments in building technologies and the best ways to apply them to provide the best outcome for your client. Each year, the conference provides information about and discussion of new methods, material, programs and best-practice buildings.

The conference typically sells out well in advance, so make your booking today.