Modularity by Rendine has taken another big step towards supporting

sustainable construction with Sustainability Victoria’s

Circular Economy Innovation Fund awarding $227,100 to its project

for a modular prototype, creating a second life for obsolete components.

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     The State Member for Geelong, Christine Couzens MP, with James Heffernan, General Manager of Modularity by Rendine

and board member of prefabAUS, and Professor Tuan Ngo from University of Melbourne.  

 

At an announcement on Friday 17 November in Geelong, Modularity and its collaborators, University of Melbourne

and prefabAUS, were among six recipients of funding in Round 3 of the Victorian Government’s Circular Economy Innovation Fund,

as part of the Circular Economy Business Innovation Centre (CEBIC).

 

Modularity by Rendine was invited to attend the funding announcement by the State Member for Geelong, Christine Couzens.

 

Modularity will lead the three-way collaboration, ensuring the project is completed by December 2024.

 

By repurposing redundant modular building components which would otherwise contribute to waste and recycling, the project

will construct a prototype building to showcase the application of circular economy principles such as waste reduction,

and extending the use of materials at their highest value.

 

James Heffernan, the General Manager of Modularity and a board member of prefabAUS, says the project will also explore

future adaptations for such a building.

 

These could include short-term disaster response accommodation, essential worker housing, crisis refuge facilities, or pop-up community infrastructure. The prototype could also operate as a lab to demonstrate circular economy principles to schools and communities.

 

“We created Modularity with a specific goal to minimise the environmental footprint of construction. Every day we aim to increase process efficiency and reduce building waste that would otherwise go to landfill,” Heffernan says.

 

“For Modularity, it’s natural that we should take another step towards creating innovations that lead to even more sustainable construction outcomes.”

 

Sustainability Victoria’s Circular Economy Innovation Fund has provided more than $3.7 million to support projects focusing on the research and development of innovative market solutions that apply circular design.

 

“Projects must improve the environmental outcomes of products, services, industries, supply chains, or systems, and contribute to Victoria's transition to a circular economy,” CEBIC says.

 

Modularity  by Rendine congratulates the other five recipients to receive funding under Sustainability Victoria’s

Circular Economy Innovation Fund.

 

   •     Bellevue Orchard / Deakin Biofactory

   •     Lotus Energy Recycling

   •     RMIT University / Country Road Group

   •     RMIT University / Brickworks / University of Newcastle

   •     Swinburn University of Technology

 

We also congratulate CLOS, which received funding under the Circular Economy Business Support Fund.

 

Also in attendance at the funding announcement to represent our collaborative partner, the University of Melbourne,

was Professor Tuan Ngo. He is Program Leader of Building 4.0 CRC, a $130 million initiative to transform the

building industry in Australia, and also the Research Director of the Australian Research Council’s Centre for

Advanced Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing.