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A better built environment
The Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) enhances the
lifestyles of all New Zealanders by researching and improving the environment
in which they live, work and play.
It is an industry-owned and governed organisation whose job is to identify
the future needs of the building and construction sector and so help create
a better built environment.
The Association gets its funding from the building research levy. Under the
Building Research Levy Act, 0.1 percent of the value of each construction project
put forward for building consent (over a set minimum of $20,000) is paid to
BRANZ.
These funds are collected for BRANZ by territorial authorities, who
in turn receive a commission for this service, at the time a building
consent is processed.
BRANZ invests these funds in various research projects and then passes on
the information it collates from the research to the industry.
Since it was founded in 1970, BRANZ has attracted international attention
and has developed a reputation for independent, unbiased research and innovative
and effective dissemination of information.
To ensure that everybody can be confident that levy funds are used for the good of the building and construction industry, the Association has established a subsidiary operating company, BRANZ Ltd. This delivers testing, consulting, and information resources as fee-earning services to the Association, as well as to private-sector companies who wish to make use of its expertise.
BRANZ research programmes have always been developed in close collaboration
with the wider industry, and take account of perceived developments in government
and international thinking.
The key test applied to any research project is whether it addresses a real
industry need. Codes and standards, documents that define required practice
and provide a basis on which the industry can agree with its customers about
the nature of the products involved, play a central role when BRANZ plans its
research programme. This means that the needs of the Building Industry Authority
and Standards NZ are taken into account.
Many of the New Zealand Building Code requirements today have been
underpinned by three decades of BRANZ research into fire safety engineering,
structural
engineering, indoor air quality, energy efficiency of buildings, building
economics, and durability of concrete, metals and polymers.
Because of the money spent on research into the effects of climate change,
waste minimisation, and other environmental topics, the industry is well
placed to address the sustainability issues which the government plans to
introduce
to the Building Code.
BRANZ Ltd’s website provides access to the comprehensive range of books, bulletins, conference papers, study reports and technical recommendations produced over the years with Association investment. BRANZ Ltd also publishes the bi-monthly BUILD magazine, regarded by many as the most authoritative in the industry.
BRANZ Ltd also provides two advisory helplines tailored individually for professionals within the industry (0800 80 80 85) and homeowners (0900 5 90 90).
Building Research Association of New Zealand, www.branz.org.nz
BRANZ Ltd, www.branz.co.nz