Disposable office blocks 'a huge waste of energy'

Constructing city buildings to be obsolete after 30 years is a scandalous building industry practice - and one of the most extreme examples of energy inefficiency in modern society, according to international futurist Patrick Dixon.

He says most offices being built today use 20th-century energy measures, when considerable cost savings are available with the right mix of modern design and technology.

Dr Dixon, chairman of British-based Global Change Limited and adviser on the latest global trends to such companies as Microsoft and BP, will address a building conference in Melbourne today. He will stress the need to plan for a time when energy is twice as expensive as today after carbon taxes are added. However, it is the inefficiency of modern buildings that rankles most.

"I do think it's a scandal," Dr Dixon says. "If you buy a home in Australia, you take out a mortgage and in a decade or two you plan to sell it almost as you found it. But office buildings are constructed to be pulled down after 30 years, perhaps 40 years at most.