Qattro is a South Australian property group involved in all cycles of property development – including architectural design, construction, engineering, urban planning, body corporate management and more.
Managing Director, Bradley Jansen, believes Hebel is at the core of Qattro’s ability to deliver affordable and sustainable housing.
Having worked with Hebel for over eight years, Bradley thinks that Hebel external cladding and flooring systems help reduce the costs associated with the building process.
“Hebel, as a cladding method, is far more cost-effective than concrete panels on an apartment building,” Bradley said.
“Hebel’s flexibility to be cut means that it articulates everything from an architectural point of view. Hebel can make the buildings present more interestingly without driving up the engineering costs,” he added.
Hebel also saves costs in other aspects of the business, beyond the construction process.
“In our body corporate business, the fact that we are using Hebel as the external cladding means that we have a better looking community for longer. From an ongoing warranty and maintenance point of view, we have a lower cost of maintaining the home for the consumer when we use Hebel,” he said.
Bradley Jansen, Managing Director of Qattro
However, it’s not only cost reduction that makes Hebel a great building material choice for Qattro homes. Independent testing shows that overall, Hebel has a 30% lower environmental impact than concrete or brick veneer.
“If you’re using materials that have a lower input cost in terms of the carbon footprint that goes into the actual production of it, like Hebel, then you’re building in a more sustainable way,” he said.
“You also have to think about what will lower the energy consumption of the house long-term. A more efficient system will keep the house comfortable, even on really hot or cold days,” he added.
“When you build with Hebel, the house maintains a comfortable temperature on its own, so you lower the need for energy consumption on air conditioning and heating. So you end up with a smarter and more sustainable house when using a better material like Hebel,” he explained.
Bradley believes that building sustainable homes is becoming even more of a key consideration for the construction industry.
“It’s the new challenge for our industry – we need to start thinking about how we’re building. The consumer sentiment is shifting towards lowering the cost of living in a home rather than the cost of building it. The industry has to stop prioritising lowering the cost of building a house and start investing in methods that lower the cost of running it,” he said.