Design tours

From time to time, James Hardie hosts special study tours that visit developments in Australia and overseas. Whilst most tours are invitation-only, if you register your details on line now, we'll at least be able to let you know when we do have places available. Failing that, we can alert you when we've created tour video documentaries that you can download and view online.

An example of our our study tours is the Living Benchmarks Tour of 2006. James Hardie created and sponsored this intensive two-week study tour of US developments for Australian planners and developers, and the video documentaries and some of the speaker presentations (all created on-the-fly, on location) are available here.

Living Benchmarks 2006

The 2006 Living Benchmarks Tour was an intensive two-week tour of over 15 thought provoking developments; livable neighbourhoods with a sense of community created by incorporating elements of new urbanism. The tour programme involved not only project visits, but also presentations from a range of industry players. We realize of course that there continues to be much debate about new urbanism. At its heart are concepts of walkability, connectedness, sustainability, diverse architecture and a sense of place. The tour was designed to really explore these timeless planning principles in action and their relevance to the Australian context. Whilst the tour involved just over 30 special guests, we always wanted to share the insights of the various tour presenters with a wider audience. As a result, we had a small documentary team follow us on location, to create these on-the-fly video snippets featuring all our key developments and guest speakers.

	Diverse architecture In this section we focus on differentiation by design….featured developments include Harbor Town in Memphis, Tennessee; Seaside and Rosemary Beach in Florida; Ladera Ranch in California; and Del Mar Station in Pasadena, California. Presentation extracts will also be included from these featured speakers: Carson Looney of Looney Ricks Kiss; Andrés Duany of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company; Demetri Baches of DPZ Pacific; and Geoff Graham of GuildQuality.com.
	Environmental integration In this section we focus on developing with sensitivity to the natural environment…featured developments include Watercolor in Florida and I’on in South Carolina. Presentation extracts will also be included from these featured speakers: Warren Byrd of Nelson Byrd Wolz Landscape Architects and Jackie Benson of Milesbrand.
	Challenging mindsets In this section we feature a number of examples of challenging tradition in planning, design or marketing…featured developments include Habersham in South Carolina; Home Town in Texas and Mission Station in Pasadena, California. Presentation extracts will also be included from these featured speakers: Jackie Benson of Milesbrand; Andrés Duany of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company; Charles Brewer of GreenStreet Properties; and Joe Kohl of Dover Kohl & Partners.
	Suburban retrofit In this section we look at infill developments created in existing communities…featured developments include Legacy Park and Addison Circle in Dallas, Texas and Glenwood Park in Atlanta, Georgia.
	High design affordable housing In this section we look at ways of creating moderate income housing without sacrificing design…featured developments include Bressi Ranch in California and the creation of the Katrina House.