Overall this year has been a big one – from floods to geopolitical crises, from construction company collapses to skyrocketing inflation, housing crises and supply chain woes.
But amidst the darkness, there have been many shafts of light – communities that banded together to recover after the floods, Aussies out in force to vote teal and Green, and more of us than ever before decided it was time to finally take a stand and take action on the biggest problem of our times, the climate crisis.
Our team at The Fifth Estate has been diligently working away to bring you the stories that matter – covering the issues you need to know from the built environment industry and beyond.
And our hard work has been rewarded by so many of you who read and shared our stories, attended our events, purchased our ebooks, listened to our podcasts, and forwarded our email newsletters to your colleagues and friends.
Here are our top 20 articles of 2022, according to you. Many are still trending from years gone by – showing the enduring interest some topics hold for you.
Top stories for 2022 (with average read times):
Green Gong winner for most popular story in 2022 is…
- Naffelaide: “…time for Adelaide to just grow up”… (3:38) by Mike Brown
In a year of extremes while the world tries to recover from Covid and goes a little bit mad in the process, it’s a wry, not-quite-satirical, highly nuanced piece on Adelaide’s urban planning that took out the Green Gong for The Fifth Estate top reader hits in 2022.
Stands to reason when you think about it. We need something more high minded, provocative and maybe a tad verging on rude, to take our minds off the tough stuff on the ground.
Congratulations to Mike Brown for this well earned award, a culmination of the long series of great articles he’s graced us with over several years. Each a work of superbly crafted erudite critique of our built environment.
His articles are gutsy, well researched and come from inside the tent, thanks to his urban planning background and long years in Sydney which is often the target of his keyboard.
Mike’s winning article, part of a long series on his old home town, told it like only a local can tell it. And only by someone from a place that clearly isn’t afraid of hearing the tough stuff along with the pleasant.
In our view it’s the kind of uncompromising quality that drives excellence.
We heard it in Melbourne a few years ago as a bunch of Sydneysiders walked along the Yarra at Southbank in the magical twilight gazing at the crowds enjoying aperitifs, the city bathed in that certain Melbourne light, looking seductive. We came to our destination, Fed Square. The Sydneysiders oohed and ahhed. But the one Melbourne person in our midst was not seduced. “I think it’s shit”, she said.
Gotta say that for some of us who hail from Melbourne (and possibly Adelaide?) Sydney people do seem inordinately polite at times.
Mike Brown has trained an intense arc lamp of scrutiny on Adelaide and we think the result will be good. For a start it signals high expectations, which is always a good thing.
And by the early bird accounts wafting our way this is a city on the turn. One recent visitor said she’s a fan and would live there if she could. Another came back tales of sophisticated innovation and ambition.
2. On the deep differences between Teal and Green (6:18)
This year we saw an inspiring shift to the side of the planet during our federal election in May, when not only did the Anthony Albanese become the first Labor Party leader to hold office in almost a decade, but the Greens achieved their best ever result and a new political force took the country by surprise – the teal independents. Although it was not a surprise, given that this new force offered a solution to what Australians saw as close to our hearts – frustration at the ineptitude and inaction by the previous federal government on topics such as cost of living, the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and the climate crisis. Which is why this article diving into the deep differences between Teal and Green did so well… read here
3. Metricon Homes founder Mario Biasin passes aged 71 (3:31)
The sad passing of Metricon Homes founder Mario Biasin hit our readers hard, and many wanted to know what would be next for the home builder… read here
4. Metricon in trouble (2:53)
And the Metricon saga continued, with reports that the home builder was struggling after the passing of its founder. Clearly our readers wanted to know more… read here
5. Tomorrowland ‘22 (5:34)
You were all ready and raring to go at the news we were holding our signature event Tomorrowland again this year after the pandemic hiatus, and the event quickly sold out due to our inspiring and knowledgeable speakers who wowed the crowd on the day… read here
- Market Pulse: Construction company collapses owing $1.7 million, as more builders bite the dust (3:48)
The sad tale of Australia’s construction industry woes continued as more builders collapsed under a perfect storm of pressures this year. Sadly Blint Builders, Besse Constructions, Ajit Constructions, Willoughby Homes, Probuild, Condev, and many more joined the list, with readers wanting to know who would be next to bite the dust… read here
This listicle headline grabbed your attention – the op-ed from energy superstar Tim Forcey revealed the little-known facts that people might not know about their homes; from airconditioning, to hanging laundry, our readers came away a little (or a lot) more informed about the ins-and-outs of their homes by reading this listicle… read here
We caught up with local independent for Bradfield Nicolette Boele ahead of the election in May to discuss her stance on climate and more, and it seems our readers were clearly curious to know who they might have been voting for, with lots of discussions in the comments… read here
A big shock resignation caught your attention, with parliamentary and industry sources telling us they were surprised by the unexpected news, and one reader commenting they were “extremely disappointed”. Were you?… read here
Another scandalous headline: our readers’ attention was grabbed by the incredible power developers hold over planning decisions in NSW, when the Design and Place SEPP – a planned policy package designed to improve the liveability and sustainability of new apartments and master planned communities – was dramatically scrapped. Many readers were outraged and took to the comment section for a discussion… read here
Our readers were clearly intrigued by the political drama unfolding, with readers commenting it was “bizarre” and “just so typical”… read here
The long-discussed Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop turned some heads with this scathing critique of the proposal, with our readers commenting that “the greatest threat to humanity is humanity’s stupidity”… read here
Some topics are enduring and bring our readers back again and again. Also in the hit list was articles harking back to 2014 (!!!) that still remains top of the charts. Because the times may have changed, but some things still remain intriguing and beguiling.
- Ninety per cent of Australian consumers want sustainable products from 2020 (6:6)
- Levi’s – a new direction in fashion from 2021 (3:54)
- Treated timber and termites? Why bother and why not to bother from 2021 (5:27)