Speakers
We're proud to bring some of the most inspirational and notable speakers to the architectural community.
Benje Patterson
Economist, strategist, and storyteller at Benje Patterson People & Places
Not your usual economist expert, Benje brings his refreshing, straight forward approach to chat all things big picture on a regional scale.
During the early 2000s, many of New Zealand’s regions faced a hollowing out as their best and brightest fled to the big smoke or across the ditch. But things have changed over recent years, as increasingly unaffordable housing in our biggest cities has pushed many people back into the regions. This begs the question – is the recent infatuation with regional housing temporary, or will provincial New Zealand continue to be a growth node in a post-Covid world?
As director of VIA architecture Ltd, Elrond specialises in Passive House and low-carbon architecture. The current chair of the board of Te Tōpūtanga o te Whare Korou ki Aotearoa, Passive House Institute New Zealand (PHINZ), and Principal Advisor of Architecture & Design in the Building System Performance Branch of MBIE, Elrond focuses his huge passion and expertise on improving people’s quality of life, health and environmental impact through beautiful, sustainable, high-performance architecture.
Elrond Burrell
Director of VIA Architecture Ltd
A master on all things passive housing and sustainability, Elrond brings his passion for improving peoples lives and talks climate change.
One of Mexico's most celebrated Architects, Gabriela is one half of the widely acclaimed practice Taller | Rocha + Carrillo, receiving national and international recognition for her immense contribution to architecture, most recently receiving the "Architect of the Year" award by Architectural Digest Mexico.
Damian Van Brandenburg
Director of Architecture Van Brandenburg
A local name synonymous with ambitious architecture, Damian will bring inspiration in droves.
A local name synonymous with ambitious architecture, Damian will bring inspiration in droves.
Gabriela Carrilo
Director of Taller Gabriela Carrilo
Bringing her unique international expertise, Gabriela takes us on a journey through some of her most inspiring architectural masterpieces.
One of Mexico's most celebrated Architects, Gabriela is one half of the widely acclaimed practice Taller Gabriela Carrillo, receiving national and international recognition for her immense contribution to architecture, most recently receiving the "Architect of the Year" award by Architectural Digest Mexico.
Eithne Sweeney
Managing Director at Wires Uncrossed
Communication, or miscommunication, is often the crux of disagreements in life and business. Eithne shares her hacks for translating the technical and reaching communication clarity.
Eithne from Wires Uncrossed is no stranger to miscommunication in technical environments - she's been resolving it for almost 20 years! In this interactive session, she'll share three simple communication hacks to help you to translate technical information for any audience, whether it's your colleagues, contractors or clients. You'll learn how you can translate your expertise in a compelling way, so that the listener knows exactly what you mean and what that means for them. Who knows, they may even want to know more!
Sir Ian Taylor
Key Note Speaker
From TV personality and lead singer, to a stint in the army and a computer game animation guru, Sir Ian Taylor shares his incredible journey from humble beginnings to being named Visionary Leader of the Year.
Ian’s back story is a fascinating journey, from growing up in a house without electricity in the 1950s, to being part of a company recognised globally as being at the leading edge of technology and innovation, and most recently being named the Deloitte 200 "Visionary Leader of the Year. It hasn't all been plain sailing though .
Jonathan Shaw
Planning and Building Manager for the Invercargill City Council
Talking all things RMA and reform, Jonathan brings local flavour and tangible takeaways.
Talking all things RMA and reform, Jonathan brings local flavour and tangible takeaways.
Matt Chisholm
Key Note Speaker
The truth behind the quintessential 'Great Southern Man', Matt comes clean and gets real and raw about his battle with addiction and depression.
His story told his way, there is so much more behind this charismatic personality. The raw truth about his battles with addiction and depression while keeping up the very public façade of being the quintessential Great Southern Man. From Seven Sharp to SUNDAY, Survivor to Celebrity Treasure Island, Matt Chisholm has been a familiar, fun, face on our screens, but he’s been lying to us. Behind the smile he’s been dealing with addiction and depression.
Now, he’s coming clean.
Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
Professor Julia Rucklidge
Professor at Ahorangi School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing
What if we’re looking for solutions to mental health problems in some of the wrong places? What if instead of treating mental illness with prescriptions and medication, we changed what we eat and how we feed our brains? This talk will review the research over the past decade uncovering an alarming picture of declining food quality as risk factors for all kinds of psychiatric problems.
What if we're looking in all the wrong places when it comes to battling mental health challenges? Julia delves into how the gut could be the missing link.
With a career spanning decades and hemispheres, Nathan's architectural journey has seen him work on many memorable projects. From Harrods in London, to the Fulham Football Club, and (curiously) Her Majesty’s Prisons. Closer to home one of Nathan's most acclaimed projects, 'Jason Street Glasshouse', earned him a national ADNZ Resene Architectural Design Award title along with a spot on Grand Designs New Zealand where the project quickly became a crowd favourite. Nathan will walk us through the challenges he faced throughout the project and how this modernist inspired home came to fruition.
Nathan Taylor
Director of Taylored Spaces
The master mind behind the widely acclaimed, 'Jason Street Glasshouse', Nathan will take us on the journey from inception to fruition, and all the challenges in between.
Keni-Duke Hetet
Director of Waka Group Architecture
Exploring the relationship between where culture meets community, Keni-Duke brings his huge passion for people focused spaces.
Keni-Duke draws on his immense passion and experience to explore the challenges society is facing with the built environment and urban sprawl, what we can learn from the cultural context, and how our natural environment influences architecture.
An inspirational kiwi who is on one hell of a journey. From losing his leg in a volcanic eruption, to starting a nationwide youth development programme, to mountaineering in Antarctica, William has an unfair advantage when it comes to talking about the necessity of stepping outside of your comfort zone to overcome challenge, change and achieve extraordinary things. With an infectious enthusiasm for adventure, life and fun, William's character and outlook on life are nicely summed up by the title of his popular autobiography, Every Day’s A Good Day.