Join us for a Better Building Banter at Ground Up Brewing for Beyond the Build and the release of Post Build – the final module in our This Is How We Build training series — a series designed to support the building industry to build smarter, cleaner, and more circular at every stage.
What if the home you're building today was still standing in 2126?
It's not as far-fetched as it sounds — but it requires a fundamental shift in how we think about buildings. Lifespans on new builds are shortening. Homes are being built to a budget with resale in mind, and the consequences are showing up fast — in renovation bills, in skip bins, and in buildings that aren't performing the way they should.
This Better Building Banter looks at what it means to build with longevity in mind — from the renovation coalface, where the consequences of short-term decisions show up fast, to a new framework for thinking about buildings as assets that can be maintained, improved, and kept out of the skip. The right products, the right details, the right mindset from the start. It all flows through to Post Build outcomes.
This event will support our Post Build module in our Better Building Training Series.
Whether you're on the tools, in the design room, commissioning a build, or already own a home — this conversation is for you. We’ll cover:
Building right in the first place. The decisions made early — by designers, builders, and the people paying for it — determine how long a building lasts and what it costs over its lifetime. What happens when those decisions aren't made well, and what does it mean to build something that holds up?
Caring for and valuing what we build. For those that have ever wondered whether investing more upfront is worth it, or what a well-maintained home is actually worth on the market. What would it look like to treat your home like a managed asset from day one — maintaining and improving it over time, rather than waiting for things to go wrong?
Keeping materials in circulation. When buildings do eventually need to come apart, what happens to all those materials? Designing for disassembly so that materials can be reused, not landfilled.
Meet your speakers:
Livi and Darren Warren are the duo behind Prima Build, a renovation-focused building company based in Wānaka. They see first-hand what happens when buildings are built with the wrong products or without longevity in mind — and what it takes to get them back to performing well.
Hamish Grotrian is the founder of Pavilion Architecture and creator of the LTMI (Long-Term Maintain & Improve) framework. He is on a mission to help shift residential housing away from reactive repairs toward preventative upgrades and managed building lifecycles.
The event will start at 5.30pm, arrive early from 5pm to grab a drink and chat beforehand.
This event is proudly supported by the Queenstown Lakes District Council's Zero Waste District Programme.
Head to our collections page to find other events in the series, including our On Site event on 2 July.