News and updates

Scholarship recipient - Heather Huckle

Posted on Friday 04 August, 2023

At the NZ Institute of Building we want to support the Next Generation of the Building Industry. We know it’s tough to be a student right now and that for many, money is tight. We want to help relieve a little of that stress for one of our Next Gen members.

We are travelling the country to give students the chance to impress us with their passion and nab a $2,000 NZIOB scholarship.

We have asked students studying in the built environment to prepare a ‘shark tank’ style pitch where they talk about their passion, a project, or even just themselves. The main aim is to show our ‘sharks’ their potential and their passion for the industry.

Heather Huckle thoroughly impressed our ‘Sharks’ with her pitch at our event at Ara in Ōtautahi | Christchurch on 19 July and was awarded one of two scholarships at the event.

We’re looking forward to following Heather’s journey and seeing how she gets on with study, work and life. We’ve asked her a few questions to get to know her a little better.

Read on to get to know Heather.

What is a site waste minimisation plan?

Posted on Thursday 03 August, 2023

Proposed Building for Climate Change Amendments to the Building Act 2004 and a number of media driven stories have dragged the construction sector into the spotlight when it comes to the waste the sector produces recently. Some figures suggest that the construction sector in Aotearoa is responsible for up to 50% of the waste that goes to landfill.

To counter this, there has been a shift by some organisations to increase the weighting of non-price criteria relating to sustainability in the tendering process. Auckland City Council recently announced their intentions to pursue social and sustainable outcomes whenever goods, services or works are procured and have indicated that some tenders will include a sustainability weighting as high as 15%.

So, what does this mean for the construction sector?

Pony McTate and our amazing Birthday cake!

Posted on Friday 23 June, 2023

We were lucky enough to have one of our members, Pony McTate, create an amazing one of a kind crocheted 40^th Birthday Cake to help us celebrate.

The cake will be making its way around the country to our 40 good deeds events, the Awards night in Christchurch and more.

Members of the Institute are eclectic, talented, interesting and creative – they don’t all fit into the same box but come from a range of background. Pony is a great example of this and we wanted to delve a little deeper into what she does and her connection with the Institute.

Pony McTate is, as her email signature states, fabulous. She’s a former lawyer, professional craft extraordinaire, recent architectural design graduate and Institute of Building Award winner.

We chatted to Pony about her eclectic career journey, creativity and of course crochet. 

Launching the Digital BIM Guidance (DigiGuide) Project

Posted on Friday 02 June, 2023

New Zealand Institute of Building and the BIMinNZ Steering Group are launching a Digital BIM Guidance (DigiGuide) Project. The project will bring together key stakeholders to form an inclusive network of subject matter specialists lead this project. The Construction Sector Accord is providing funding through its Innovation workstream.

Leading this project are members of the BIMinNZ steering group: Andrew Field, Melanie Tristram and Glenn Jowett, along with Pamela Bell and Hannah Keir-Smith from the NZ Institute of Building. 

Andrew Field explains what the group aim to achieve through this work and why it is necessary. 

What will the future of the construction industry look like?

Posted on Thursday 04 May, 2023

At the Building our Digital Community Conference in March we spent the day looking at what's possible in the future of construction - focusing on digital innovations. 

At the end of the day of presentations we asked delegates to send through their thoughts on what the future of construction looked like. We've some of their ideas along with thoughts from Pamela Bell. 

Reflecting on DigiComNZ2023

Posted on Tuesday 04 April, 2023

I recently had the pleasure of attending the 2023 NZIOB/BIM+NZ Building our Digital Community conference (DigiCom 2023) held in Wellington at Te Papa. The event brought together construction professionals from across the country to discuss the latest technological advancements and trends within our Building Industry.

One of the most impressive aspects of the conference was the diversity of roles represented by the attendees. Members of the Institute of Building were present in a variety of roles, including Contractors, Architects, Engineers, Project Managers, Quantity Surveyors, Client bodies and more.

What is the next 40 years at the Institute going to look like?

Posted on Monday 27 March, 2023

This year the Institute of Building is turning 40.

We’ve taken this anniversary as a moment to reflect on where we have come from and where we are going. This isn’t a mid-life crisis – but it could be a turning point - an opportunity for growth...

Does the construction industry have the capacity and capability to rebuild after Cyclone Gabrielle?

Posted on Thursday 02 March, 2023

Professor Suzanne Wilkinson - Associate Dean of Research at the School of Built Environment at Massey University considers what Is needed from the construction industry in order to rebuild after Cyclone Gabrielle. 

Professor Wilkinson looks at the challenges faced by the industry after the Christchurch earthquakes and the lessons we can learn from them. 

Congratulations to Institute member Dr Negin Imani - Welly Awards finalist

Posted on Tuesday 28 February, 2023

Finalists for the 2022 Wellingtonian of the year Awards (The Wellys) have been announced and we are proud to share that Institute of Building member Dr Negin Imani has been named as a finalist in the Environment category.

The Wellys celebrates people across nine categories, with one overall Welly Recipient recognised as the supreme winner - The Wellingtonian of the Year. The Awards evening will be held on 29 March at the Embassy Theatre.

When you look into Dr Imani’s work it’s hardly surprising she’s been named as a finalist. Her list of accomplishments is impressive and ever growing!

We are proud to have Dr Negin Imani as a member of the Institute and we will have our fingers crossed for her on the night of the Wellys!

Encouraging young people in the construction industry

Posted on Thursday 02 February, 2023

Adam Baxter, Construction Project Manager at Placemakers, reflects on his 10 years in the construction industry and explores whether we are offering enough encouragement to the next generation in the industry. 

"In a complicated field of specialists and technicians, we are in need of good leadership.

Whether or not my generation have been trained well enough or are as ready as can be to face the challenges that lay ahead, we will have to step up to the plate all the same.

So surely the risk in not sincerely encouraging young people in construction is greater than anything else at stake in the industry."