Program

Event runs simultaneously. Register for Adelaide | Melbourne | Perth | Sydney | Auckland
and screened for a viewing party in Christchurch

See bios of Speakers
See Panellists

PROGRAM AGENDA

** Start times for this event will differ depending on the timezone of the venue you are joining from. Please see the pdf for the session times at your local event.

Open PDF

[15 mins]  Registration & Refreshments

[15 mins]  Introduction/Welcome - Broadcast from Sydney

Pratik Shrestha Principal Structural Engineer at Aurecon	Mark Davie, MCIBSE Buildings Mechanical Practice Leader, WA & NT at Aurecon

Lessons from large scale critical infrastructure building condition assessments
Drawing on lessons from large-scale building condition assessments, Pratik and Mark will explore what ageing infrastructure can teach us about maintenance priorities, hidden risks, asset resilience, and long-term performance.

This presentation highlights the value of understanding what already exists before making decisions about renewal, upgrade, and future investment.

Complex buildings demand more than technical excellence—they require careful coordination of architecture, engineering, operations, and stakeholder needs. This session explores lessons from landmark projects, cultural buildings, and other technically challenging facilities, highlighting practical insights into balancing competing objectives and delivering successful outcomes in complex environments.

Speakers:

Chris Arkins, FCIBSE
Director at Steensen Varming

Beyond Setpoints: Balancing Conservation, Public Access and Environmental Performance in Cultural Buildings
Drawing on lessons learned from major Australian cultural projects including Sydney Modern at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Dangrove Art Storage Facility, this presentation explores how cultural buildings balance conservation, public access, architecture, and environmental performance. Chris Arkins shares lessons on integrating building physics, engineering, and operational management to deliver resilient, high-performing environments for collections and visitors alike

Chris Bird
Senior Project Manager at RCP

Auckland Hospital – all good on paper – but could we have done even better
This presentation aims to provide listeners with a number of key learnings that we took away from the 7 year long Central Plant and Tunnels project.  While the project was delivered on-time and slightly under budget there were a number of points in the design and construction where it could have gone better. Focussing on these lessons may help others in the industry to make changes to their own projects to gain better overall outcomes.

Rohit Sharma
Head of Asset Management at Downer Social Infrastructure & Citizen Services (SI&CS)

Compliant, Yet Underperforming
Many complex buildings meet design, specification, and commissioning requirements yet fail to achieve expected operational outcomes. Drawing on real project experience, this presentation explores the gap between compliance and performance, highlighting systemic issues, operational realities, and practical lessons for achieving outcome-driven building performance in complex facilities.

Click for confirmed panellists for your venue:
Adelaide -Melbourne - Perth - Sydney 
Auckland + streamed to Christchurch

[30 mins] Break and Refreshments

Critical facilities must perform reliably when failure is not an option. This session explores lessons from healthcare and other mission-critical environments, examining commissioning, resilience, operational readiness, and long-term performance. Hear practical insights from those responsible for delivering, operating, and maintaining systems that support essential services.

Speakers:

Lucy Cole
Program Director, VIDA Health

New Footscray Hospital – Lessons from Delivery
Drawing on her experience as Project Director for the New Footscray Hospital, Lucy shares practical lessons from delivering complex healthcare infrastructure, including PPP engagement and project structuring, ICT commissioning, and the critical role collaboration plays in achieving successful outcomes across large multidisciplinary project teams.

(1 more speaker tbc)

Click for confirmed panellists for your venue:
Adelaide - Melbourne - Perth - Sydney 
Auckland + streamed to Christchurch

[30 mins] Break

Steve Hennessy, FCIBSE
Consultant at WT Partnership
Co-author of ‘The Soft Landings Framework Australia and New Zealand’

Soft Landings - The Application of Common Sense
Soft Landings closes the gap between design intent and real performance through early operator involvement, extended contractor engagement, and continuous improvement. Learn how it applies across project stages, and how teams can deliver buildings that perform as intended.

Speakers:

Mark Crawford, LCIBSE
Commissioning Manager at CxM

Real-world commissioning issues and how to avoid them
All building projects experience issues during the commissioning phase. This presentation will highlight some real-life experiences and how these can be avoided.

Chris Killoran
Sustainability Consultant at WSP

Communication, Controls and Complexity – lessons from 20 years of NABERS projects
In his roles as a mechanical engineer, energy modeller, NABERS assessor and NABERS Independent Design Reviewer, Chris has seen many problems projects can fall into – and how to avoid them. Design team co-ordination, thinking about controls and part load operation, and clear documentation can prevent many common issues.

Click for confirmed panellists for your venue:
Adelaide - Melbourne - Perth - Sydney 
Auckland + streamed to Christchurch

[60 mins]  Drinks Reception