Program

Session 1 | Future-Ready Foundations: Reimagining Building Performance
12pm - 2pm AEST, 29 July 2025

The Series kicks off with a dynamic exploration of the evolving landscape of building performance. This opening session sets the stage by examining how Australia and New Zealand are responding to the challenges of performance, health, and resilience in the built environment—framed within a global context.

Discover the vision behind the CIBSE Building Performance Reimagined report and how it’s reshaping thinking around future-ready buildings. Gain valuable insights into the drivers of change, and the barriers that must be overcome to ensure better performing buildings.

 (AEST)

12:00 PM - 12:05 PM

Session Chair | Introduction 
Willow Aliento, Principal, Geronimo Advisory

12:05 PM- 12:25 PM

Inspiring a new reality
Fiona will share insights from the Building Performance Reimagined report that inspired this building performance series. 

Fiona Cousins, Immediate Past President, CIBSE

12:25 PM - 12:45 PM

 Regional Outlook of Building Performance
A presentation on the biggest barriers to building performance in the region.

Alison Scotland, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council

12:45 PM - 1:05 PM

Reimagining Building Performance in New Zealand: From Electrification to Equity
How NZGBC’s building rating tools align with the Building Performance Reimagined Report. Highlighting key adaptations from the original GBCA tools to reflect New Zealand’s unique context—addressing Māori inclusion, full electrification, a highly renewable grid, and the growing risk of overheating in residential buildings.

Sam Archer, Director of Market Transformation at New Zealand Green Building Council

1:10 PM - 1:20 PM

Break

1:20 PM - 2:00 PM

Panel Discussion 

Session 2 | What does it mean for a building to be truly connected?
12pm - 2pm AEST, 5 August 2025

In this session, we dive into the first of four key performance metrics shaping the future of resilient buildings: Connectedness.

Through compelling case studies, we’ll explore how leading projects are integrating building systems, energy grids, and digital infrastructure to create smarter, more responsive environments. But it’s not just about technology—this session also highlights how thoughtful design can foster human connection, community, and wellbeing within the built environment.

Join us to discover how connectedness is redefining performance—from systems integration to social impact.

(AEST)

12:00 PM - 12:05 PM

Session Chair | Introduction 
Taryn Cornell, Senior Manager - Strategy and Development, Green Building Council of Australia

Data Ecosystem: Integrate data streams to gain comprehensive insights into performance, operations, and asset management.

The presentation will share the work undertaken with Building Owners to unify data streams and functions from multiple systems for insights into various aspects of performance, operations, and asset management. A single converged platform can provide facility managers, building operators and maintenance technicians with direct access to systems, equipment and asset data, linked to real-time performance and fault information.

Nathan Semos, Executive Manager, Virtual Buildings Information System (VBIS), A.G. Coombs Advisory

Monash’s journey to the edge of the grid and back

As part of its Net Zero transformation, Monash University did a deep dive into what it means for buildings to be truly connected. In this session we will explore the challenges and lessons learned from connectivity, ontologies, aligning to energy markets and renewables, through to including humans in the loop.

Rob Brimblecombe, Co-founder, n0de and Southern Sea Greens

12:45 PM - 1:05 PM

 Places of Connection, Regeneration and Culture 
Our places and spaces have an ability to shape and create connections, regeneration and provide the opportunity for cultural expression and creation. The best buildings and public spaces stand the test of time. They last in the memory between generations and provide the opportunity to say something about who we are as a society and what we stand for.  

Annie Tennant, Director, Design and Place, Placemaking NSW, Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure

Session 3 | Emergent Intelligence: Designing for Evolution
12pm - 2pm AEST, 12 August 2025

What if buildings could evolve—learning, adapting, and giving back more than they take?

In this forward-thinking session, we explore Emergence, the second key performance metric shaping resilient buildings of the future. Discover how cutting-edge technologies like AI, machine learning, and robotics are enabling buildings to become dynamic systems—capable of self-optimisation, predictive maintenance, and even regenerative performance.

Through visionary case studies and expert insights, we’ll examine how building services can move beyond efficiency to become intelligent, responsive, and even symbiotic with their environments.

(AEST)

Session Chair | Introduction
Jen Elias, Sustainability and Building Performance, Atelier Ten | CIBSE ANZ Vice Chair

Circularity: learning building services and systems 
Resources, materials and manfacturing processes are all key factors pushing and pulling us towards circular economies and regenerative  design practices. This conversation will use practical examples to explore this frontier of performance while examining some of the blockers - and possible solutions - for adoption at scale.

Dr Bree Trevena, Australasia Foresight Leader, Arup

Human-Robot Teaming for Building Construction and Maintenance
This talk will explore the challenges associated with applying intelligent robots in building construction and maintenance. Methodologies that enable robots to operate autonomously or collaboratively with humans in construction will be discussed. Several case studies showcasing intelligent robots in practical applications will also be discussed, including robots for building construction.

Dikai Liu, Distinguished Professor, Director of the ARC Research Hub for Human-robot teaming for Construction, University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Findings of IEA Annex 81 ‘Data-Driven Smart Buildings
The International Energy Agency’s ‘Data-Driven Smart Buildings’ initiative explored the use of digitalisation as an enabling tool for improving energy performance in non-residential buildings.  The Annex focused on both (i) data analytics and AI software applications (for improving energy productivity) and (ii) the digital infrastructure that underpins these applications. This presentation will summarise Annex findings.

Dr Stephen White, Energy Performance Research Leader, CSIRO

Break

Session 4 | Adaptive by Design: Embracing Variety in the Built Environment
12pm - 2pm AEST, 19 August 2025

How can buildings flex and flow with the changing needs of their users?

In this session, we explore Variety—the third key performance metric—focusing on how building services can unlock adaptability, inclusivity, and multifunctionality. Through inspiring case studies, we’ll showcase how thoughtful design and smart systems can transform static spaces into dynamic environments that support a wide range of uses, users, and futures.

From flexible layouts to responsive technologies, discover how variety in design leads to resilience in performance.

(AEST) 

12:00 PM -
12:05 PM

Session Chair | Introduction
Summer Xia, Mechanical Engineer, Mott MacDonald | CIBSE NZ Chair

12:05 PM - 12:25 PM

Reimagining Vacant Spaces with the STAR Toolkit  

I am here to talk about something that might sound boring – underused and vacant buildings. The STAR (Sustainable Temporary Adaptive Reuse) Toolkit is about making our cities work harder and smarter – especially while we wait for the ‘new normal’ to figure itself out. Learn about the 5 Tools developed in Sydney over a 3 year knowledge exchange project.

Sara Wilkinson, Professor of Sustainable Property, UTS

Macquarie University Precinct - Design for future resilience (title tbc)

Luke Johnson, Principal, Architectus

Flexible building solutions are critical to creating truly sustainable places and in this presentation Anthony will discuss some of the simple solutions that help achieve this in reality.

Anthony Calderone, Technical Director, Mott MacDonald

Panel Discussion: Resources professionals need to design a flexible future change with minimal material waste and intervention.

Session 5 | Future-Proofing Performance: Designing for the Unknown
12pm - 2pm AEST, 26 August 2025 

In an unpredictable world, how can buildings be prepared for the unknown?

This session explores Readiness, the final key performance metric, focusing on how buildings and building services can anticipate, absorb, and adapt to emerging risks—from climate extremes to system failures. We’ll examine how resilient design and smart technologies can reduce harm, safeguard occupants, and future-proof our built environment.

Through thought-provoking presentations (to be announced), we’ll uncover strategies for building anticipatory capacity—so our spaces are not just reactive, but ready.

(AEST)

Session Chair | Introduction
Mark Davie,Technical Director, Aurecon Group | CIBSE ANZ Chair

11 Mounts Bay Rd – Electrification of Heating
This presentation explores transitioning a commercial building's heating system in Perth CBD from gas-fired boilers to electric heat pumps. It evaluates three electrification options, analyses heating load data, and highlights benefits such as reduced carbon emissions and operational costs, along with key considerations for implementation.

Geoff Osbourne, Senior Associate, NDY

Factory-Ready Futures: Evolving Building Services Design for Prefabrication

Construction worldwide is moving offsite, buildings will be manufactured in components in large scale factories. This presentation will set out the current state of play and future trends for building services design for prefabrication in Australia and abroad and explore Design for Fabrication and Assembly and other design aspects

Dan Waak, Integrated Prefabrication Leader A G Coombs 

Building Performance Readiness in Aotearoa New Zealand

Beyond the NZ Building Code there isn't much to mandate building performance in New Zealand when green bench-marking tools aren't specified by the client. A building performance engineering approach expands on building designs, and client queries, to find pragmatic improvements when building performance is a project afterthought.

Ruth Williams, Building Performance Engineer | Founder, InsideOut

 Break

Panel Discussion
With Bela Farbas, CEO,Optergy