The internet or China?
It’s certainly difficult to imagine what the world would be like if the internet had not been invented, or if China had not broken...
Word power
Over the past three years I have spent a few hours each week during term time helping Year 9 secondary school students appreciate the...
Material evidence
During my time at the Auckland School of Architecture in the 1960s, three of the key study topics were Building Materials, Building Construction and...
The cheaper the better
And yet that apparent dream world was once common practice for any major construction contract. What happened? The 1980s happened. If ever there...
Unintended consequences
The so-called “law of unintended consequences” is attributed to 17th Century English philosopher John Locke who, interestingly, was commenting at the time on the...
I like it
For those old enough to remember, the title of this column came from the 1963 hit by Gerry and the Pacemakers. I honestly don’t...
Knee jerk reaction
You can be sure that as soon as there is any sign of a likely early summer dry spell in the South Island, the...
Crisis? What crisis?
Two building industry topics dominating the news throughout 2016 have been the housing crisis and faulty building materials.
Both are important issues and both need...
Faulty Towers
Basil Fawlty, always looking for someone else to blame for any misfortune, would have revelled in the latest debacle with Auckland’s super city —...
Delivering BIM
It’s been said that a good idea is one that can be encapsulated in 10 words or less. The challenge of delivering Building Information...