HOW CAN EARLY ENGAGEMENT PRACTICES DRIVE MORE EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE OUTCOMES?

How you start a building project shapes everything that comes next. When builders, designers, engineers, and clients engage from day one, you move slower upfront to move faster overall — with better outcomes, fewer surprises, more efficiencies and sustainable solutions.

Integrated design refers to multi-party engagement at early stages of the design. When everyone has input from day one, decisions are stronger and the project is stronger for it.

Early design phase engagement from all parties results in a more holistic understanding of values for the project. Designers, engineers and builders can more easily and quickly get on the same page and work through any potential hiccups before work begins; and in return reduce potential for any cost overruns, delays and reworks or changes. In other words, it’s much easier (and cost effective) making any changes to a build at the design phase than it is at any other stage.

Think of early engagement as your chance to understand what the project actually needs. What are the real constraints and opportunities? How do we design for performance, longevity, and end-of-life recovery? It’s also one of the most influential stages where all parties can understand and better implement sustainability efforts. Think about designing out waste, sustainable supply chain choices, and project specific decisions for better building.

This webinar is an open conversation between people across the building industry about what early engagement actually looks like. Why it matters that all parties show up early and stay connected. Where the opportunities sit and where the real challenges are. Different perspectives—designers, builders, clients—bring different insights, and that's where the learning happens.

Meet our speakers:

Charissa Snijders is an award-winning architect working at the forefront of regenerative design — bridging real-world practice, research, and creative vision to deliver buildings that go beyond sustainability.
Kristy Jones is National Sustainability Manager at Cook Brothers Construction, bringing 10 years of construction experience to embedding sustainability across every stage of a build.
Matt Jones is a Principal at Rubix with 20 years of experience delivering complex infrastructure projects across NZ and internationally.

This is How We Build Training Series

This webinar, as part of our This Is How We Build series, dives deeper into what is possible when we plan and choose better.

Visit our website for more details on our This is How We Build training series

Sign up to the Better Building Newsletter to receive each of the training videos when they go live. Head to our collections page to find other events in the series.

This webinar is proudly supported by Queenstown Lakes District Council Zero Waste District Programme.

Contact the host of Integrated Design Webinar with Matt Jones, Charissa Snijders & Kristy Jones