Two architects. Two provocations. One room.

Howqua River Lodge is a completely off-grid retreat in the Victorian Alps. No mains power. No mains water. No concession on comfort or craft. His position is that healthy design, choosing materials that are genuinely good to live with, buildings that perform without relying on the grid, is where the market is heading. The firms that figure this out first won't just be doing the right thing. They'll be the ones winning the work.

Josh FitzGerald comes at the problem from the other end. He and his co-directors founded Archier over a decade ago. The certified carbon-neutral practice is known for material honesty and thermal performance. But after years of watching design intent get lost between the drawing and the site, they began to question the systems around delivery.

They had worked with prefabrication before. The buildings were impressive, but the process often added complexity rather than removing it. So in 2022, they launched Candour. A fabrication studio built around a simple premise. If no existing system could improve both the product and the process, they would create one themselves. Candour’s CAD plugins connect directly to its Melbourne manufacturing facility via the architects BIM software package. This gives architects real-time pricing and buildability information as they draft.

For FitzGerald, automation does not threaten the design process. It gives it room to breathe. His question to the room is direct. “If the quality of a home depends on its envelope, why are architects still handing that layer off to someone else?”

Tom Webster (Grand Designs) hosts the conversation. The session starts at 6pm and is exclusively for architects, designers and builders.

Register here to be in the room.

Home Design Evening, Shed 10, 89 Quay Street, Queens Wharf, Auckland. Friday 22 May 2026. Doors open 5pm. Register here.