Annual Conference 2025

2025 NZIBS Annual Conference.

11 - 13 September 2025 | Christchurch

JOIN US FOR THE 2025 ANNUAL CONFERENCE - BETTER BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Book Your Spot!

For Group Bookings please email Sarah: operations@buildingsurveyors.co.nz with delegates names, contact details and dietary requirements.

Agenda

Thursday 11 September:

12:00pm

• Rockcote Resene Annual Memorial Golf Day
  Harewood Golf Course: 371 McLeans Island Road, Harewood
• Casual Catch Up on the Strip 
  Meet at Riverside Market: Cnr Lichfield Street & Oxford Terrace
  Riverside Market

6:30pm - 8:30pm

• Meet & Greet
  Mr Brightside Rooftop Bar: Level 4, 152 Oxford Terrace

Friday 12 September:

8:00am – 8:30am Registration

8:30am – 8:45am Opening & Welcome

8:45am – 9:00am Keynote Address: Mayor Phil Mauger

9:00am –10:00am John Gardiner – 20 Years in Building Controls

10:00am – 10:20am Morning Tea

10:20am – 11:20am Sergey Arykov – Working at Heights

11:20am – 12:20am Denise Martin – Building Envelope Optimisation

12:20pm – 1:20pm Lunch

1:20pm – 2:00pm Szymon Gozdzikowski & Euving Au – 211 High Street

2:00pm – 3:00pm Kirsa Webb & Katharine Watson – Building Investigations from an
Archaeological view

3:00pm – 3:20pm Afternoon Tea

3:20pm – 4:00pm Sharon Robinson – Homestar vs Remediation

4:00pm – 4:30pm Closing and preparation for Site Tour (6min walk, limited spaces)

4:30pm – 5:30pm Site Tour at Court Theatre

7:00pm – 10:00pm Buffet Dinner at The George (Optional, separate cost, limited spaces)

Saturday 13 September:

(Workshops are included in your conference ticket)

 8:30am – 9:00am Tea & Coffee

9:00am – 9:30am Workshop 1: GIB

9:00am – 9:30am Workshop 2: Resene

9:40am – 10:10am Workshop 3: Viking Roofspec

9:40am – 10:10am Workshop 4: Nuwall

10:10am – 10:30am Morning Tea

10:30am – 11:00am Workshop 1: GIB

10:30am – 11:00am Workshop 2: Resene

11:00am – 11:30am Workshop 3: Viking Roofspec

11:00am – 11:30am Workshop 4: Nuwall

11:30am – 12:00pm Light Lunch/Snacks

12:00pm – 1:30pm AGM (NZIBS Members Only)

Speakers

Our Line up of Speakers includes:

Drew Knowles, MC & Presenter

Drew has three decades in the area of human performance and behaviour.  He has coached, consulted and advised thousands of business owners, CEOs and Execs all over the world on how to behave better with anyone, in any situation. 

He also has 25 years of experience in public speaking, delivering workshops, seminars and keynotes to people all over the world in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, the UK, the UAE, and the USA. 

Until 2015, Drew had his own consultancy as a Mind Coach specialising in chronic stress and its effect on performance, working with CEOs and Execs of some of New Zealand’s largest companies. He also wrote monthly articles from 2012-2015 on this topic in M2 magazine.

In 2015 he became Vice President and one of five partners of the global company Influential U founded in California in 2009. Being an Executive at Influential U, Drew was primarily responsible for programme delivery, client management and global business development. He was integral in growing Influential U to have clients in 10 countries, and launching a licensing model in January 2023 to help scale Influential U, while supporting the training and development of the other Licensees and the quality of their delivery.

This has now allowed Drew to transition back into focussing his time where he brings the most value - one-on-one coaching/consulting/advising and speaking engagements. He works primarily with Founders, CEOs and Executives, and Senior Leaders of companies, focusing on the effectiveness of their teams. 

John Gardiner (FIPENZ), Managing Director of Building Confidence Ltd

John will speak from his 20 years experience in building controls, sharing what he has learned and what we need to do to maintain our role in society.  He will cover issues such as:

- Development and growth in what is regulated under the Building Act
- The Building Code - a regulation stuck in time
- What is poorly understood under the Act/Code - the blind and difficult spots to navigate

Denise Martin, Director of Building Envelope Optimisation.

In light of the changes to H1 and the growing confusion around building performance vs user behaviour, Denise will cover the following concepts:

Szymon will be presenting on an exciting project in the heart of the Christchurch CBD, 211 High Street. Find out more about this project here

Szymon Gozdzikowski is a director at Ignite Architects, where he leads the South Island studios in Christchurch & Queenstown. With over 13 years of experience in New Zealand and a background delivering projects in Europe and Southeast Asia, Szymon specialises in civic, commercial, and residential architecture. His work focuses on place-based design, stakeholder engagement, and balancing creativity with practical delivery. He is passionate about shaping meaningful, community-focused spaces.

Kirsa Webb, Archaeologist at Underground Overground Archaeology

After a rave review from the one and only Warren Nevill - NZIBS Life member and training officer, we have invited Kirsa to present at this years Annual Conference.  Kirsa recently presented at one of our modules on building investigations and subsequent deconstruction from an archeological point of view. 

Sergey Arykov, Director & Business Delivery Manager, Vertac

With over 17 years of international experience in industrial rope access, project management, and height safety, Sergey is a seasoned expert in façade remediation, building maintenance, and high-risk operations in both civil and industrial sectors.

Currently serving as Director at Vertac Height Services in New Zealand since 2018, Sergey leads end-to-end project execution—from tendering through to delivery—across a diverse range of services including painting, glazing, concrete repair, abrasive blasting, and complex height access systems. He is also responsible for company-wide operational quality, Health & Safety compliance, contract negotiations, and technical asset development.

Internationally, his expertise includes work on the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement Project as a Rope Access Safety Supervisor, where he led safety planning, rigging, and inspection activities within radioactive environments. Earlier in his career in Ukraine, he managed rope access teams and coordinated major façade and maintenance projects as Project Manager and Division Supervisor.

The Site Tour will be of the newly built Court Theatre.

Court Theatre Project

Venue & Accommodation

The Conference will be held at the Christchurch Town Hall, accommodation is secured at the Wyndham Garden Hotel for delegates.  This will be the meeting spot for all activities and is a lovely 3 minute walk to the Conference Venue.

Details below:

Christchurch Town Hall
86 Kilmore Street, Christchurch Central

Wyndham Gardens Hotel
64 Kilmore Street, Christchurch Central

Workshops & AGM

Workshops will be held on 13 September, followed by the AGM at approximately 12:00pm.  These details will confirmed and updated shortly.

Optional Activities

The optional activities include:

• Rockcote Resene Annual Memorial Golf Day: 11 September from 12:00pm, Harewood Golf Course. Tickets ($125) are available.
• Meet & Greet: 11 September from 6:30pm at Mr Brightside Rooftop Bar (no cost). Email office@buildingsurveyors.co.nz to confirm attendance.
• Dinner: 12 September from 7:00pm at The George, Buffet Dinner, drinks excluded. Tickets ($115) are available. Limited spaces.
• Casual Catch Up on The Strip: 11 September from 12:00pm (own cost). Email office@buildingsurveyors.co.nz to confirm attendance.