prefabAUS 2019 Conference

Kasper Guldager Jensen is a Senior Partner at Danish architecture company 3XN and the Director of 3XN’s innovation company, GXN. The ‘G’ in GXN stands for green, highlighting GXN’s dedication to advancing ecological design.

At GXN, Kasper is passionately engaged in sustainable design, digital processes and new materials. Through his work in the green building space, he has become a spokesperson for the shape of future architecture, focusing on the circular economy, integration of new materials and green technologies.

In addition to his industry roles, Kasper regularly lectures on topics such as environmental design and circularity at prestigious universities around the world. In 2018, he taught as a visiting professor at the University of Calgary (Canada) and Delft University of Technology (Netherlands).

Hartwig M. Künzel is the Head of Department for Hygrothermics at Fraunhofer IBP in Germany, where he is responsible for hygrothermal investigations sponsored by industry and government. Hartwig’s role encompasses scientific research and model development, staff management and financial control of the department’s annual research budget. 

During his PhD work, Hartwig developed the hygrothermal model WUFI®, which has become an internationally recognised and widely applied simulation tool for moisture control in buildings. His research has helped provide better understanding of the hygrothermal conditions in building envelope systems, as well as their impact on building energy consumption, durability and human comfort.

David Chandler OAM was appointed NSW Building Commissioner in 2019 after an impressive forty-year career in the Australian construction industry.

Jesse Clarke, Innovation and R&D Manager, Pro Clima Australia. Jesse has more than 20 years’ experience in the construction industry. He holds the technical lead role of the Innovation and R&D Manager, servicing Australia and New Zealand.

Kristin is the Chief Executive – Industry Policy for the Housing Industry Association (HIA). Having worked with HIA for 16 years, Kristen is an experienced advocate for Australia’s residential building industry. She leads a diverse national team of staff in planning, building, workplace health and safety, skills and training, industrial relations, business compliance and housing economics. She is also responsible for guiding HIA’s interaction with federal and state governments that address housing supply and affordability.

Ken McBryde is Gensler’s head of architecture in Australia and New Zealand assisting in leading the architecture portfolio in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions.

Prof. Tuan Ngo is the Research Director at the ARC Training Centre for Advanced Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing (CAMPH) at the University of Melbourne. He is also the Director of the Asia Pacific Research Network for Resilient and Affordable Housing.

Tom Durick is a Business Development Manager (BDM) at CSIRO’s Data61 – Australia’s leading data innovation group, which was formed in 2016. Data61 combines data science, engineering and design to help Australia create new technology-based industries that can reach global scale.

As a BDM, Tom’s work centres around commercialisation, intellectual property development and applied research in the fields of digital innovation, data analytics and optimisation. He advises stakeholders – both internal and external – of impacts, opportunities and threats for digitally enabled enterprises. He has a particular interest in distributed ledger technology and blockchain, which informs his work at Data61.

Chris Garrard is a project manager, design manager and project engineer with over 15 years of experience in the construction industry. Over the course of his career, Chris has worked on a diverse range of projects, from Class 1 residential properties through to $500 million dollar towers in the Brisbane CBD. Some of the most iconic projects Chris has contributed to include 1 William Street with Multiplex and 111 Eagle Street with Leighton Contractors.

Having worked with various Tier 1 companies, Chris has broad expertise across all areas of project management. His experience spans a range of sectors including multi storey apartments, commercial, retail, defence and civil works. For the past 3 years, Chris has applied this knowledge to his role at Pointcorp Commercial – a builder developer company, where he has developed a team and systems from the ground up.

Dr Ehsan Gharaie is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Property Construction and Project Management at RMIT University. He is also a Civil Engineer, with a master’s degree in Construction Management and a PhD in Project Management. 

As an expert in the dynamics of the house building industry, Ehsan researches and analyses Australia’s capacity to supply new homes amid changing conditions in the property and construction sectors. The structure of Australia’s housing industry is Ehsan’s area of special interest. His analysis of long term data reveals a real and surprising constraint capacity, which becomes evident when demand for new homes is strong. 

Jens has been Managing Director of AMGC since 2016. He brings extensive experience from overseeing large manufacturing operations in Australia and Europe. Jens served as Managing Director of Airbus Group Australia Pacific and Airbus Helicopters. Before his seven-year appointment to Australia, Jens spent six years in Germany with the former European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), today known as Airbus Group. He was Head of the CEO’s office in Germany, and before that in charge of Soldier and Parafoil Systems within the Defence Division. Previously, Jens spent two years in Athens where he established and managed the Eurofighter Office of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, one of the three founding partner companies of EADS. He began his career with Daimler-Benz AG in January 1996.

Andrew Harris is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The University of Sydney. His research typically occurs at the interface between scientific disciplines, including chemistry, biology, engineering and materials science, and addresses pressing environmental and sustainable development problems.

Andrew is also the Australian director of Laing O’Rourke’s future engineering and innovation consultancy, the Engineering Excellence Group. Laing O’Rourke is Australia’s largest private engineering and construction business, with local turnover exceeding $3 billion per annum.

Throughout his career, Andrew has worked at the interface between industry and academia. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2002 and is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) and Engineers Australia (IEAust). 

Rob Ferrari is an experienced business manager with a demonstrated history of delivering business solutions for the construction and industrial sectors. He currently manages CSR Inclose – a division of CSR Building Products that designs, engineers, fabricates and installs a unitised commercial façade system. 

Since joining CSR Building Products 13 years ago, Rob has focused on developing integrated products that meet requirements for performance and buildability. That includes advocating the use of pressure equalised rainscreen façades, gasket interfaces and continuous insulation to improve thermal performance and air infiltration – and provide a watertight building envelope. 

James is a Director of Science & Engineering at Brookfield. For Brookfield and its entities, James and his team offer complete, end-to-end design solutions, forensic investigation, technical strategy, design concepts, technical & computational peer review, standards and code interpretations.

James is widely regarded as a world leader in high-load connection innovation and design. His unique design capabilities have influenced over 800 projects in the construction, energy and defence sectors. The design solutions he developed with the Brookfield team resulted in lighter weight structures, which minimise materials and are easier, safer and faster to construct.

Jeremy Tompson is a Senior Project Manager at Lendlease, where has been involved with prefabricated timber commercial buildings since 2012. 

Jeremy played a lead role in the design and delivery of several prestigious Lendlease projects, including International House Sydney and Daramu at Barangaroo. Both of these buildings have been instrumental in challenging the perceived limitations of prefabrication and the use of engineered timber. 

From his involvement in the origination of several other Lendlease timber projects, Jeremy has a strong grasp of what it takes to convert a prefabricated timber project. He is motivated by sustainable, innovative and desirable works spaces that combine form and function. 

Simon is a construction and infrastructure lawyer, who works with clients to procure and deliver a diverse range of building projects. He is currently a Partner at HWL Ebsworth Lawyers, located in Sydney. 

Simon’s expertise spans multiple sectors including building, road, rail and utilities. He has experience using a range of contract models including PPP, D&C, construct only, managing contractor, ECI, O&M and FM agreements. 

Denita Wawn is the CEO of Master Builders Australia – a national organisation that promotes and supports all sectors of Australia’s building and construction industry, including its 32,000 members. Denita was appointed CEO in March 2017, after a 12 month tenure as the organisation's General Manager of Operations.

With 20 years’ experience as a leading industry advocate, Denita has a wealth of knowledge in public policy and politics. Prior to joining Master Builders Australia, Denita held several influential executive roles, including CEO of the Brewer's Association of Australia and New Zealand (Brewer's Association), Executive Director of the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) Tasmanian Division, and Deputy CEO of the National Farmer's Federation (NFF).