Teulo Ed // Retrofitting of the Building Envelope, Sustainabilty and Longevity P2

1pm - 2pm | Neville Colbert | Founder, Tile Warehouse | Chair, New Zealand Tile Council (NZTC)

Synopsis: Not All Tiles Are Created Equal

Why Porcelain Tile Delivers Superior Longevity, Lower Lifecycle Costs, Reduced Carbon Impact and Greater Design Flexibility

When specifying flooring and surface materials, architects and designers are making decisions that influence a building's durability, maintenance requirements, environmental impact and long-term value.

This CPD explores why porcelain has become one of the world's most durable and sustainable surface materials. Drawing on real-world project experience and current industry knowledge, the session examines how specifying high-quality porcelain can reduce lifecycle costs, minimise embodied carbon over the life of a building, and provide exceptional performance in both interior and exterior applications.

Attendees will gain a practical understanding of how material selection today can deliver buildings that perform better for decades to come.

Key Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Understand the key characteristics that differentiate porcelain tile from other flooring materials and why premium porcelain delivers superior long-term performance.

• Evaluate the embodied carbon, durability and whole-of-life environmental benefits of porcelain compared with common alternative flooring finishes.
• Assess lifecycle costs by considering maintenance, replacement cycles, longevity and total cost of ownership when specifying surface materials.
• Explore contemporary applications for porcelain across both interior and exterior environments, including large-format panels, outdoor paving and seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces.
• This presentation equips architects, designers and specifiers with practical knowledge to make informed material decisions that balance aesthetics, durability, sustainability and long-term value.

Speaker BIO: Neville Colbert has been a driving force in New Zealand's stone and tile industry for more than 40 years. After beginning his career with Firth Natural Stone in the early 1980s, he took a leap of faith in 1989, at just 29 years of age, founding Tile Warehouse from a single location with one forklift.

Today, Tile Warehouse has grown into New Zealand's leading tile supplier, with 35 showrooms nationwide and a specialist commercial team of nine design and account managers supporting architects, designers and specifiers from Auckland to Queenstown.

Renowned for his deep knowledge of natural stone and porcelain, Neville combines technical expertise with practical, real-world advice. Under his leadership, Tile Warehouse has built a reputation for supplying premium materials and proven systems that are designed to match the life expectancy of the projects they are specified for, backed by a 25-year porcelain guarantee.

As the exclusive New Zealand distributor for many of the world's leading tile collections, Tile Warehouse continues to introduce the latest international innovations in design and technology, helping architects and designers create timeless, durable and cost-effective spaces.

In addition to leading Tile Warehouse, Neville serves as Chair of the New Zealand Tile Council (NZTC), where he is committed to advancing industry standards, promoting best practice, and supporting the future of New Zealand's tile and stone sector.

2pm - 3pm | Paul Charteris | Founder | saveBOARD

saveBOARD betterBRACE: Rethinking the Building Envelope Through Circular Materials

Synopsis: 50% of all building that will exist in 2050 haven’t been built yet. As the construction industry faces mounting pressure to reduce embodied carbon and extend the lifespan of buildings, the materials we specify for the building envelope have never mattered more. This session explores how saveBOARD's betterBRACE rigid air barrier products challenge conventional thinking about external bracing panels, not just as a structural solution, but as a sustainability decision embedded in the fabric of the retrofit. The material choices made in the next decade will be embedded in buildings for the next fifty years. Choosing circular building products with verified carbon savings isn't a premium option or a green experiment. It's a decision about what kind of building stock we're handing to the next generation.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the sustainability credentials of betterBRACE, including how its manufactured from recyclable packaging to reducing embodied carbon and diverting waste from landfill, and how to communicate this to clients and project teams.
• Apply circular material thinking to envelope retrofit specifications, recognising how the choice of rigid air barrier affects not just thermal and structural performance, but a building's broader environmental footprint across its lifecycle.
• Evaluate betterBRACE against conventional bracing panel options, assessing performance, durability, and sustainability attributes side by side, and understanding where betterBRACE is best positioned within retrofit and new-build envelope assemblies.