Podcast · Arts & Books

Design Principles Pod

by Sam Brown, Ben Sutherland and Gerard Dombroski · English · Arts & Books

Architecture. A hot topic, a buzz word, a realm for the rich and famous, or the thing that your step uncle does? We will be unpacking the good, the bad and the downright reality of the architectural and construction industry. With insights from industry professionals and personal anecdotes from our

New episodes: Every two weeks
Typical length: 54 min
Latest: 12 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026 · 29 minNew

Kaunitz Yeung: Designing With People

Send us Fan Mail Designing with people sounds like a slogan until you hear what it demands in real life. Recorded at the NZIA Institute Conference, we sit down with Sydney-based co-founders David Kaunitz and Ka Wai Yeung, whose practice has built an international reputation for socially responsible, culturally sensitive architecture with remote communities across Australia and the Pacific. The big idea is deceptively simple: stop designing for communities and start designing with them, even w...

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S3 · E7 · 28 Sep 2026 · 31 min
Buzzers Ready!: In:situ Q&A
Send us Fan Mail Two architects walk into a conference and we hand them a mic. What comes out is a fast, honest look at how New Zealand architects make decisions when nobody has time for fluff. We’re joined by Hamish McLachlan (Bowen and McLachlan Architects, also Architecture Zero Zero) and Rob Paulin (Paulin Studio), the two winners of our In:Situ ticket giveaway, for a quick-fire Q&A that turns into a surprisingly deep conversation about the design process and the built environment in ...
S3 · E6 · 21 Sep 2026 · 41 min
Vā, Architecture Of Relationships: A Conversation with Dr. Albert L. Refiti
Send us Fan Mail In this episode we are talking with Dr Albert Refiti, professor at AUT and co-director of the Vā Moana Research Centre, about Vā: the relational space that holds people, culture, hierarchy, and belonging together. Once you hear Vā described this way, Pacific architecture stops being a set of shapes and starts reading like a living map of relationships across time. We dig into why key forms and spatial rules have stayed so consistent for roughly 3,000 years across Polynesia, ...
S3 · E5 · 14 Sep 2026 · 45 min
D.I.Y Density: F. Gordon Wilson Fellowship Recipients, Spacecraft
Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever wondered why New Zealand can’t seem to build medium density housing that feels calm, green, and genuinely liveable, this conversation puts a spotlight on the real blockers and the real opportunities. This episode we’re joined by Wellington architects Tim Gittos and Caro Robertson from Spacecraft Architects, fresh off winning the F. Gordon Wilson Fellowship for their research project DIY Density. We get specific about what “DIY” actually means here: not p...
S3 · E4 · 31 Aug 2026 · 47 min
Shared Ground: Architects, Interiors & Better Buildings
Send us Fan Mail Late decisions are the real budget blowouts, and they’re usually a symptom of the wrong team structure. We’re joined by Verity Lawrence and Lou Stringer, two interior designers working across Central Otago and Queenstown, to unpack what genuine architect interior designer collaboration looks like when it starts early and stays respectful. The conversation moves past glossy “before and after” talk and into the practical mechanics: when designers get brought in, who builds the ...
S3 · E3 · 17 Aug 2026 · 46 min
The NZIA: Supporting The Value Of Architects
Send us Fan Mail Architects shape how we live, move, and feel in our towns and cities, yet they’re often missing from the public conversation when housing, infrastructure, and the built environment hit the headlines. We’re joined by Mark Abbott (Chief Executive, New Zealand Institute of Architects) and Kevin Ptak (Manager of Marketing and Communications, NZIA) to unpack what the NZIA is doing to speak with a single, clearer voice and put architects back in front of the public. We talk candid...
S3 · E2 · 10 Aug 2026 · 50 min
Stop Being Beige: Branding For Designers
Send us Fan Mail Your projects might be exceptional, but if your studio looks and sounds like everyone else, the market won’t always give you the chance to prove it. We’re joined by Emily Konwiak Stevens of Emily Stevens Studio, an architecture brand designer and strategist, to talk about what branding really means for architects, interior designers, and other design-led businesses, especially in a competitive New Zealand and Australian landscape where the DIY instinct runs deep. We ge...
S3 · E1 · 27 Jul 2026 · 43 min
How Much Wood Would Chuck, Chuck?: NZ's Treated Timber Trouble
Send us Fan Mail A pile of treated timber offcuts looks harmless until you ask the awkward question: where does it actually go, and what does it do once it gets there? We get interviewed by Toby, a University of Otago Master’s student researching timber circularity, and we go straight at the uncomfortable parts of New Zealand construction. We talk about how NZS 3604 and stick framing shape almost everything we build, and how a quiet “fear of liability” can lead to over-spec framing, more ther...
S2 · E17 · 9 Dec 2025 · 44 min
A Bit Of This, A Bit Of That: Year-End Design Debrief
Send us Fan Mail Year-end is when the honest stuff bubbles up: what we built, what broke, and what we’ll try differently next time. We raise a glass to the community that’s carried this show and jump straight into the craft and chaos of design life—part celebration, part hard-won field notes. We start with the real costs and protections behind small studios: trusts, liability, and why construction firms fold faster than architects who keep overheads lean. From there, the stories turn tactile...
S2 · E16 · 12 Nov 2025 · 58 min
Your Beam Is Too Big: Architects & Engineers
Send us Fan Mail Start with a flooded hotel room, end with a four‑metre cantilever, and in between unpack the messy, creative space where structure meets form. We sit down with structural engineer Joel Marsh of Pocket to map out how architects and engineers can move beyond transactional deliverables and into a truly design‑led process that saves money, reduces RFIs, and produces cleaner, more elegant buildings. Joel opens the playbook: meet early, sketch by hand at 10–15%, and use those conc...
S2 · E15 · 23 Oct 2025 · 57 min
The Narrative Power: Architecture & Film, Take Two
Send us Fan Mail What if a building could be more than an object on a pedestal and instead feel like a living character on screen? We sit down with two architectural filmmakers, Nikolas Struger from ravens At Odds and Veeral Patel who show how to move beyond glossy hero shots and capture the heartbeat of design: process, people, and emotion. From software and cycling photography to architecture practice and brand strategy, their varied paths lead to the same conclusion—storytelling is the mis...
S2 · E14 · 1 Oct 2025 · 56 min
Cultivated City: Designed Solutions vs. Organic Growth
Send us Fan Mail A city can make you breathe easier—or grind your teeth—before you’ve even named why. We follow that feeling from a flimsy townhouse hinge to the rhythm of a street that forces a ute to crawl, exploring how materials, widths, and mixed uses quietly choreograph daily life. In this episode we pull apart modernism’s big promises, tip our hats to classical street smarts, and ask what a genuinely New Zealand urban vernacular might look like—one with corrugate, brick, and crafted fa...
S2 · E13 · 18 Sep 2025 · 51 min
Capturing Architecture: Moving Image and Storytelling
Send us Fan Mail When we consume architecture, which speaks louder - the frozen moment or the flowing narrative? This question sits at the heart of our fascinating conversation with Clare Chapman, editor of Home Magazine, and Simon Devitt, renowned architectural photographer. Despite both guests being masters of still imagery, our discussion reveals how moving image is transforming architectural storytelling in ways that complement rather than replace traditional photography. As Simon eloque...
S2 · E12 · 29 Aug 2025 · 57 min
Growth Through Design: An Architectural Evolution
Send us Fan Mail The path to finding your architectural voice isn't a straight line—it's a series of experiments, failures, resets, and breakthroughs. Sam Brown, founding director of Arête Architects, takes us on a candid journey through his evolution as a designer and the growth of his practice. Starting with foundational experiences at Victoria University, Mason Wales, and Foster Melville Architects, Sam reveals how these early influences shaped his approach before launching his own practi...
S2 · E11 · 6 Aug 2025 · 54 min
Mass Timber Construction: A Woody Renaissance
Send us Fan Mail Step into the revolutionary world of mass timber construction with our enlightening conversation featuring Jordan Robinson, Head of Business Development at X-Lam. What begins as a reunion of old architecture school friends quickly transforms into a masterclass on how engineered timber is reshaping our built environment. Remember when timber was just for stick framing houses? Those days are rapidly disappearing as Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) and other mass timber products de...
S2 · E10 · 23 Jul 2025 · 56 min
Design With Intent: A Conversation with Architects, Seear-Budd Ross
Send us Fan Mail The seemingly effortless elegance of minimalist architecture masks the extraordinary attention to detail required to achieve it. Tom Seear-Budd and James Ross, founders of Wellington-based Seear-Budd Ross Architects, pull back the curtain on this process, revealing the meticulous thought behind their refined residential designs. Having established their practice nearly six years ago after departing larger commercial firms, the pair sought greater autonomy and the opportunity...
S2 · E9 · 7 Jul 2025 · 48 min
Hydroforming the Future: Gerard Dombroski's Exhibition, Inflation
Send us Fan Mail What happens when steel becomes soft? When industrial materials take on organic forms? In Gerard Dombrowski's debut solo exhibition "Inflation" at Season Aotearoa Gallery, steel transforms into something unexpectedly fluid and inviting. We turn the microphone on our own Gerard Dombrowski as he shares the journey behind creating "Inflation"—a collection of hydroformed steel objects that challenge our perception of what's possible with metal. The exhibition features approximat...
S2 · E8 · 12 Jun 2025 · 53 min
Form and Function: Exploring Programme in Design
Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered what architects mean when they talk about "programme"? In our latest deep dive, we crack open this fundamental concept that shapes everything from the tiniest apartments to sprawling civic buildings. This episode begins with a seemingly simple question: what exactly is program in architecture? We explore how program operates simultaneously at multiple scales—a house within a street, a road within a city—creating nested relationships that influence design decisi...
S2 · E7 · 29 May 2025 · 1 hr 5 min
Feel Good, Look Good: Performance vs Aesthetics in Architecture
Send us Fan Mail What happens when award-winning architects and builders challenge the notion that sustainable, high-performance buildings must sacrifice aesthetics? This thought-provoking conversation brings together Passive House experts who are transforming New Zealand's built environment through buildings that are both beautiful and functional. Architect Rafe Maclean shares how client feedback about a poorly-performing design prompted his journey into building science, while Joe Lyth rev...
S2 · E6 · 14 May 2025 · 1 hr 3 min
Outside Influence: Has the Architectural Pilgrimage Changed?
Send us Fan Mail What happens when architecture becomes more accessible through images than through physical experience? This question forms the backbone of our conversation with Nina Boyd, a New Zealand architect currently working in Paris. The traditional architectural pilgrimage—traveling to see important buildings firsthand—has fundamentally changed. Where Alvar Aalto's visit to Italy completely transformed his design approach, today's architects arrive at celebrated buildings having alr...
S2 · E5 · 1 May 2025 · 58 min
Where Craft Meets Design: Exploring Material Understanding with Raimana Jones
Send us Fan Mail The conversation with Raimana Jones from Atelier Jones Design delves deep into the heart of what makes good design truly exceptional—craftsmanship. Drawing inspiration from architectural legends like Alvar Aalto and Walter Gropius, we explore how the most revered designers extended their vision beyond buildings to encompass furniture, lighting, and complete environments. Raimana shares his journey through fabrication and making, revealing the powerful feedback loop between c...
S2 · E4 · 14 Apr 2025 · 49 min
Dare to Declare: What Happened to Manifestos?
Send us Fan Mail What happened to the architectural manifesto? This fascinating question from a listener propels us into an exploration of how architects have historically proclaimed their design philosophies—and why such bold declarations seem increasingly rare in contemporary practice. The architectural landscape was once dramatically shaped by manifestos: Le Corbusier's "Towards New Architecture," Adolf Loos's "Ornament and Crime," and the revolutionary Bauhaus movement all articulated cl...
S2 · E3 · 1 Apr 2025 · 1 hr 5 min
The Architects' Voice: Advocating for the Role of the Architect
Send us Fan Mail What happens when the people who shape our cities, schools, and homes are missing from the public conversation about our built environment? Award-winning architect Lisa Webb joins us to unpack architecture's growing crisis of relevance in New Zealand. Following her thought-provoking piece in the NZIA Bulletin, Lisa shares her concerns about architects becoming increasingly sidelined in discussions about housing, climate resilience, and community building. "We have a lack of ...
S2 · E2 · 17 Mar 2025 · 48 min
AI Meets Architecture: The Zuru Revolution
Send us Fan Mail A revolution is brewing in the housing industry, and it's coming from an unexpected source – Zuru, the New Zealand toy company that's now setting its sights on disrupting how we build homes. Their ambitious AI platform called "Dreamcatcher" promises to deliver fully customizable houses for as little as $500 per square meter, a fraction of current construction costs. What makes this potential game-changer so fascinating is the comprehensive approach Zuru is taking. While most...
S2 · E1 · 4 Mar 2025 · 54 min
Flying High: From Dezeen to Design Dreams
Send us Fan Mail Step into the new year with us as we reopen the doors to our podcast, diving deep into the vibrant world of architecture and design. We'll share our personal highlights from the recent Dezeen Awards, a celebration of exceptional creativity, and inspire listeners with the remarkable projects that put New Zealand on the global design map. Throughout the episode, we unpack the differences between local awards and their international counterparts, examining how to enhance the cel...
S1 · E17 · 31 Oct 2024 · 56 min
The Everything House: Materiality in Architecture and Pushing Boundaries
Send us Fan Mail What happens when you build an entire house from just one material? We explore the revolutionary "everything house" concept, inspired by architectural visionaries like Robert Bruno, Tadao Ando, and Tom Kundig. This episode takes you on an imaginative journey through the possibilities and challenges of constructing homes from singular materials like wood and concrete. We question the marriage of aesthetics and functionality in architecture and reflect on the profound impact su...
S1 · E16 · 16 Oct 2024 · 46 min
Beyond Design: Architecture, Innovation and Business with Pamela Bell
Send us Fan Mail Pamela Bell, a trailblazer in New Zealand's architecture and construction scene, shares her inspiring journey from studying architecture to embracing prefabrication and entrepreneurial ventures. Pamela's story is not just about personal triumphs but also about innovating at the crossroads of design and business. Her narrative is a testament to the transformative power of networking and building meaningful connections, which she believes are crucial for success. Pamela's exper...
S1 · E15 · 9 Sep 2024 · 57 min
Real World Education: A Conversation with Kevin Hui of Archimarathon
Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered how architecture can be more than just buildings? Join us as we chat with Kevin Hui of Archimarathon, an architecture tour curator, educator, YouTuber and social media savant. Kevin shares his inspiring journey from creating architecture running tours to collaborating with Andrew Maynard on a YouTube channel, especially during the pandemic. Get ready to explore the critical issue of Melbourne's declining studio culture and discover Kevin’s innovative co-working ...
S1 · E14 · 13 Aug 2024 · 1 hr 6 min
The Greener Way to Go: A Conversation with Matthew Cutler-Welsh
Send us Fan Mail Wondering how you can stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of sustainable architecture? Join us as we sit down with Matthew Cutler-Walsh, a leading expert in green building practices, for a deep dive into the rapidly changing landscape of sustainable building in New Zealand. Matthew sheds light on the recent H1 regulation updates, the enthusiastic support from industry professionals like Ben Nansett of MPB Builders, and the tireless advocacy efforts in Parliament. We'll unpa...
S1 · E13 · 29 Jul 2024 · 1 hr 6 min
Money Talks: The Challenges of Cost in Architecture and Construction
Send us Fan Mail How do you navigate the maze of fluctuating construction costs and avoid the pitfall of overcapitalization? Join us as we tackle these pressing questions and uncover practical solutions to manage building expenses effectively. We’ll break down the frustrations professionals face when clients are vague about budgets and how quantity surveyors can play a crucial role in stabilizing these uncertainties. You'll learn about the importance of concept designs in gauging project feas...

About Design Principles Pod

Design Principles Pod is a English arts & books podcast from Sam Brown, Ben Sutherland and Gerard Dombroski. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Sam Brown, Ben Sutherland and Gerard Dombroski
Language: English
Category: Arts & Books
New episodes: Every two weeks
Typical length: 54 min
Latest episode: 12 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1728337112

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