A New Era of Better Building

As the demand for healthier, smarter, and more efficient homes continues to rise, Bowens and the Sustainable Builders Alliance (SBA) have come together to help the industry find better ways to build. This month, we hosted a full-day event that brought builders, designers, and suppliers together under one roof to explore the latest in high-performance, sustainable and healthy building practices.

Hosted at the brand-new Rethink Building Hub at Bowens Hastings, the event set out with a clear goal. To equip builders with the practical knowledge, tools, and techniques needed to deliver better-performing homes for Australian families. From airtightness and thermal performance to material choices and ventilation, the day put real, workable solutions front and centre.

“We had 116 attendees who were willing to learn how to build better and listen to the industry leaders. We had attendees from Perth, Adelaide, Sunshine Coast, Tasmania and the rural Victoria areas such as Shepparton and Geelong,” said Damien Thomas, Business Development Manager at Bowens. “This tells us that builders want to learn and gain this knowledge within the industry, and the message is getting stronger. Build better so the end user has a healthy home to live in.”

Builders enjoying the new Rethink Building Hub training facility.

Morning Sessions: Expert Insights

Walking into the building, the energy was immediate, and Builders were there early, eager to learn.

“I was pretty confident that what we built in that space was going to blow people’s minds,” Andrew Healey, Product Innovation & Business Development Manager, said.

Our attendees enjoyed breakfast and a coffee before settling in for the morning sessions. The atmosphere was one of curiosity and momentum with builders genuinely interested in better ways to build.

The morning kicked off with a strong lineup of speakers covering everything from airtightness to site orientation. The common thread? Small, practical changes implemented early can dramatically improve a home’s performance without requiring major redesigns. Upgrading glazing, improving insulation levels, and sealing at each stage of construction were repeated as some of the highest-impact, lowest-cost improvements available to builders today.

“All of the experts that presented delivered some incredible information and content. It’s all about starting the conversation and getting people to rethink their building practises,” Andrew said.

Sarah Lebner, Cooee Architecture

Sarah opened the day via a recording with insights from her work designing energy-efficient, resilient, low-carbon homes. Sarah highlighted the value of early planning and how builders can work more collaboratively with designers to achieve better outcomes.

Ben Walsham from ARKATA

Ben followed on from Sarah, discussing why it’s so important to thermally model your design. His aim is to provide clients with clarity, certainty and confidence so they can make informed decision about their home. He touched on some upgrades to the home that can make the highest impact change, such increasing the average U-Value to windows, providing or upgrading insulation, and insulating the slab edge.

Daniel Jakobs from Pro Clima

After the morning break, Daniel Jakobs took the reins. He broke down the science behind building wraps and discussed the four pillars of building performance. Water, Vapour, Air and Thermal. He explained how we build affects insulation performance, mould risk, condensation and indoor air quality.

Dr Cameron Munro of Passive Analytics

From there, Dr Cameron Munro delivered a deep dive into building science, including material selection and how it affects heat transfer. He focused on insulation and the importance of airtightness, making it easier for builders to understand how small errors can have big consequences.

Joel Seagren from Fantech

Rounding out the morning, Joel Seagren walked attendees through why we need to ventilate buildings. He demonstrated how controlled ventilation through a HRV system is essential for healthy living, particularly in airtight, insulated homes.

“Homes that are extremely airtight, the indoor air quality is impacted,” Glenn Costello, Business Development Manager at Fantech Trade, said. “HRV basically brings outside air into the home. It filters it and then exhausts out of the wet rooms on a 24/7 basis.”

Hands-On Demonstrations

Builders listening during the hands-on demonstration at Rethink Building Summit 2025.

After a morning of presentations, the afternoon shifted into practical, hands-on learning where builders could see products and techniques perform in real time.

“Being able to actually see the applications … that’s what I’m about,” said Joel from Heidi Build. “How will I cut this? How will I screw it in? How does that mount? That’s the support builders really need.”

The demonstrations covered:

Correct installation of windows for airtightness and weatherproofing
Best-practice application of building wraps
Creating ventilated cavities using modern cavity closers
How to handle materials designed for low-impact, high-performance construction

“Builders were extremely impressed with the Construction Zone at the Rethink Builders Summit, where the demonstrations enabled them to gain the best practices with a range of high-performance products,” said Damien.

For many attendees, this was the highlight of the day. The ability to physically see how details come together, and to ask questions specific to real job-site conditions, gave builders confidence to adopt these methods on future projects.

Panel Discussions

Low-Impact Materials Panel

Led by Jeremy Spencer, the first panel brought together Hydrowood, Weathertex, Wesbeam, Planet Protector Group, and Crafted Hardwoods to discuss sustainable material selection.

The conversation highlighted real examples of products that reduce environmental impact without compromising durability or performance. These products were not only sustainable, but the majority were recycled or upcycled materials, which provided handling, cutting, onsite waste and performance benefits for the builder.

“Coming down here and seeing new and innovative products that I otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed to is really quite exciting,” said Matt Menichelli from Elevate Building Group.

Industry Collaboration Panel

The second panel saw Bowens, SBA, Build Insite, Future Builder, and HazardCo share perspectives on what’s needed to lift industry standards. Across all organisations, the same theme emerged. The shift to high-performance, healthy homes only happens when the industry works together.

“Through innovation and the Rethink Building hub, I’m hoping we’re creating a legacy within the building industry and that we’re at the forefront of creating meaningful change for better building practices,” Andrew said.

SBA Next Steps for Builders

“We hope that builders who attended the Rethink Builders Summit are inspired and motivated by seeing the standard lifted in building homes,” the Sustainable Builders Alliance said. “Hopefully, they had the opportunity to talk with suppliers and learn about materials that will deliver higher performance whilst minimising the footprint on their future projects.”

Want to be a part of real change in the building industry? The next steps we suggest are:

Check out the SBA website, including the SBA Roadmap, for more resources and templates to support them in building better
Consider becoming an SBA Member, which will enable them to list on our Sustainable Building Directory and to unlock special offers from industry suppliers, including access to the Bowens high-performance price list.

Panel discussion during the Rethink Building Summit 2025.

Visit the Rethink Building Hub

The event might have concluded, but the learning doesn’t stop. The new Rethink Building Hub at Bowens Hastings is open to builders who want to explore the latest in sustainable, healthy, and high-performance building solutions. To book a visit or speak with the team, reach out to Andrew Healy and the Bowens Innovation Team at Andrew.Healey@bowens.com.au.

Inside SBA x Bowens Building Summit 2025

Follow Us

Follow Us