Building Designers Association of Australia

17/09/2026

Innovation, without the buzzword.

AI that does real work in a practice. Bamboo that carries load. Prefab you can actually specify. Electrification you can draw. Retrofit that pays.

Four days in Canberra, 22 to 25 October, and every one of those sessions has someone in front of you who has already done it.

Tickets and the full four-day program at nationalfestivalofdesign.com.au

16/09/2026

Three regulators, one stage, and the question none of them can answer alone.

Adrian Piani runs the Australian Building Codes Board. Darren Disney speaks for Master Builders Australia. James Bennett heads building and design policy for the ACT Government. Chris Knierim puts the questions.

Panel: Australia's Housing Future — Challenges, Choices and Collaboration.
Friday 23 October, 10:20am. Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia.

Tickets and the full four-day program at nationalfestivalofdesign.com.au

15/09/2026

Seventy-two Tests for the Wallabies. One lesson about pressure.

Ben Alexander played 72 Tests, 154 caps for the Brumbies, and is now co-owner of The Dock and the 2026 ACT Local Hero. He knows what elite sport actually teaches you about performing when it counts, and how you build a business that survives the same.

Designing for Resilience.
Friday 23 October, 1:45pm. Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia.

Tickets and the full four-day program at nationalfestivalofdesign.com.au

15/09/2026

Four new Design Handbooks from the James Hardie Modern Homes Forecast 2026.

Every Modern Look in the Forecast now comes with its own Design Handbook, carrying floor plans, interior and exterior design elements and practical guidelines that help turn a vision into something buildable. Four are available now: Barn, Mid-Century Modern, Modern Coastal and Japandi.

Barn leans into dramatic rooflines and layered materials. Mid-Century Modern brings clean lines and vibrant accents. Modern Coastal opens up for light and the Australian climate. Japandi strips back to passive design and crafted simplicity.

Our thanks to James Hardie, a BDAA industry partner.

Be inspired and explore the Design Handbooks: https://www.jameshardie.com.au/modern-homes-forecast/2026

And if you have not booked yet, the National Festival of Design runs 22 to 25 October in Canberra. Tickets and the full four-day program at nationalfestivalofdesign.com.au

14/09/2026

Every housing argument in this country runs on numbers. These are the numbers.

Tim Reardon is Chief Economist at the Housing Industry Association. On day one he sets out the economic landscape your next twelve months of work sits inside: approvals, costs, capacity, and where the demand actually is.

The Economic Landscape.
Friday 23 October, 9:50am. Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia.

Tickets and the full four-day program at nationalfestivalofdesign.com.au

13/09/2026

Why does Canberra look the way it does?

Tone Wheeler has spent a career reading this city. He opens the National Festival of Design with its history, then closes it on Sunday leading the architectural tour of the same streets.

History of Canberra: Setting the Tone.
Friday 23 October, 9:20am. Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia.

Tickets and the full four-day program at nationalfestivalofdesign.com.au

12/09/2026

Free. No ticket. Just turn up.

The National Trade Show opens the Festival at 4:00pm on Thursday 22 October at The Vault, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick.

The national trade floor, CPD workshops across three stations from 4:30pm, live entertainment, drinks and canapes. Two CPD points just for being in the room.

Open to everyone. Bring your builder, bring your team.

Thursday 22 October, 4:00pm to 9:00pm. Details at nationalfestivalofdesign.com.au

11/09/2026

Is AI coming for your practice?

Professor Toby Walsh is one of the world's leading authorities on artificial intelligence and the author of The Shortest History of AI. He is not a doomsayer and he is not a salesman, which is exactly why you should hear him.

Faking It: What AI Really Means for the Design Profession.
Friday 23 October, 2:45pm. Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia.

Two-day Conference Pass $695 for members, $795 non-member. Tickets and the full four-day program at nationalfestivalofdesign.com.au

10/09/2026

The full line-up for the National Festival of Design 2026.

Four days. Three venues. Twenty-four speakers. Sixteen CPD points. Canberra, 22 to 25 October.

Thursday — the National Trade Show at The Vault, Dairy Road. Free entry, no ticket.
Friday — conference day one at Gandel Hall, then the National Networking Event at Dairy Road. Also free.
Saturday — conference day two, then the Red Carpet and the National Design Awards Gala.
Sunday — the architectural tour of Canberra with Tone Wheeler. Seventy-five places.

Toby Walsh on AI. Saul Griffith on electrification. Jim Penman on building a business that lasts. Tim Reardon on the economics. The Australian Building Codes Board, Master Builders Australia and the ACT Government on one housing panel. And the national fee benchmark results, read out loud for the first time.

Swipe for every session, and what it costs.

Tickets and the full program at nationalfestivalofdesign.com.au

04/09/2026

A helpful myth buster for anyone weighing up a home lift. The Velocity Home Lifts Compass does not need a concrete shaft, because it carries its own steel support structure, which makes it a practical option to design into a timber framed home. Well worth knowing for accessible, considered design.

You might've been told that putting a lift in a timber-framed home means building a concrete shaft. It's the most common myth we hear, and it's wrong.

The Compass has its own self-supporting steel structure, so it goes into a standard timber-framed shaft, finished like any internal wall. No concrete, no masonry, no structural headache for your builder.

Building or renovating? Send us a message and we'll talk it through.