Designing and delivering waste-free buildings

One Wellington School of Architecture PhD student is revolutionising the building industry with a reusable, waste-free building system. 

Ged Finch reviewing part of Xframe

When Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Architecture PhD student Ged Finch started research into reusable, sustainable building materials for his Master’s in 2017, he had no idea where it would take him. He could hardly have imagined that 5 years later he’d have developed an internationally recognised zero-waste building solution which was being used in office fit outs for ANZ branches across Australia.  

“XFrame is now being used in ANZ’s new Breathe retail store experience. The reconfigurable wall’s allow ANZ to make changes to their stores over time without creating waste. We have just recently completed our third store and have a further four to deliver before the end of the year,” explains Ged. 

XFrame is a circular building system, rather than a product. It is composed of 12 plywood parts which can be easily reconfigured for different uses without creating waste. The clip-together design allows structures to be rapidly assembled and disassembled many times.  

“Half of New Zealand’s 12.6 million tonnes of annual waste is generated by the construction sector.”  

This is where XFrame comes in. Ged’s self-braced interlocking wood design makes it possible to separate each layer of a wall (think linings and claddings) without damaging any of the parts. This removes the need for single-use fixings, eliminating waste and reducing the amount of raw materials used in the building process. 

The development of the XFrame, now a respected new voice in the building design industry, all came out of Ged’s Master’s research at Te Herenga Waka. 

“During the course of my Master’s research I recognised the need for the building industry to address end-of-life material management, the waste that’s produced once buildings are renovated or demolished. The most effective way to do this is to ensure that buildings are designed in a way that facilitates material recovery,” he says. 

“I started exploring how to make a more material-efficient house and this evolved into a study about how the circular economy could be applied to buildings. My research looks at how to design building systems that make material reuse an economically attractive option at the end of a structure’s useful life. The study is ‘design-led’ in the sense that the research is about designing, through iterative tests (and based on a wide range of precedents), building systems that will enable circularity in mainstream construction. Which has ultimately led to the creation of XFrame.” 

Ged Finch stood in front of wall made of XFrame inspecting XFrame piece
XFrame being assembled by man in hard hat
XFrame room divider with cladding
XFrame being assembled
ANZ meeting room being constructed out of XFrame
Finished ANZ meeting room made using XFrame
Finished ANZ XFrame interior fitout

Through the University’s commercialisation office—Wellington UniVentures, Ged was able to develop XFrame into a viable business. 

“The University has been instrumental in the success of XFrame to date. Wellington UniVentures supports students wanting to test their ideas in a commercial environment. UniVentures facilitates introductions to potential investors and mentorship (via supporting agencies like KiwiNet and NZTE). My home school (Architecture) made it possible for me to undertake practical research, with access to prototyping equipment and experienced technicians.” 

As well as providing equipment and resources, the Wellington School of Architecture also supported Ged with experienced staff to supervise his research. 

“I’ve been supported by three highly respected supervisors who draw on a wealth of academic and industry experience. The supervision team has supported my aspirations to commercialise XFrame and continue to provide vital mentorship and direction.” 

Now coming to the end of his PhD, Ged admits that developing the Xframe as a commercial entity, alongside working towards his doctorate was a big challenge.  

“Balancing the needs of a rapidly growing start-up with PhD studies has required many late nights—but it’s very rewarding to see the research outcomes beginning to have a meaningful impact on the products used in buildings.”