Kaia McCarty-Smith is the founder of Wilderness Building Co, a residential and commercial building practice. Having 14 years experience in the building industry, he was initially critical of what he observed and wondered whether it was possible to do better. After observing the cultural dynamics and environmental problems that beset the industry, he formed Wilderness Building Co to explore what a modern, progressive and environmentally conscious building company could be. With a sharp focus on Passivhaus, reducing waste, adaptive re-use and the retrofit typology, Wilderness Building Co has recently completed Australia’s first net-zero retrofit of an apartment building.
