Masterspec
31 Mar 2026
Masterspec Specified: 211 High Street by Ignite
211 High Street transforms the iconic Excelsior Hotel site into a high-quality, sustainable, commercial mixed-use building. The ground floor features...
25 Mar 2026
Why AI Changes How We Trust Construction Specifications
AI has not created the risk of inaccurate or misused construction specifications, but it has made that risk faster, easier to scale, and harder to...
04 Mar 2026
2025 Building Code Update and Building Product Specifications
On 28th July 2025, MBIE's Building Product Specifications (BPS) document came into effect. This document, to be read alongside the Acceptable...
19 Nov 2025
Masterspec Specified: Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre
Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre stands as a landmark civic and cultural facility in the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. Designed by Woods...
15 Oct 2025
Masterspec Specified: Air New Zealand Hangar 4 by Studio Pacific Architecture
The project was designed to meet Green Star environmental standards and includes advanced cladding, roofing, and mechanical systems tailored for...
10 Oct 2025
Bridging the Gap: Empowering Better Specifications for Builders
At this year’s Constructive Conference in Auckland, we asked every delegate we spoke with: “What can we do to improve construction documentation and...
24 Sep 2025
NECO₂ – New Zealand’s Embodied Carbon Repository Goes Live
New Zealand’s construction sector has taken a major step providing New Zealand-centric carbon data with the launch of the first release of NECO₂ – the...
22 Sep 2025
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning Bryndwr House One by AO Architecture
Tucked into a secluded rear site behind a mature, tree-lined driveway in leafy Bryndwr, this new family home forms one half of a pair of residences...
22 Sep 2025
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning Flockhill Sugarloaf by Hierarchy Group
Nestled in the remote Craigieburn Valley of New Zealand’s Southern Alps, Sugarloaf at Flockhill is more than a restaurant — it’s an architectural...
12 Sep 2025
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning He Whare Hono ō Tūwharetoa by DCA Architects of Transformation
In the heart of Taupō, a landmark civic building is redefining the relationship between architecture, culture, and governance.
08 Sep 2025
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning Terrace 12C by Bassett-Smith Architecture
Terrace 12C is a residential development located in Tauranga, designed to maximise site efficiency while maintaining architectural individuality. The...
08 Sep 2025
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning Miller Residences by Oliver Andrew Associates
In the heart of Auckland, the Miller Residences by Oliver Andrew Associates stand as a refined example of contemporary multi-unit housing — where...
01 Apr 2025
Document Referencing and Scheduling with eCert
Our editor team has updated all Masterspec work sections which have references to environmental documents. Where environmental document references...
27 Mar 2025
Update Manager New Features
The new Update Manager features are designed to boost productivity when applying changes to updated work sections. Simplify work section updates with...
03 Mar 2025
CIL is Now Accepting Product Carbon Data for the National Embodied Carbon Data Repository for Construction.
CIL Masterspec is now accepting carbon information in the form of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) or Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) from...
06 Jan 2025
Carbon 2025 and Beyond: Building a More Sustainable Future for NZ Construction
In July 2024, Construction Information Ltd (CIL) and the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) announced a partnership to develop a...
01 Nov 2024
Introducing eCert: A Game-Changing Tool for Sustainable Construction
As the New Zealand construction industry increasingly focuses on sustainability and carbon reduction, there is a growing need for tools that can help...
26 Sep 2024
Masterspec Specified: Manawa House by Cube Architecture
"Masterspec has been an indispensable tool for our project Manawa House. During the specification, Masterspec streamlined our entire specification...
26 Sep 2024
Masterspec Specified: Award Winning Ligar Bay Bach by Young Architects
"Masterspec was used for providing a detailed, fully customised, specification as part of our comprehensive project documentation for the Ligar Bay...
25 Sep 2024
Masterspec Specified: Hilltop Home by Jon McAlpine Architecture
“Masterspec is a critical component in our studio. Its user-friendly platform and regular product specification updates, keep us constantly on the...

Efficiency Meets Affordability: Fabricate Architecture's Winning Formula with Masterspec + MasterKey

17 Nov 2021

Fabricate Architecture is an emerging, design-driven studio that is focused on delivering unique, functional, and affordable homes. Led by Hamish Stirrat, this small but personable practice has their clients' needs at heart.

As Fabricate Architecture is focused on bringing beautiful designs to everyday people, the greatest challenge is managing the cost and time involved. This creative practice invests in understanding the needs of their client, so they can get it right from the start. By doing this, they ensure they present the best possible result, which of course is the building their clients have dreamed of within their budget.

The solution to meeting budgets is efficiency. When designing these practical bespoke homes, Stirrat has come to realise that a winning formula not only saves time, but money as well. To help him achieve high quality designs for less, he does a few things. First, he ensures he engages the builder early in the process. Secondly, when he begins drawing the design, he also makes a start on the specification documentation. MasterKey, Masterspec’s keynoting tool makes this process easy.

“Custom keynotes are our favourite feature as we have the ability to reduce complex information in our drawings down to simple annotations, just exactly how we want it. Using MasterKey has enabled us to link our documentations set together and now they seamlessly talk to each other. This helps our builders out.”

- Hamish Stirrat | Fabricate Architecture

The best part about Stirrat using this intuitive tool is that it simplifies the design process and manages the practices risk. Instead of leaving the specification document to the end of the design as an afterthought, Stirrat can save time by making it part of the initial conversations. This also assists him with speedy council approval.

The result of Stirrat’s winning formula (early adoption of builder + MasterKey + Specification) is happy clients with a beautiful, well-designed home.

Bonus tip from Hamish Stirrat:

“Keep up with Masterspec updates, as they are always making changes to the spec content. This ensures that we are up to date and getting the most out of all of the available tools.”

Visit Fabricate Architecture's website to learn more about their projects. Interested in managing your projects with Masterspec or MasterKey? Reach out to us on 09 631 7044 or gen@masterspec.co.nz. 

Featured systems:

Masterspec BasicBASIC

The architectural specification system for residential, low-level retail and smaller commercial construction.

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Masterspec InteriorsMasterKey for Revit

Dynamically connect your Revit project drawings with your Masterspec specification document with ease.

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