James Whetter

James Whetter is a Principal and residential design leader at Jasmax with over 20 years’ experience working in Aotearoa New Zealand, the UK and Australia. Having worked on a broad range of project types, James has extensive experience in the residential, commercial and tertiary education sectors. Nine of those years were spent working in Melbourne, where he was primarily involved in the design and delivery of medium and high-density residential buildings and university teaching buildings. 

Within Jasmax, James leads a team of specialists focusing on the delivery of equitable, inclusive and sustainable housing solutions. With a passionate interest in mechanisms to deliver more affordability and improved social and environmental outcomes, James has developed considerable knowledge and expertise in this area. He attended several research trips in 2018/2019 to better understand build-to-rent models, cooperatives, cohousing and restricted profit development models. These included Berlin, Zurich, Vienna, London, Seattle and Vancouver.

James has been working with public, private and not-for-profit clients delivering affordable housing for many years. He understands the drivers and the technical requirements to achieve these outcomes.

James is a protagonist of innovation in construction and design. He has built considerable knowledge around mass timber buildings and is the NZIA representative on the Timber Design Society, playing a key role in promoting the increased use of engineered timber in New Zealand. He works closely with the industry and has been involved in the successful delivery of some of these buildings.