John Fielding - builder

He is arguably the greatest builder of Australian architectural houses of all time. At an age when most people have retired, John Fielding has just returned from heli-skiing in Canada. We arrange to meet on-site at a project overlooking Sydney Harbour. He arrives in a collared grey shirt with a genuine look of amazement and pride at what he sees.

“Sometimes I wonder how they’ve dreamed up their ideas,” says Fielding, referring to the imagination of the visionary architects he works with and the sculptural curves he is currently running his hand over. Bouncing from ladder to scaffold with the dexterity and curiosity of the 15-year-old ‘brickie’ apprentice he once was, he describes with passion his genuine love for building and design.

JF: From an early age I had a liking for architecture and got concerned about how buildings were built. I remember at the age of about 14 we were building the family home and I argued for weeks about the roof design until I got my way.

PC: What did bricklaying teach you?

JF: It taught us a lot about structures, waterproofing and set outs, but not about the end result. You would leave the building when the structure was done so you never knew a lot about finishes, but I wanted to learn.

Did you ever consider a career as an architect?

No, I never considered being an architect. When I left school I couldn’t even spell ‘architect’ and at that time architecture was a very different profession. Nowadays architects are much more approachable and have a genuine interest in the building process and working as a team with the builders to produce the best result.

What type of buildings do you like?

I like simple buildings, ‘less is more’. When I travel, I am often focused on the details or innovative ideas and ways of building. Japan in particular has been a source of inspiration for me. For example, the precision and finesse in their details or the way someone will have built a cutting edge extension to the back of an historic 16^th century building.

Are simple buildings harder to build?

Always, absolutely always. You cannot hide anything.

How do you instil in young tradespeople the standards you set?

I think apprentices and tradespeople often don’t get the right opportunities. We get people who have never had the chance to perform at their best level come to us. They have that passion, more so than people think, but it starts from the top down. If the management aren't passionate, then the team never have a chance to excel.

What advice would you give to architects in getting the best outcome?

Make sure the budget is correct to do it properly, and that the architect, builder and client form a working team. That’s really the key to our success.

No matter what we’re asked to do, we never say, ‘That’s a ridiculous idea, it can’t be done.’ The attitude is always: ‘OK, that’s what they want, how can we make it happen?’ How the architects are telling us to detail something mightn’t work, but we always think about how we can build to the design intent.

Any frustrations with architects?

Generally none at all. We have a common goal and just work together for the best results.

In terms of your company, how much of it is building and how much is running a business?

We have people in the office running the business. I’m out on-site 90 percent of the time and we have four to five projects running at any one time and always a couple of smaller ones. We also have a maintenance division where we look after houses that we’ve built. Architects have often also asked us to maintain other houses that we didn’t build.

Beach house Newport, Peter Stutchbury Architects. Photo: Michael Nicholson

What’s your leadership style?

A good site manager, good administrator and they’re all site-based and are all totally trained to work with the architects and engineers.

Is there a clear hierarchy?

No, not at all. We are all on-site doing different things, but we are all here for the same reason: to deliver the client and architect the best possible building.

What still amazes you when you walk on-site?

When I look at the concrete and know that it can’t be done any better. The secret is perseverance, practice and thinking. It’s carpentry, craftsmanship and wanting to do it as best as we can. I receive calls at least once a week from people asking me how to do off-form concrete and my usual answer is, ‘It’s like ringing up Gordon Ramsay and asking him how to cook; it’s going to take you years to learn.’

What injuries have you had on site over the years?

None, except the occasional cut finger, a scratch... I think the building industry is often rumoured to be more dangerous than it actually is.

Crackenback stables, Casey Brown Architecture. Photo: Rhys Holland

Any close call moments?

The closest was when we were doing a concrete pour at Crackenback village one year. Unexpectedly, a tornado came screaming down the valley. There were sticks, trees and leaves flying everywhere and objects falling down around us. We could see this thing coming while we were standing on the deck and we’d just managed to drop a cubic metre of concrete. I think if we didn’t get that little kibble of concrete in, we would have ridden that deck all the way to Jindabyne!

What advice do you give owners before signing up to do a house?

A lot of times they say, ‘How do we trust you?’ and my answer is ‘If you don’t, keep looking until you find someone you do trust because it’s a long relationship. We would be signing now, but we mightn’t start for two or three months. Then there are 18 months of building and another year after that at a minimum.’

Most, if not all, of your jobs are ‘cost plus contracts’ aren’t they?

Yes, it’s responsible construction management. We want it costed accurately in the beginning, we spend more money on quantity surveyors than any of our competitors and when we do a cost plan it’s as right as you can get it.

Have you ever ended up in court?

Yes – every builder has, but only with a developer, so we don’t do developer work anymore.

Magney house, Glenn Murcutt Architect. Photo: Max Dupain

What are some of the seminal projects that changed your career?

The one that probably helped us the most was a house for Glenn Murcutt (Magney house in Bingie Bingie Point circa 1984). The design had already been completed before I became involved and this was my first house for a renowned architect.

Were you nervous?

No, I wasn’t nervous but I was careful. I found someone who had experience working with architects and together we built it (with the tradies).

What was Glenn Murcutt like to work with?

He was quite amazing. He’s got a rare talent to walk onto a site and if something’s not right he can often turn it into a positive. When it’s absolutely not right, there’s no negotiation, that’s it.

What were the most difficult things to get right in that house?

We started building the house and the access road at the same time and then it rained for four months. We started in June and wanted it finished by November, but I learned a lesson from that – get your access right first. The most difficult thing was keeping the council workers on side to keep towing us out of bogs.

Most satisfying memory of that job?

Listening to Glenn tell some people that it was his greatest house ever. I got really lucky with that job and it gave me at least a five-year jump on things, it was an amazing break for a young builder.

You and your team have built dozens of award-winning homes including the James Robertson house at Great Mackerel Beach by Casey Brown Architecture. What was the most difficult thing about that house?

Nothing is difficult in building if you sit and think about how to do it. Once again, access was the hardest thing, so we had to build a jetty without approval. Sometimes it’s easier to beg for forgiveness than ask permission. But the locals loved the jetty; they used it for fishing.

More recently Casey Brown Architecture designed a building for you in the Snowy Mountains?

I put all the names of the great architects I have worked with in a hat and drew one out. I wanted to design a beautiful building using the cheapest material money can buy, which is corrugated iron. It’s beautifully executed and it’s just cheap. I mean, corrugated iron costs about as much as two coats of paint.

Tell us about working with architect Peter Stutchbury?

Peter's got a saying, ‘off the trowel’, which means whatever material and finish you get, that’s it. So you have to do it properly.