Senior advisory · Tauranga, Aotearoa

Building projects rarely fail because of a single bad decision.
They get into trouble in the gaps.

Formation Projects exists to work in those gaps — between what was briefed and what was built, between the people making the early decisions and the people delivering them later. I stay with the project from beginning to end.

Director Shane Forward
Experience Forty years in commercial construction
Based Tauranga Moana
01 · About

A senior person in your corner.

Not another consultant on the org chart — someone whose only role is the success of the project.

I'm Shane Forward. I work alongside clients as their senior project advisor, from early feasibility through to handover. My role is to bring clarity to the decisions that shape the project, keep consultants and contractors aligned to a shared intent, and ensure the original purpose of the project survives the process.

Forty years in commercial construction. I started as an architectural technician and moved into project leadership at Ignite Architects over sixteen years, followed by senior project management with RCP and a directorship at Wingate Architects. My work spans architecture, project management, design leadership, and governance — across town centres, commercial buildings, schools, community facilities, and specialist projects.

I take on a small number of clients at any time. That is a deliberate choice — embedded advisory only works when there is genuine time and attention to give it. If we work together, you get me directly, not a team behind me.

01

Understanding.

Cutting through the jargon to understanding. Plain language, no consultant-speak.

02

Ordered.

The work is complex enough — the process shouldn't be. Clear hierarchy of decisions, clean handovers between phases.

03

Grounded.

No aspirational gloss. The job is to keep the project's original purpose alive through everything that comes at it.

02 · Services

Four ways to work together.

Most engagements fit cleanly into one of these. The shape of the work depends on what the project needs and where you are in it.

001

Lifecycle Advisory

ServiceEmbedded across the full project, from initial concept through to completion, alongside the project's appointed delivery team. A continuous presence at governance forums and decision points, ensuring continuity of intent over the long arc of the project.

When it suitsLarger or more complex projects where you want senior counsel from the start and value continuity over multiple years. Particularly suited to first-time developers, organisations without internal project capability, and projects with significant cultural, political, or commercial complexity.

002

Integrated Project Delivery

ServiceFor smaller projects where one experienced person carries both the advisory and the operational project leadership. A single point of accountability for the client — strategic lead and project lead in the same chair.

When it suitsProjects where the client wants one experienced person carrying the work end to end. Common scenarios: owner-occupier commercial fitouts, smaller community or marae projects, papakāinga developments, single-building institutional work, mid-scale residential.

003

Phase Advisory

ServiceFocused work at the points where projects most often go wrong — feasibility and scoping, procurement, design coordination, or pre-construction. Defined scope, defined deliverable, senior input where it matters most.

When it suitsClients with internal capability for the bulk of the project who recognise they need senior input at a specific point. Also suits projects where lifecycle engagement isn't justified but a particular phase is high-stakes.

004

Discrete Advisory

ServiceGovernance support, independent review, and senior counsel on specific issues. Short, defined engagements — a board attendance, an independent review of a project in trouble, expert advice on a procurement decision.

When it suitsClients who need senior input on a specific question rather than ongoing engagement. Often the right starting point — a way to bring senior eyes to a particular decision before deciding whether longer engagement is right.

04 · Kaupapa-aligned work

A companion document for projects with a kaupapa Māori dimension.

For iwi-led developments, marae and papakāinga projects, and institutional work engaging mana whenua, my role is to bring construction and project leadership experience alongside — not in place of — the cultural authority that properly belongs to mana whenua, kaumātua, and kaupapa Māori practitioners.

Read the Kaupapa Companion
05 · Contact

Most engagements start with a conversation.

Thirty to sixty minutes, no fee, to understand the project and whether Formation Projects is the right fit. Not every conversation results in an engagement — and that's correct.

Director Shane Forward
Phone 021 355 070
Based Tauranga Moana, Aotearoa