OUR STORY
Born to do it differently.
Built on trust.
Six generations of Fijian heritage. Design and construction experience earned both locally and internationally.
"Too many projects suffer the same fate: a designer with one vision, a contractor with another — and nobody owning the outcome."
Vanua Projects was founded to close that gap. By bringing design and construction under one roof, we remove the space where quality usually falls through, and take full accountability for every project — from the first site visit to the final handover of keys.
Robert and Finn each carry six generations of Fijian family history. That connection to our country runs through everything we do, paired with design and construction experience earned across New Zealand and Fiji.
We also build for ourselves. Alongside client work, Vanua Projects undertakes its own residential developments with our own capital — so every process and product we specify has already been tested with our own money on the line.
25
Years combined experience
6
Generations of Fijian Heritage
2
Directors on every project
HOW WE WORK
Both Directors. Every project. Concept to keys.
Most design-build firms split design and construction into separate divisions that hand work between them. At Vanua Projects, Robert and Finn are personally across every stage of every project — not just their own discipline.
Construction considerations get resolved on paper during design, not discovered on site mid-build. It's the kind of added value that's rarely available in Fiji, if at all.
01
Buildability, materials, and sequencing are agreed before drawings are finalised — not worked out under pressure once construction starts.
Fewer surprises on site
02
Problems get solved on paper, where they're cheap to fix, instead of on site, where they're not.
Fewer costly variations
03
Because the people who designed it are the same people building it, the plan reflects how the project will actually be built.
A programme that holds
THE REAL COMPARISON
The design fee was never the number that mattered.
In Fiji, projects are too often decided on a small difference in design fees — a full design and engineering service compared against a drafting-only quote promising the same council sign-off for less. But the cost of fixing a decision doesn't stay the same through a project. The earlier a problem is caught, the cheaper it is to fix. Left until construction, the same issue can cost tens or even hundreds of times more — in variations, delays, and disputes.
This is a well-known pattern in construction, not a Vanua invention: the cost of changing a decision climbs fast the later it's made. A design phase that properly resolves structural, geotechnical, and buildability questions keeps you on the left side of that curve — where problems are still cheap.
WHY VANUA PROJECTS
Design, construction and everything in between - one accountable team.
01
One point of contact, wherever you are
Whether you're building from across town or across the world, Robert and Finn are personally across every project — a single, accountable point of contact with regular updates and clear communication throughout.
02
Design experience earned in post-earthquake Christchurch and post-Cyclone Winston Fiji — resilient, code-compliant design for both seismic and cyclonic conditions.
Cyclonic & seismic design
03
A genuine understanding of Fiji's local markets, wide-reaching local networks, and the experience of dealing with local councils and consent processes.
Local networks, local trust
04
Access to New Zealand products at competitive rates, with the logistics handled end-to-end — shipping, storage where required, and installation on site.
Sourced from New Zealand
05
Direct access to specialist consultants across Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia — architects, geotechnical and structural engineers, interior designers, and specialist trades — engaged around what your project actually needs.
Specialists from 3 countries
06
Quantity Surveyor estimation and Early Contractor Involvement start at concept stage, not after design is locked — so the number you plan around is the number that holds.
Budget certainty
07
Every consultant we engage and process we implement has been tried and tested on our own developments, with our own funding.
We have skin in the game
08
Chartered Structural Engineer credentials (CPEng, CMEngNZ, IntPE), Registered Master Builders recognition, and Professional Indemnity & Public Liability insurance carried across every project.
Registered & insured
09
Continuous budget oversight across the full span of the project. No last-minute scrambles or costly re-designs to claw back to target.
Constant project tracking
10
We deliberately take on a limited number of projects at a time. Boutique by choice, so every project gets the attention it deserves — not squeezed between a dozen others.