James Hardress de Warrenne Waller

James Hardress de Warrenne Waller (31 July 1884 – 9 February 1968), was an Irish inventor and engineer who developed building systems using concrete known as Nofrango and the Ctesiphon system.

Early life and family James Hardress de Warrenne Waller also known as James Hardress de Warenne Waller was born in Tasmania on 31 July 1884. His parents were George Arthur, a farmer, and Sarah Waller (née Atkinson).

On 25 August 1917, Waller married Beatrice Kinkead in Ireland. They had two daughters. Waller died in Devon on 9 February 1968. He used this system during his time with the War Office. His system was adopted across the world. Later in his working life, Waller became preoccupied with famine, leading him to build factories in Africa, housing in India, Egypt, and Australia, as well as grain storage in Cyprus, and refugee accommodation in Jordan. Two engineers in Spain whom Waller met in the 1920s, adopted his techniques, building an airport, farms, and villas to a high standard. The majority of the projects Waller built in Ireland, such as garages and farms, have since been demolished, but one surviving work is his whiskey store at Locke's Distillery, Kilbeggan, County Westmeath. The economy of the Ctesiphon system was met with hostility from building trades, particularly the Plasterers' Union.

His last commission was for Seagram Chivas distillery at Paisley, Scotland, with Seagram buying the patent for the Ctesiphon system. They never used the system again, but paid Waller and later his widow a pension. Waller retired in 1953, to Devon. The Irish Architectural Archive holds an album of his work, presented by his daughter Beatrice Carfrae.