Design Speaks Weekly

Yitpi Yartapuultiku (The Soul of Port Adelaide) is a living cultural centre located on Kaurna Country. It was designed by Ashley Halliday Architects together with the Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Working Group and Wax Design and is an exemplar of what a project can achieve when led by First Nations people. Yitpi Yartapuultiku has been recognised with several major design awards since completion,...

What does it mean to be truly innovative in design today? Alison Brooks is the founder and creative director of London-based practice Alison Brooks Architects, a studio known for delivering innovation in design. Since establishing her studio in 1996, she has become the only architect to have won the United Kingdom’s three most prestigious architecture awards: the Royal Institute of British Archite...

Marina Tabassum is a world-renowned Bangladesh architect and educator. Her architecture studio, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), was established in 2005 and has received numerous accolades, including two Aga Khan Awards for Architecture, the first for the Bait Ur Rouf Mosque and the second for a housing solution called Khudi Bari. Marina and her studio also designed the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion....

Recently, the exhibition Lived In was announced as Australia’s contribution to the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale. Building on the Housing Atlas for Australia research project, the exhibition is a collaboration between creative directors Kerstin Thompson of Kerstin Thompson Architects, and Maryam Gusheh, Lee-Anne Khor and Louise Wright of Monash Urban Lab. Lived In will draw on more than a cent...

Rob Champion is the founder of TARN, a landscape practice that focuses on experimental projects. Alongside his residential work, Rob is currently co-leading the design of the National Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery in Canberra, an ambitious project that is revitalising and expanding an important landscape. In this episode, Emily Wong, editor of Landscape Australia, speaks with Rob about...

David Welsh and Chris Major founded their practice, Welsh and Major, more than twenty years ago. Since then, they have refined and embraced an adaptive reuse design method, delivering thoughtful and enduring architecture across a diverse range of project types. In this episode, they reflect on the evolution of adaptive reuse in Australia and the value of designing with the unexpected.   Further re...

Since establishing his practice in 2007, Anthony Gill has crafted residential projects that challenge assumptions about contemporary housing. His work often focuses on refining spatial arrangements, resulting in homes that feel generous and functional without relying on excess. In this episode, Alexa Kempton, editor of Houses magazine, speaks with Anthony about how residential architecture that re...

Lee Hillam is a seasoned design critic. Her experience as a principal of Dunn Hillam, as a reviewer for national publications such as Architecture Australia, and as chair of the State Design Review Panel for the Government Architect NSW has sharpened her eye for what makes a successful architectural outcome. In this episode, Lee unpacks how we justify a project's merit and explores the tension bet...

Anthony Clarke is an architect, scholar, writer, and founder of BLOXAS – a practice that focuses on the relationship between architecture and care. In this episode, Lucia Amies, editor of ArchitectureAU, speaks with Anthony about the challenges and opportunities of regulation when it comes to designing inclusive spaces that support users' complex needs.   Further Reading Residential design through...

Emma Williamson has held leadership roles across both architectural practice and public policy. From her time as a partner at The Fulcrum Agency to her current role as Government Architect for Western Australia, she has been driven to improve the quality of the built environment and the culture of the profession. In this episode, Emma shares her approach to leadership and discusses the behaviours...

William Smart is the founder and creative director of Smart Design Studio, a practice that has delivered a wide range of projects, from large-scale masterplans and cultural buildings to private houses and product design. In conversation with Architecture Media’s editorial director Katelin Butler, William reflects on how the drive towards scalability and standardisation in architecture is redefinin...

Izzie White is an architectural graduate, a leading voice in architectural advocacy on social media and currently acting National Communications Manager at Architectus. Through her TikTok and Instagram channels, where she has built a combined following of almost 50,000 people, she shares videos about architecture that cuts through industry jargon and explains the values and outcomes of design in c...

Australian architect Gregory Burgess AM is renowned for his culturally and environmentally responsive approach to architecture. For more than five decades, his work has been shaped by presence, patience, and a pioneering spirit of co-design. Greg has been honoured with numerous national and international awards, including the 2004 Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal, and appointment as a...

There is a long-held notion that architecture is a luxury only available to the few. However, there are many designers finding ways to reclaim architecture’s role in everyday housing. Clare established her practice Clare Cousins Architects in 2005. Since then, her firm has designed and delivered a mix of social housing typologies, as well as cultural, private residential and workplace projects. Th...

Mark Simpson and Damien Mulvihill, established their multi-disciplinary practice Design Office in 2008. The studio works across a wide range of project scales and typologies, with designs that seek to challenge and explore the qualities that determine a space for hospitality, a space for work or a space for living. In today’s episode, InteriorsAu editor Cassie Hansen, speaks with Mark and Damien a...

The design and construction industry generates some of the largest amounts of waste in Australia. Approximately 26.8 megatons were recorded during the 2022–2023 financial year. In response to this excess, Amy Seo and Shahar Cohen created Second Edition to explore new ways of working with materials that would otherwise end up in landfill. By designing their own projects and collaborating with other...

Neil Durbach, Camilla Block and David Jaggers are the recipients of the Australian Institute of Architects 2026 Gold Medal – Australia’s highest architectural honour. Their Sydney-based practice Durbach Block Jaggers Architects is defined by a collaborative, exploratory approach to design that embraces complexity, contradiction and exchange. In celebration of their Gold Medal win, editorial direct...

Alison Page is a Walbanga and Wadi Wadi woman and a leading design entrepreneur. Her portfolio spans collaborations with Indigenous designers Dillon Kombumerri and Kevin O’Brien from the Merrima Aboriginal Design Unit and eight years as a panellist on ABC’s The New Inventors. She is also the founder of the National Aboriginal Design Agency, and has helped bring First Nations knowledge and culture...

Nigel Bertram believes all design projects are research projects.  As director of Melbourne-based practice NMBW Architecture Studio and practice professor of architecture at Monash University, he has established a practice model that maximises the relationship between practice and academia, allowing research to inform and guide his studio’s projects. In this episode, Nigel reflects on the opportun...

Ingrid Richards is a renowned Australian architect who co-founded Richards and Spence with Adrian Spence in 2008, and has since contributed significantly to the civic identity of Brisbane and beyond. The practice is perhaps best known for its instrumental involvement in the development of the James Street Precinct in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley through a series of independent projects – including...

Níall McLaughlin founded his London-based practice, Níall McLaughlin Architects, in 1990. Over three decades, the studio has developed a reputation for elegant detailing and thoughtful material exploration. This careful, consistent approach shapes a diverse body of work across a wide range of typologies. Underpinning it all is McLaughlin’s belief that building is “an act, not an object.” Following...

Mike Hewson is originally from Aotearoa New Zealand and has been based in Sydney for the past decade. He has a background in structural engineering and heavy-civil construction, and he holds a Master of Fine Arts in visual arts from Columbia University. Mike is perhaps best known for his inventive hybrid playground projects, which he describes as part art and part infrastructure. In 2025, Mike ope...

Sarah Lynn Rees is a Palawa woman descending from the Plangermaireener and Trawlwoolwaypeoples of north-east Lutruwita/Tasmania. In addition to her role as associate principal at national architecture studio Jackson Clements Burrows, Sarah is an academic and writer. Over the course of her career, Sarah has been a prominent advocate for Indigenising the built environment, leading systemic reform in...

Architect Peter McIntyre AO is known for his experimental approach and infectious enthusiasm. He’s received numerous awards, including the 1990 Gold Medal of the Australian Institute of Architects. Peter was still in his early twenties when he established his own practice and began designing major projects that would help shape the city of Melbourne. He counts architects Robin Boyd and Roy Grounds...

Youssofzay Hart is an award-winning architecture and interior design practice based in Sydney. The studio is well acquainted with the "emerging architect" label and all that comes with it. Led by directors Belqis Youssofzay and David Hart, the studio works with leading Australian and international cultural and educational institutions – including Powerhouse, M+ in Hong Kong, and the University of...