Talking Architecture & Design

Derek Layfield, Managing Director of Durra Panel, who has championed straw-based panel technology for decades, and Michael Jones , Studio Lead – Design at AJC Architects, a registered architect with a wealth of experience specifying bio-based materials, including Durra Panel projects and recent Byera Hadley research into straw and prefabricated systems, explain why straw is the ultimate building m...

 David Holm, Principal at Cox Architecture has a career spanning major transport and civic infrastructure—from international airports like the new Western Sydney airport and Changi airport in Singapore to urban masterplans and public spaces—David’s work sits at the intersection of connectivity, culture, and placemaking.  He’s also a passionate advocate for drawing as a design tool and has contribu...

In this episode of Talking Architecture & Design, we speak with Kjetil Thorsen, co-founder of Snøhetta—the Oslo-based, globally recognised practice known for its transdisciplinary approach to architecture, landscape, interiors, and design.  From iconic cultural landmarks like the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet to the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion, Snøhetta has built a rep...

Jacob Burke is the founder of Mijasu, an interdisciplinary group of design practices focused on people‑centred outcomes across the built environment.  With more than 25 years’ experience in the Australian market, his career was shaped by humble beginnings in a family business and a hands-on experience through design, delivery and business leadership.  He established Mijasu in 2019 as a parent comp...

This episode tackles one of construction’s biggest questions: If the built environment needs to rapidly cut embodied carbon, what materials and manufacturing systems can realistically scale. The construction sector sits at the centre of the climate challenge. Cement and concrete underpin modern infrastructure but remain among the world’s most carbon-intensive materials. At the same time, a new gen...

The Residences at Wahroonga Estate, designed by GroupGSA, is a project that’s generating a lot of discussion up on Sydney’s Upper North Shore.  Capital Corporation has officially broken ground on The Residences at Wahroonga Estate — a landmark luxury development delivered in partnership with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, award-winning builder DASCO, with architecture by GroupGSA and interiors...

Cindy Lee from Stratco Architectural  talks about the strategies needed to bridge the gap between design and delivery in her role at Stratco.  In this recent interview, Cindy Lee shares insights on the company’s evolution, the shifting challenges of practice, and how early collaboration with suppliers can help architects realise their vision.

In this episode of Talking Architecture & Design , Clémence Carayol sits down with Interior Designer Léo Terrando to explore how hospitality thinking is reshaping the way we design and live.  With over two decades of experience across hotels and high-end homes, Terrando brings a perspective grounded in how spaces are actually used, how people move through them, and how they feel along the way....

As demand for healthcare services rises and workforce shortages intensify, universities and health institutions are under growing pressure to educate more students, more effectively, and in environments that reflect the rapidly changing nature of healthcare itself. A recent research whitepaper, Anatomy of Change: Rethinking Healthcare Learning Environments , explores how architecture, planning and...

Breakout Creek / Purruna Pari Stage 3 recently took out both the Landscape & Urban category and Best of the Best at the 2025 Sustainability Awards.  Delivered by TCL in collaboration with Green Adelaide, the City of Charles Sturt and the City of West Torrens, the project reimagines a once-degraded drainage channel as a thriving blue–green landscape. Featuring over six kilometres of new walking...

In this episode, we’re joined by award-winning architect Sarah Lebner, Director of Cooee Architecture.  Sarah recently took out the Hospitality & Tourism Award at the 2025 Sustainability Awards for her remarkable transformation of an old grain silo into The Silos Accommodation — a sustainable, off-grid farm stay that celebrates adaptive reuse, environmental performance, and regional experience...

Gabriel Solorzano Torres is the Executive Director of Commercial, Sustainability and Infrastructure at Melbourne Polytechnic.  He brings deep strategic and operational experience in infrastructure and industry development — and is at the forefront of the new Future of Housing Construction Centre of Excellence, a national initiative aimed at scaling Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) skills and i...

Ingrid Bakker is a Principal architect, a board director for Hassell and a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects. Craig Guthrie is a specialist in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design with over 25 years of experience As Hassell Studio Principals Ingrid Bakker and Craig Guthrie talk about the legacy for Melbourne and how the newly-built Metro Tunnel uses design to increase the ci...

Daniel Jarosch, Chief Executive Officer of Sydney Fish Market has lead the organisation through a once-in-a-generation relocation and reopening that has attracted millions of visitors and redefined this iconic waterfront for the future. He explains how the new Sydney Fish Market is a game changer in terms of designing for place and the future of retail and hospitality design in busy and growing ci...

Lisa Munao, Managing Director and Principal of Gensler’s Sydney office leads the strategic growth and operations of the firm across Australia and New Zealand.   With over 25 years of experience in the design industry, Lisa has guided major interior and workplace projects for global and local organisations and brings a passion for creative thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and sustainable de...

We talk with architects and founders of Taylor Buchtmann Architecture, Anne Taylor, and Michael Buchtmann, who are also the winners of the 2025 Sustainability Award in the Adaptive Reuse – Alteration/Addition category about their extraordinary award-winning project, The Stopover.  This remarkable build transformed a dilapidated grain store into resilient, sensitive accommodation that honours both...

With a background in architecture and interior design, emerging leader in sustainable design and the Green Star Program Lead at the Green Building Council of Australia, Gabrielle Pavicic is helping reshape how the built environment approaches sustainability — particularly at the fitout level, where waste and embodied carbon have long been overlooked.  Her work bridges design thinking with technica...

Known for his thoughtful, context-driven approach to design, acclaimed Australian architect Ed Lippmann, owner and founder of architectural practice, Lippmann Partnership, has a design portfolio that spans decades of civic buildings, cultural spaces, religious buildings, educational projects, and private residences that have helped define parts of Australia’s, as well as his own architectural iden...

Across more than three decades, UNSW Professor Deo Prasad has shaped the national and global conversation on low carbon living through research, education, policy leadership, and industry collaboration.  From pioneering sustainability education in the southern hemisphere to leading Australia’s largest built-environment research collaboration through the CRC for Low Carbon Living, his impact spans...

 In this episode of Talking Architecture & Design , host Clémence Carayol heads to Melbourne’s west to unpack one of Australia’s most ambitious health projects: the new Footscray Hospital.  More than a deep dive into a major piece of infrastructure, the conversation explores how architecture can reshape the experience of healthcare itself. The $1.5 billion hospital, designed by COX Architectur...

To help us unpack what it really means to build not just for a few weeks of sport, but for decades of community benefit, reuse, and resilience we spoke to two experts from design firm Populous: Dr. Kavita Gonsalves, Associate Principal - Sustainability Design Lead ‑ APAC, and Brayden Goodwin, Principal, Architect — Brisbane, on how circular design and sustainability are transforming sports infrast...

Catherine Skinner, Principal, BVN, Audun Opdal, Senior Partner, 3XN, Louise Pearson, Studio Director, ASPECT Studios, and Miguel Serrao, Associate, ASPECT Studios, sat down with Talking Architecture and Design at the recent opening of the stunning Sydney Fish Markets, to talk about the highlights, surprises and challenges of working on such a large, iconic and complex public infrastructure project...

In this episode of Talking Architecture & Design , we’re joined by Katrina Sedgwick, the inaugural Director and CEO of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation (MAP Co), who is leading one of Australia’s most ambitious cultural transformations – a $1.7 billion revitalisation connecting Federation Square through to Southbank. Sedgwick shares what it’s like to build a new organisation while simul...

Suzanne Toumbourou, CEO of the Australian Council of Recycling, shares her insights and helps us understand on the challenges the enormous opportunities that recycling and circular thinking present for Australia’s built environment.  She also explains how architects, designers, builders and policymakers all have a critical role to play in shaping a more sustainable, resource-smart future.

Michael Rayner is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, co-founder of Blight Rayner Architecture and the 2025 recipient of the Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Business Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. This prestigious honour — presented only six times in the Awards’ two-decade history — recognises Michael’s remarkable four decades of design leadership, a career that has shaped Brisbane’...