Talking Architecture & Design

Emeritus Professor Catherine Bridge has a significant national and international reputation in the area of enabling environments, as evidenced by her invited participation in the International Design Awards as a judge; along with numerous International forums and publications. She is one of Australia’s eminent experts on housing solutions for older people. Her housing research portfolio includes r...

Jorge Chapa is Head of Market Transformation at the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and who’s role it is to ensure that GBCA’s strategic priorities, partnerships, and product and services, including Green Star, accelerate the transformation of Australia’s built environment – delivering more liveable, resilient, and sustainable places for everyone. In this exclusive interview, Chapa talk...

Former national president of the Australian Institute of Architects and spokesperson for the Hands Off Anzac Hall campaign Clare Cousins is angry with the National Capital Authority (NCA) and its plans for the Australian War Memorial , which will see Anzac Hall demolished and pave the way for a $500 million expansion. Cousins says that this decision shows that the  “Australia’s regulatory framewor...

Situated on picturesque Woolooware Bay in Sydney’s iconic Sutherland Shire, Anglicare's Woolooware Shores offers premium retirement living amidst a vibrant and friendly community. Damian Barker & Nik Dunoski from Jackson Teece Architects explain what were the steps in designing an entire aged care facility in what is a brownfield site sitting near a popular coastal spot. Where did they st...

Interior Architect Tina Fox, the Sustainability Transformation Group leader for Scott Carver has over 15 years’ experience in the hotel, hospitality & heritage sectors.  Originally from the UK, Tina is skilled in bringing a clients’ vision to life from concept development to project management on complex and diverse schemes.  Her creative thinking and eye for detail leads her to create beautif...

Ian Moore is the principal of Ian Moore Architects, a multi-disciplinary practice established in 1990. The practice has won numerous national and international awards and has been exhibited in Australia and around the world . Moore talks about how bathrooms influence or change a building design and how this further influences a structure as well as how the design of a bathroom can effect water usa...

Philip Russo is Director of Nursing Research, Cabrini Health and Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University. He is also President of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC), and a member of several national infection prevention committees advising the Commonwealth Government. He talks with us here about the issue of infect...

Dr Elizabeth Farrelly trained in architecture and philosophy, practiced in Auckland, London and Bristol, holds a PhD in urbanism from the University of Sydney, and is a former Associate Professor (Practice) at the University of NSW Graduate School of Urbanism.  In this episode, she talks about her latest book, Killing Sydney: The Fight for a City's Soul, as well as her views on over-developme...

The National Business Development Manager at ALSPEC Richard Harrison talks about Aluminium frames, cladding & Australian standards and why having a local supplier for these products is now crucial for the local building sector. Harrison also unveils ALSPEC's new local testing NATA-accredited facility which will enable the company to test a range of its own and other company Aluminium prod...

Michael Teys is a strata industry consultant with more than 30 years’ experience in strata law and management. He is a strata research academic with City Futures Research Centre at the University of NSW, where he holds an Australian Research Council grant to study the impact of large-scale strata on our cities.  Craig Penton is the General Manager of Aluminium Facade Systems a division of Alspec....

Interface has always been a forward-thinking and highly-innovative flooring company, but its latest initiative is very-much industry leading in every sense of the phrase. As Aidan Mullan says, "As human activity releases more and more carbon dioxide, the natural world is struggling to keep up. So why create products that contribute to this problem and do more harm than good? ​" "Tak...

An apartment featuring flooring, wall tiles, kitchen and lighting features, and furniture and artworks, all made entirely from waste glass and textiles, offers an optimistic view into the future of residential building. Unveiled recently at the Sydney Olympic Park, Mirvac’s industry-first apartment made using waste materials has the potential to revolutionise home construction, sustainably reduce...

Alexander Symes Architects was founded in 2014 with a mission to advance sustainable architecture. The world’s climate is changing and as Alex notes, he believes that architecture must lead the way in changing how we utilise resources to contribute to a sustainable future.  As a multi-award winning designer,  Alex's vision for sustainable architecture is layered through all aspects of our pra...

Chris McCue, the managing director Carr, with extensive experience and speciality within the architecture and interior design of high-end residential, multi-residential and hospitality work, is now focusing on redesigning former industrial sites like that at Brunswick Yard in Melbourne. As a firm believer of wellness for the home environment, McCue notes that light and biophilia are just some of t...

Dr. Steve Cummings Director Innovation, GWA Group, owners of the Caroma brand of bathroom products, a brand just about everyone in Australia is familiar with.  Dr. Cummings talks about designing with the consumer's dignity in mind, aged-care issues and how a constant thirst for great design drives innovation at Caroma.

The managing director of Stormtech , Troy Creighton, talks about Stormtech’s history - its humble beginnings and the interesting back-story of the NSW South Coast company's stellar growth. Troy also covers a number of other areas including his passion - manufacturing to proper standards in Australia  as well as the current state of the industry, and how the continuing move towards higher leve...

Since graduating from the University of Melbourne, Tisha Lee has accumulated over twenty years of experience working on significant educational, residential, and civic precincts. Before joining K2LD in 2007, Tisha was previously a Senior Associate with HASSELL where she was responsible for the management of a dedicated team working on educational and community projects for both the State Governmen...

HY William Chan is an urbanist, architect, and designer dedicated to creating resilient and inclusive places for people. A UNICEF Young Ambassador during the 25th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, William has led community-building projects for the homeless, slum dwellers, and refugee youth. He was named in the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list as a game-changing business and in...

Aidan Mullan, the Interface Engineering and Sustainability Manager about company initiatives, processes and methods, and where the evolution of technology is headed.  With sustainability being at the core of everything that Interfacer does, Mullan describes how flooring manufacture is key to achieving sustainability across our built environment.

Christian Hampson is a Woiwurrung and Maneroo Aboriginal man interweaving Indigenous tacit knowledge and collaborative design thinking to walk a new path, away from conventional approaches, and create new opportunities for intergenerational capital to allow future Indigenous generations to thrive. As the co-founder and Director of Yerrabingin, Hampson, who is also an Ambassador for the 2020 Sustai...

Nicci Leung from Lifepod Evolution began her career providing design and project services to some of the most highly regarded architectural and interior design practices in Melbourne.  Combining her passions for design, innovation, and technology, Nicci’s vision for the future is a positive one, and in this episode, she talks about how technology, data, automation, and AI are all combining to play...

In this episode of Talking Architecture & Design, architect and lecturer Tone Wheeler looks at where we went wrong with the design and build of our social housing stock. Wheeler discusses some novel ideas to get social housing back on track in Australia and what are some examples from overseas that we could emulate, as well as wondering whether a housing crash would be the best thing to invigo...

One of Australia's most well-known and most respected architects, Philip Thalis is a founder and principal of Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects, professor of practice at UNSW Sydney, and a City of Sydney councilor. Philip's advice and expertise have regularly been sought by government and private clients and in this episode, he talks about what we need to do to make Sydney grea...

Gerhana Waty is a well-rounded designer with a solid understanding of built form and an appreciation for viable, sustainable and pedestrian-oriented cities. She talks about how to strike the right balance between stakeholders’ interests and achieving triple bottom line outcomes through urban design practice when it comes to our urban spaces. Gerhana explains why evidence-based design and urban ana...

Koichi Takada is a member of a new generation of architects that aim to ‘naturalise’ architecture in the urban environment – an approach he developed after living in cities of high urbanization: Tokyo, New York, and London. In this interview, he talks about his latest projects, why bringing the 'outside-in' is the new black, and how COVID-19 has altered human activity for god and what th...