Architecture Australia

It is a great honour to be elected president of the Australian Institute of Architects. I am encouraged by the number of passionate and engaged members who volunteer much of their own professional and personal time and I look forward to collaborating

The centrepiece of this issue is a celebration of the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2018 Gold Medallist, Alexander Tzannes, founding director of Sydney-based practice Tzannes. The cover image, by Toby Burrows, captures Alec in a moment of deep

The Gold Medal, the Australian Institute of Architects’ highest honour, recognizes distinguished service by architects who have designed or executed buildings of high merit, produced work of great distinction resulting in the advancement of architect

Our cities are now well understood to be an essential part of our cultural and economic wellbeing. A city that is equitable and celebrates diversity is a city that demonstrates insightful governance – an emblem of leadership. Melbourne is regularly c

Since starting his Bachelor of Architecture at RMIT in 2015, Troy Borg has proven himself to be a dedicated and hardworking student with a passion for giving back to the student body. After assisting in the Victorian Architecture Awards’ Presentation

Since starting his Bachelor of Architectural Design in 2011, Paul Violett has shown a passion for giving back to the student community. After representing University of Queensland students on SONA, he sought to bring architecture students and design

Christina Na-Heon Cho is awarded the 2018 National Emerging Architect Prize in recognition of excellence in architectural practice, leadership, community engagement and contribution to the profession. Christina graduated from the University of Queens

As an exemplary leader for the architecture profession in the broadest sense, Melonie Bayl-Smith has excelled in practice, education, research and policy development over a sustained period. Her leadership in gender equity is particularly evident thr

Dirk Yates is a graduate of multiple disciplines and has combined careers in architecture and creative arts. He graduated from the University of Queensland’s Master of Architecture program in 2009 and from Queensland University of Technology’s Bachel

Kim Bridgland is a director and co-founder of Melbourne-based practice Edition Office. He is a registered architect and graduated from the RMIT Master of Architecture program in 2013. He also has a background, and ongoing practice, in the visual arts

Leah Gallagher graduated from the University of Queensland in 2012 with a Master of Architecture. Her genuine and infectious enthusiasm for the built environment and the people who inhabit our cities has led to her involvement with advocacy and socia

Joseph O’Meara is an associate at BVN Architecture. He is deeply committed to the profession and our built environment and this can be seen in his many diverse pursuits. Joseph’s interest in the fields of sustainable design, innovation and new materi

The William J. Mitchell International Chapter Prize is awarded biennially in recognition of a significant contribution by an Australia-linked practitioner to architecture globally. In 2018 the International Chapter has selected Dr Liu Thai Ker FRAIA

In this Dossier, we examine some models and motivations for design research in large architectural practices. We reflect on what kind of research might be conceptually and practically possible within the vicissitudes of sizeable commercial practice,

What research is actually happening in large architectural practices in Australia? How are practices pursuing research and what are their motivations? What do they see as the benefits and how are they justifying the cost? What are the challenges and

Two conditions seem self-evident. Firstly, architectural practice is permeated with research: how else could things be so varied or be able to change so rapidly? Secondly, though, architects in Australia, Britain and elsewhere are hugely ineffective

Architectural firms are great at creating knowledge and value through design. But when it comes to R and D, architects are good at doing the R but not so good at the D. Arguably, the disintermediation of architects in procurement processes, the rise

Reinier de Graaf is a partner at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and co-founder of the practice’s research arm, AMO. As an architect, an architectural and urban theorist, a writer and an educator, he regularly works well beyond a narro

Architectural history has a tendency to pigeonhole its protagonists, often assigning them a place based on a small number of buildings and from the limited purview of a single building type. For gifted architect Alec Tzannes, this happened early. A s

The first time I asked Alec about the office culture, he declared that Tzannes’ survival rests on clear, distinctive and relevant values. Now, you won’t find a values page on its website. And this is not a practice that goes in for illustrated poster

The challenges that humanity and by extension the built environment will face in the coming decades are well known but worth emphasizing. Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are at their highest in some 800,000 years, fed by our insatiable reli

I had the pleasure of working with Alec Tzannes in various roles at the University of New South Wales’s (UNSW) Faculty of the Built Environment (BE) throughout his time as dean (2008–2016). The following words summarize Tzannes’ strong personal views

Tzannes is the recipient of more than one hundred international, national and state awards, from which the following have been selected. The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and