Talking Architecture & Design

We talk with executive director of the Suzanne Toumbourou, executive director of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council and a judge for the 2020 Sustainability Awards about how the pandemic has changed the way we look at green buildings, why sustainability should be now on everyone's mind and is there a real possibility that Australia will start manufacturing more of its own building products and materials.

Toumbourou also talks about what she would like to see included in the entries for this years' Sustainability Awards.

Big River Group began operations in the early 1900s as a family-owned timber business. 

Today, it has established its position as a major Australian building materials distributor, supplying an extensive range of high quality timber, builders’ hardware, building supplies and services for the residential, commercial, industrial, building and construction industries.

With almost 20 years of working in the building materials industry, John Lorente, general manager sales and marketing talks about sustainability, the building industry, timber use in architecture and what he thinks this pandemic will bring the industry and the idea of bringing more manufacturing of building products back to Australia.

Builder and developer Kris Daff is the managing director of two progressive building firms – the first is Make Ventures, a Melbourne-based property development and investment group focusing on large scale urban renewal projects and the second is Assemble Communities, an end-to-end build to rent developer and community manager responsible for the introduction of a new and exciting housing model gaining significant interest across the country.

He explains why the the social, human and societal benefits of building housing for rent-with-the-option-to-buy schemes far outweigh by a wide country mile any arguments over potential lower or for that matter, slower profits. 

This episode we talk with founder and owner of design firm Archisoul Architects Jo Gillies about what is really important in these days of lockdowns, social isolation and social distancing and how we respond to these challenges will determine how we will get through them.

Gillies also talks about wellness and its intimate relationship to our mental and physical wellbeing in a time of stress and isolation and how individual wellness is critical to our eventual general recovery as a society.

Principal and director of Sydney-based architecture studio Furtado Sullivan Sandra Furtado talks about what it's like working as an architect under a lockdown situation with an economy that's in hibernation and an industry desperately trying to keep going under the most unusual and trying of socio-economic conditions.

Furtado gives us an insight into how things are at present and where they may well end up when the situation eventually starts to change back to what we would consider as being much more normal.

Dr Peter Sweatman graduated with first class honours in Industrial Design from the University of Canberra Peter started work with Caroma R&D on research to launch the first generation of Smart Flush toilets to the market and is currently completing a PhD in user centred bathroom design for older people at UNSW Built Environment. 

He talks about creating a new class of bathroom that works as an integrated space that can also be tailored and adapted to individuals to provide convenience, comfort and safety.

Architect Nermine Zahran talks about how it is vital to continually learn and to educate others in the industry and in the general public about ways to minimise the impact of the built environment on the planet. 

With a career that started in Egypt and that has now come to one sense of fulfilment in Australia, Nermine Zahran explains her journey from one side of the world to another and how she is currently working to make the world a better place-one sustainable design at a time.

We speak with Ruth Wilson about her diverse and accomplished 30-year career that has seen her manage large, complex projects and direct multidisciplinary teams towards buildings and places that exist at the forefront of innovative design.

Wilson's role at Architectus spans being Studio Leader in Melbourne, a member of the Board of Architectus and an active leader of projects in higher education and the public domain. She specialises in projects involving large and complex stakeholder groups and is often sought after to set the strategy for engagement and lead the consultation process.

A recurring theme in Wilson's projects is development within large existing precincts – be it university campuses, airports or on significant urban sites such as the State Library Victoria. Working with existing assets, including heritage-listed buildings, and designing for ongoing operation during construction, Wilson has utilised her lateral thinking and well-honed collaborative skills to ensure these complex and sensitive projects come to fruition.

ASPECT Studios director Kate Luckraft and associate Bianca Pineda share their ideas, views, experiences and thoughts on a range of iconic design projects ASPECT Studios has delivered like One Central Park, Barangaroo South and Quay Quarter in Sydney’s famous Circular Quay.

Along the way, we find out about how working on these high-pressure and very much public projects as a woman and a landscape architect has shaped and even changed both the actual projects and also them as highly-sought after and highly-skilled professionals.

We speak with architect Penny Fuller from one half of the leadership team of the firm Silvester Fuller which she founded with partner Jad Silvester. 

Prior to launching Silvester Fuller, Penny’s career included work on Renzo Piano’s Aurora Place and a period at Foster + Partners in London, where she worked as an associate, leading design teams on the development of large-scale projects.

For more information, go to: https://www.awsaustralia.com.au/specifyaws/

The firm is responsible for 18 Loftus Street at Circular Quay’s prestigious Quay Quarter and has won the competition for the design of the significant One Sydney Park project for HPG, alongside MHNDU and Sue Barnsley Design.