Session Partner: Alspec
Session 1A (S1A)
When: 9:00am–11:00am, Saturday, 03 May
Where: York Theatre, Seymour Centre, University of Sydney
CPD: 2 Formal Points
Join Damian Madigan, Laura Harding, and a dynamic group of speakers as they ask how we can wield strategic architectural intervention to transform an ailing market into a thriving housing culture.
Never has more been written and spoken about housing in Australia, with little of it architectural. The housing debate can be an echo-chamber of recycled solutions and ‘fixes’ from economists, planners, politicians, and the development industry.
So, what does architecture need to say about housing in Australia in the 21st century? Can the profession mobilise to house the community with urgency? And who are architecture’s allies in demonstrating and deploying strategic housing ideas at scale?
Laura Harding, Senior Associate, Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects
Laura Harding is a Sydney-based architect specialising in urban, multi-residential, and public space projects. A widely published architectural critic, she combines design expertise with critical dialogue on equitable and resilient housing. Laura is a recipient of the Adrian Ashton Prize for architectural criticism.
Damian Madigan, Associate Professor of Architecture, University of South Australia
Damian Madigan is a registered architect and creator of the Bluefield concept, which integrates established suburbs into the housing supply. His work focuses on innovative, co-located infill housing to improve affordability and sustainability. Damian also collaborates with the SA State Planning Commission and councils to implement planning reforms.
Clare Cousins
Clare Cousins established Melbourne practice, Clare Cousins Architects, in 2005. Based on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Eastern Kulin Nation, the studio is engaged in projects large and small including housing, workplace, and cultural projects. Each project is an opportunity to explore what we value; a nuanced sense of place, embedded with a responsibility to our environment. Our projects endure and evolve, responsive to the individual or community they serve. Actively involved in the broader design community, Clare is a Life Fellow and Past National President of the Australian Institute of Architects.
Caro Robertson and Tim Gittos, Spacecraft Architects
Spacecraft Architects was formed in 2012 by Caro Robertson and Tim Gittos, off the back of a self-build house in Whanganui, a provincial NZ town. Our architecture is informed by an in-depth understanding of putting things together, and we continue to build some projects ourselves. We are interested in creating spaces with limited means that are a delight to experience. Our work is underpinned by environmental responsibility, and springs from both climatic and cultural context. Small footprint housing has led us to increasingly dense projects culminating in recent work undertaking owner developed co-housing at a multi-residential and apartment scale.
Image: Ferrars & York | Six Degrees Architects | Photographer: Dan Preston
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
