Architecture Australia

Ask architects which Australian magazine they choose to read or to publish their work and the answer is most likely Architecture Australia. If you want to be up to date with the best built works and the issues that matter, then Architecture Australia is for you. Its commissioned contributors are independent, highly respected practitioners, architectural thinkers and design commentators and each article is supported by images from leading architectural photographers. Provocative, informative and engaging – it is the national magazine of the Australian Institute of Architects.

Taking time to listen

Embedding culture and Country in design

Contributors

Architecture Australia

Surveying Unsettling Queenstown, Australia Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2023 • Exploring the Australian exhibition – a reflection on colonialism’s impact on land, nature and people – Donald Bates is unsettled by a disconnect between the compelling content and the mode of presentation.

Melbourne Now: Civic Architecture • Fundamentally, civic architecture expresses the way we want to live. This exhibition highlights five projects that challenge traditional approaches to our cities’ civic centres, transforming communities as they do so.

Alisa Andrasek on harnessing the power of AI in architecture • Designer and innovator Alisa Andrasek believes that artificial intelligence will transform the architectural office, automating tedious tasks and leaving us free to do the creative thinking that our world so desperately requires. She spoke with Jet Geaghan.

Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects • In a delicate balance between conservation, intervention and demolition, TZG has unified an “unruly collection of parts” to bring a cultural icon back to the centre of community life in Sydney.

Kim Baber Architect • An elegant new community facility in regional Queensland meets strict operational requirements while respecting its heritage neighbour and dramatically reducing construction carbon emissions.

Jon Jacka Architects • Just south of central Sydney, a sailing club has been designed to serve as a valuable community facility that is practical and hospitable, with simple geometric forms that “tap social memory.”

What can non-Indigenous designers do?

Warami. Walawaani. Welcome.

1 Start with Country • ... And don’t only start with Country. Keep returning to it. Pass everything through a filter of caring for the health and wellbeing of Country.

2 It costs nothing to care • We may not be the ones making major decisions or spending big money on projects – but we all have core values, and there’s no reason to stop living those in our work.

3 Reconcile yourself and your practice • Value the uniqueness of place and your relationship to it, taking only what you need.

4 De-centre humans • Many of the issues we face as a result of climate change have arisen because humans have taken from nature more than we need, polluting the environment in the process.

5 Reconcile with Country • From being mindful when specifying materials to incorporating whole-of-life processes, we can reduce the extent to which our industry harms Country.

6 Turn up • People often ask how to start getting to know First Nations people. Our answer is, “Turn up” – to events, rallies, marches, talks, festivals. Turn up and take part while actively, deeply, genuinely listening.

7 Know who you are to community • Understand where you sit in the circle. Learn community protocols and ethics before you approach representatives to work with you.

8 Recognize cultural safety and cultural load • Learn what these terms mean, and how you can increase cultural safety and reduce cultural load in your work.

9 Enoughness • While “enoughness” may be an...