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Day six of the tour, and our second in Berlin, brings us to the halfway point of the 2018 Dulux Study Tour, and also deep into the socially motivated heart of this city. There have, of course, been a number of threads that have emerged across the journey so far which speak to the many faces of what architecture is and what it can be used for. One of those resilient threads that keeps lifting its head above the fray is the idea that architecture is a tool that can, and should be, used for social change; to be an enabler for people to share what limited resources we have and use them to go on and live safe, and happy and healthy lives.

A fantastic example of this was our first stop for the day, ze05, a Baugruppe housing development by Zanderroth Architekten. First things first though, a basic summary of the Baugruppen model for those not in the loop – Baugruppe is a community initiated and financed development, where a group of people come together to form a company through which they can build their homes together in a way that is affordable and achievable for all of them. It also supports a shared value system.

In the case of ze05, the project is a pair of two parallel buildings that joined by the best secret garden in town, a shared internal forest and landscaped commons. On the street side of this green wonderland are 23 split-level, three-bedroom vertical row houses, with a mixed-use, home office room and front door facing the public, and then half a level up the kitchen and living space spill out into the shared green fantasy land. The apartment of our host and director at Zanderroth, Christian Roth was so full of habitable nooks and liveable edges it felt like we were climbing back through dRMM’s WoodBlock house in London or the home of Cany Ash and Robert Sakula of Ash Sakula Architects. In this case, however, this little tower abode was on offer for 23 families, not just one.

The rear half of the project, located across the internal shared gardens, has the perfect level of passive privacy thanks to that forest of canopy trees. This side includes ten, two-bedroom homes with ten more penthouse apartments above. Each apartment had its own private rooftop terrace, but they all also shared four guest apartments available for short-term rent for visiting friends and family, a sauna and a huge rooftop garden and outdoor communal dining space. It all felt pretty dreamy, but pooling together to share resources has its own difficulties. The 45 owners of this small village meant 45 clients each with their own strong voice and set of needs to be carefully managed. Then there’s the sound of 70 squealing kids playing together in full flight, which I can only imagine would be a force to reckoned with!

Another difficult reality of owner collectives such as these is the need for a bit of time to get together when a decent site becomes available, and they’re finding it increasingly difficult to compete with commercial developers who are able to move fast. Berlin has changed enormously over the last 20 years. After the wall was torn down, there was a vast number of empty lots and cheap land, and along with this, the opportunity to develop collective projects relatively easily. Since that time, most of the easily available space has been filled in and now the real competition and affordability issues have begun to set in for this city. 

There’s a parallel story to the collective housing model, with the work and birth of another practice we visited today – the creative design studio Realities:United. We met with Jan Edler, co-director of the studio he founded with his brother Tim in 2000. The brothers first began working together when they founded a collective called Kunst und Technik in a former East German animal testing lab back in the 90s. The space was rubbish, had no power or running water but it was proper cheap and available. They used the space as a venue as much as creative studio space became known as a seminal venue and underground illegal club. This kind of dynamic, ground-up placemaking reminds me of the huge surge in creative energy that the grass roots organisation Renew Newcastle enabled in that city when I was living there about ten years ago. That first chapter for Jan and Tim faltered when that building was torn down, which is when they formed the studio we currently know as Realites:United.  

The scale of this practice’s work varies, from small-scale activations and installations to large, dynamic facade systems designed for, and in collaboration with, other architects. One of the studio’s well-known projects is a project that produces massive smoke rings out of new waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen that is designed by BIG. Each smoke ring is a way to visually signify the removal of 1 tonne of C02 from the atmosphere, and therefore make the use or waste of resources visible apparent.

What drives the work of Realities:United, however, is the social question of what drives an individual within a society. Much of their creative work has been to facilitate a level of creative dissent. One long-standing project that Jan shared with us was Flussbad, a project that seeks to construct a natural bio filtration system within the canal section of the inner Spree River. This river runs around Museum Island and this project aims to return this part of the river to the community as a public swimming space. There is the aim to highlight and combat the polluted state of the river; challenge the “musealization,” which they see as deadening the heart of the city centre; and democratising the river itself and claiming it for public use over industrial.

This small-scale community driven project has been 20 years in the making so far after enormous effort has finally gained funding for a test-reed filter bed to be built in an old barge built. But the timeline of the project speaks of the remarkable tenacity of this community who are determined to stay together and to fight for their rights to the place, no matter the setbacks. The lofty and inspiring ideals are making real and tangible change here, and all they really seem to need to get off the ground is the grit to keep stepping, and putting that one tired foot in front of the other. 

– Kim Bridgland

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On our first day in Berlin, we could not help but compare everything to our experiences in London. It’s beneficial for the group to have a singular reference point, as we are all from different places and backgrounds. This has been the aspect of the trip that I have enjoyed the most. Alison, our energetic Dulux host, has provided some cracking questions. She is quick to form a “normal human” (as one architect at AL_A described people who weren’t architects) response that is refreshing and allows the architects to justify our own thoughts. We now always seek the “normal human” response from both Alison and Mai, our insightful host from the Australian Institute of Architects. I love having this perspective on tour and our trip would be lacking without it.

So back to Berlin. 

An appropriate start to our transition from London to Berlin was at David Chipperfield’s office, an English practice with a Berlin studio. Many of our office tours have been presented by an Australian architect from the practice, usually for communication reasons (very considerate). At Chipperfield’s, our guide was Andrew, an architect who is originally from Sydney. Much like the larger English practices we visited, the office was more like a slick village than a workplace. Similar to an up-scaled version of the Tin House by Henning Stummel Architects in London, the entry is through a gatehouse and this leads to a vibrant courtyard space. Above the gateway is David Chipperfield’s own apartment for when he visits the office from London. The group was impressed by the courtyard, in particular, as it formed a social heart of the studio, a great spot for informal discussion to unfold.

The quality and careful use of materials at this studio blew me away. I loved the meeting room – each face of concrete was treated differently, feeling like marble, travertine and eroded stone on the floor. Andrew regularly reminded us of the philosophy of the practice, where “light, materials and space makes architecture – it’s that simple.”

After lunch in the courtyard at Chipperfield’s office, we walked five minutes to Acme, another London office with a Berlin studio. Acme have an ethos of replicating good ideas in different places. They presented a German bank in Leipzig – almost a presentation you would get as a client at the end of design and documentation, complete with finishes boards. The building is a curious cluster of columns, with a sculptural beauty. It was an international project by an international office, which was similar to what we saw at Chipperfield’s practice.

By this point, the group was hungry to hear more about the city and how architects are influential in city making. Enter Deadline Architects. The practice is run from a building designed by Deadline Architects as a home, office and “bed and breakfast, but without the breakfast.” Externally the building matches the flat hierarchy of volume in the city (planning height of 22m to the eaves), yet the materials and form gives the impression of an airstream caravan – hopeful and futuristic.

This building was a starting point for us to engage in a conversation about city making. Matthew Griffin, a native Canadian and director of Deadline, spoke to us about co-op developments and the associated challenges. We asked Matthew about the development of the city since the 1990s, and he told us about the demands and questions raised by an influx of new residents to Berlin (approx. 50,000 people/year) and an increase in tourism. After the Berlin wall came down, the city realized that there was an interest from visitors to see remains of the wall and a local debate was opened. Should the city rebuild sections of the wall? Or create a planning scheme that allows for the building volumes to increase in height where the wall once was? Matthew was disappointed to share that the city selected the first option as an appropriate response. He seemed frustrated at the current conservative approach to development in the city.

We then visited GMP, a large German company working on projects of a major scale around the world. The studio felt like somewhere Mies Van Der Rohe would have been happy to work – imagine glass, chrome and black. For the first time we were in conversation with a German architect, but discussing a new city in China, rather than the history and city making of Berlin. We started to ask more about the scale of Berlin – to us it appears very homogenous, with hospitals, hotels, apartments and commercial buildings all at the same height and volume. Martin from GMP explained to us that there was a very prescriptive “book of rules” about the design of facades in Berlin – in particular, a ratio of openings and limitations on material selections. Martin went on to explain the differences between East and West Berlin – if we see any 1950–70s buildings, you know you are in the West and the differences in city fabric is more subtle. Without any prompting, Martin compared Berlin to London – “this is not a city of perfume flagons.” Thanks Martin! 

– Leah Gallagher 

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Our last morning in London started with another extended Uber drive to our final practice visit in this city of cities. At the end of our car journey, for a time that would typically take a Brisbanite to get to the Gold Coast, we arrived five miles later at the relaxed and workshop-like Studio Octopi.

Clichés of the importance of journeys over the importance of destinations come to mind when reflecting on our travels through London, mostly because it has felt particularly pertinent in these past four days of the time spent with Jason, Joseph, Kim, Leah, Katelin, Joshua, Mai, Alison, and Helen. Travelling with these individuals while moving between one provocative and stimulating practice visit to the next, the times in the car have been intense moments of reflection, criticism, laughter, sharing of personal experiences, and the unexpected development of quick-sprung friendships across the whole of the group.

In one such liminal car journey, we each reflected on the range of practices that we had visited, the physical nature of the offices, how each practice chose to present itself, and the apparent methods of the practice. Carmody Groarke’s office in the refurbished storage warehouse-cum-architect-studio, reflected the opportunistic manner in which the practice produces thoughtful designs. In each project it seemed that the particulars of the building being developed, and the qualities of the site, came together to give the project its trajectory towards a unique building. Historical analyses of sites, consideration for how the desired experience of people using the facilities may influence the program, and the contextual relevance of proposed materials and forms, were familiar to our group but seemingly estranged concepts to most but not all of the London practices that we visited.

Housed in a multi-storey brown-brick factory building, perhaps originally used for the manufacture of affordable clothing in the early twentieth century, we met with the office of Zaha Hadid Architects’. Driven by data inputs and rationalisations of how residential buildings may be deconstructed and put back together again, the still speculative but coming to a city near you soon building designs the practice offers up Uber and other similar sharing-economy models to property developers. While the physical nature of this work-house may have contrasted sharply with the large-curvaceous buildings that are synonymous with the brand, there may be a consistency with other European luxury brands that have gone global in the past twenty years.

Located within their own design of the Leadenhall Building or “cheesegrater” (completed in 2014), with the influence of the city literally pushing up against the office like some kind of positive panoptican, Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners (RSH+P) is practising in what they have preached. Standing in the plaza at the base of the ‘Grater, a contemporary edition to the city’s rich history of private interests offering up public spaces, we were able to observe the Lloyds of London building (also designed by RSH+P). Although completed almost 40 years apart, seeing these two buildings standing side-by-side, I cannot help but think that in the near future people will confuse which building came first. Confident in its own position, without fan-fare, services and workings all exposed (in a way that isn’t dissimilar to the refineries that I would guess funded it), the Lloyd’s of London building still feels progressive leaving the ‘Grater to feel mannered and retro.

AL_A drew our group to the hard working area of London’s inner-north N7 area-code. Working our way around fork-lifts and the rattle of passing lorries we stepped off the oil-stained footpath, leaving our shoes behind, and onto the bright red (Dulux paint colour match yet to be confirmed) carpet of the largest of the refurbished workrooms. By describing how they test the performance of materials, how these are then put together, and who has the knowledge and training to test the propositions, the practice presented itself as a workshop for research and development of façade systems for their clever building propositions. Working, training, testing, making, each of the refurbished areas of the AL_A office was more like a refresh of finishes to the operations/warehouse building than a complete reworking of functions that is typical when a professional office occupies a light-industrial building.

Coming to the mews where Ash Sakula Architects have accommodated its office in the lower level of their family home, there was a warmth and eccentricity you might expect from visiting your best-friend’s parents. Quirky yet sitting comfortably as a whole, it seemed that every element of the office had a unique story to tell, even the kitchen sink.

In a street of garages converted into workshops, the start-up appearance of Studio Octopi reinforced the up and coming nature of this practice even though they are working on one of the most historically significant memorials in Britain. The Runnymede Project, commissioned to celebrate the 800^th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta, is the work of artist Mark Wallinger who invited Studio Octopi to collaborate on the memorial in Surrey. Sensible and poetic, the collaboration will represent the best of what can be generated when artists and architects collaborate to complete conceptually rich built work.

From the office of Studio Octopi, on our way to Heathrow airport, there was another opportunity for us to reflect upon the practices that we had visited in London and for me to consider my own emerging practice. The business models that we encountered, the nature of workspaces, commentary on style, process, and client types, were all rich reference points to consider how we, as architects choose to work in different ways.

Now in Berlin we finished the day sitting together again, this time having swapped our seven-seater Uber Volkswagen for nine comfy armchairs, eating our Japanese-German fusion with wines and cocktails, enjoying what has only been the first leg of a very unique and stimulating journey.

– Dirk Yates

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Our third day of the Dulux Study Tour revealed a strong relationship between workplace culture and atmosphere, and the work produced by the practice itself. We could also feel the strong presence of British high-tech architecture.

The day began with a visit to AL_A, a practice established in 2009 by Amanda Levete, who was formerly a co-partner of Future Systems with late ex-husband Jan Kaplický. AL_A’s rigorous approach to detailing was evident in the multitude of models and test studies displayed throughout the office. This demonstrated the practices commitment to innovation and reinforced its contribution to the evolution of high-tech architecture of London.  

Associate at AL_A, Alex Bulygin shared insights into the practice’s process. He described the role of collaboration – not only within the studio, but also with consultants such as car manufacturers, ceramicists and artists. The practice’s fascination with ceramics poetically combined the handmade with the high-tech, which is a key characteristic of the practices work. The physical environment of AL_A’s office space has an atmosphere of calm and elegance. Soft, diffused natural light washes over blush-red carpet and the no-shoe policy resulted in a relaxed, almost meditative space. 

We then made our way to Ash Sakula Architects. Cany Ash and Robert Sakula’s infectious positivity had already made an impression in Australia, after Cany’s keynote presentation at the 2017 Housing Futures symposium in Melbourne. The practice’s “people-first” approach is felt at all levels of the team’s thinking reinforced their joyful loving approach to architecture. 

Ash Sakula Architects’ office is located in a charming stable conversion on the ground floor of Robert and Cany’s four-storey home. The eclectic home, originally a servants quarters for the surrounding terrace houses, was warm and welcoming, with every nook, ledge and balcony filled with life and love. Upon the conclusion of the visit, Robert led us to two residences down the cobbled street – both that had won RIBA Gold Medals. The first was designed by Ash Sakula Architects in 1998 and the second was the Levring House by another London-based architect Jamie Fobert. Both homes uniquely reference the craft and history of their context.

We then visited Wilkinson Eyre, a practice that has grown to more than 400 staff since establishment in 1983. This practice boasts a diverse portfolio of award-winning architecture both nationally and internationally. The influence of Chris Wilkinson’s training under Richard Rogers is still evident in the practice’s work today, which is defined by a celebration of geometry and structure.

Associate director Tony Musson described that model making teams form an integral part of the practice’s process, especially in the development of cladding systems. Similar to AL_A, Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects, physical models are littered throughout the Wilkinson Eyre studio. This is a reminder of the practice’s commitment to research and development and again, the high-tech approach to architecture. 

The final practice visit was to Foster and Partners, and what a treat it was. Foster and Partners is one of the world’s largest architecture firms with more than 1200 employees spread across the globe. Norman Foster’s willingness to allow the practice to shift and change with market demands of the decades has been a key to its success. 

We were introduced to all elements of the practice by the delightfully generous partner Thouria Istephan, who has worked with Norman Foster for over 21 years. The practice is broken into six teams and is made up of multiple disciplines, allowing Fosters to manage most projects within in its own office. Fosters demonstrated an envious suite of resources including permanent material and finishes display building, CNC router stations, laser-cutter chambers, one-to-one test models and impressive computer modelling. The practice boasts its own model making team, allowing the ability to continually innovate through rigorous testing. This again reinforces the pursuit of high-tech architecture in London.

The day finished at the Royal British Institute of Architects in Mayfair, where we presented at a Pecha Kucha, before retiring to Villandry restaurant to debrief on another enthralling day.

– Jason Licht

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The second day of the study tour commenced at Carmody Groarke, recently named the 2018 BD Architect of the Year. The practice was founded in 2006 by Andy Groarke and Kevin Carmody. Kevin, who is originally from Canberra and studied in Melbourne, welcomed us into his central London studio and shared the tale of practice’s inception and its ambitious expansion. The founding partners met while undertaking “apprenticeships” at David Chipperfield’s office. The duo’s plan to set up their own office was fast tracked by winning six of the seven competitions they entered within their first 18 months. Now, eleven years on from its foundation, the studio has grown substantially to 45 staff and the practice works across a wide range of building typologies and scales.

Kevin gave us a tour of the office, which was brimming with building models ranging from urban scale conceptual massing models to 1:20 detailed models. He explained how physical models played a critical role in their workflow, not only to present to clients but also to test and explore design ideas, “every project is a prototype in the studio, we never repeat details.” Carmody Groarke’s value in exploring big architectural and spatial ideas, along with their design rigour has resulted in some beautifully crafted built works.

Our next stop was 20 Farringdon Street, a 12-storey commercial office development designed by Denton Corker Marshall (DCM). London office director Angela Dapper guided the group around the new building, which will be launched in June this year. The offices had full-height glazing and exposed services throughout. Angela explained that exposed services in the workplace are on the uptake in the United Kingdom. Designing an office space with no tenancy in mind is challenging given the preference for each tenant may differ. The speculative office design by DCM allowed for complete flexibility so a tenant could occupy and adapt to the space. It was interesting to hear from Angela and understand that there are similar issues with contractors in London and Australia. However, on this project she assured us that everything ran smoothly. The biggest success of this building was the stair, which linked each floor and also acted as the fire escape. The detailing of the Class 2 concrete in this stair was exceptional.

After a quick bite to eat, we made our way to the WoodBlock House designed by dRMM, a London based practice of 50. The brief was to create a studio, home and office for artist Richard Woods and his family. A large workshop occupies the ground floor with the family house above. This joyful house revealed a genuine collaboration between architect and client with parts of the façade and staircase incorporating Richard Wood’s trademark cartoon-style print pattern.

The WoodBlock House clearly responded to the family’s needs and reflects dRMM’s commitment to sustainability through the use of a Cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure. The use of CLT resulted in a remarkably fast fourteen day installation with just four people on site. While the project had a relatively low budget with humble finishes and detailing, the house is successful as it perfectly aligns with the client’s unique requirements, their values and their philosophy of living.

A practice visit to Zaha Hadid Architect’s was our next stop. Millie Anderson, an Australian working in London, chaperoned the group to a meeting room for a presentation on current projects. The sculptural forms presented reinforced a clear approach and way of thinking throughout the organisation, along with their digital workflow which is largely parametric. Big data was discussed as a tool to improve decision making and management and new technologies in 3D printing and CNC machining have allowed new fluid forms of expression and model making. This is clearly illustrated in the Zaha Hadid Design Gallery on the ground floor, which along with models, showcases furniture, products and jewellery design. The group was shown around the gallery and admired the remarkable forms.

Our last visit of the day was to Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners in the recently completed Leadenhall Building or “cheesegrater” as it’s commonly referred to. Coming from Zaha Hadid Architects office, it was refreshing to experience an open-plan workplace with a democracy of practice. A variety of shared spaces are spread throughout space, which encourage interaction and collaboration. An internal plaza is utilized for weekly design reviews, lectures and staff presentations and a large kitchen area had staff events posted on it’s walls. The community culture at Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners was immediately evident.

The day concluded at the Anthologist restaurant for dinner. The food was fantastic and the conversation was robust. The main theme discussed related to the value of designing spaces and architectural workplaces that serve people. After all, it’s people who occupy a space, who innovate and deliver a place.

– Joseph O’Meara

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Day one started with us meeting our London tour guide, David Garrard, an academic and architectural conservation specialist. David has a great ability (or possibly it’s just that he’s English) to provide a polite critique of London and the mixture of buildings it houses.

We started our tour west of the city centre in Shepherd’s Bush to visit the Tin House by Henning Stummel Architects. This building was a delightful start to the tour. Hidden from the street, we were presented with an impressive double-height brick arch. Entry was via a miniature red barn door – a playful way to enter a formal space.

This idea of compression and expansion is an idea that continues as you move through the house, where doorways are compressed and the ceilings of most rooms reach up to skylights. This design strategy gives the impression of space and volume to a small footprint home. The rooms are arranged as a series of individual pavilions that all connect to a small private courtyard and pool. Henning designed every detail of his home, right down to some of the furniture that he intends to take to market. 

Next up we visited London’s Design Museum, which was an interior fitout by John Pawson of a building designed by RMJM and Partners in 1962. The existing building has hyperbolic paraboloid roof structure, which twists to the light to create a dramatic central space. The general consensus of the group was that the interior renovation resulted in the ceiling and void feeling crowded at moments – we just wanted to see more of the ceiling structure! The master plan by OMA includes three residential towers that form the entry to the Design Museum. Unfortunately, the geometry of the master plan broke from the context to create large spaces that felt empty next to an active slither of Holland Park, which was filled with dogs, people and fun.

We then made our way to the Battersea Power Station redevelopment site and jumped on a ferry to enjoy David’s commentary on the mixture of buildings along the Thames River. Key phases included: ‘engagingly silly,’ ‘dimly referencing’ and ‘Egyptomania.’ Fellow Brisbanite, Dirk Yates and I discussed how you could squint and see views similar to Brisbane – South Bank, Waterloo Bridge, London Eye and power stations. We think we know who is referencing who.  

We then had lunch at the Tate Modern extension by Herzog & de Meuron, which gave us time to ask David about his own work and interest in conservation. We all had local examples of controversial heritage projects and discussed the future of conservation. What buildings are worthy of being preserved in modern city and will politics change in the future to favour more commercial outcomes?

After lunch, we strolled across the Millennium Bridge and layered views of London uncovered the richness of London – 17th Century Wren Churches against modern machines like Lloyd’s of London by Sir Richard Rogers. We enjoyed the discovery of some curious pockets within the city fabric – in particular was a 1990s postmodern building by Sir James Stirling, an odd delight, teetering of the edge of wild. We experienced a theatrical show centred on relocated ruins in the bowels of Foster’s Bloomberg Place building. I still don’t quite understand what happened at the Temple of Mithras but it provided for some interesting discussion.

The final part of the day was about the icons of the London skyline – the Gherkin, Cheesegrater and Scalpel. What’s the next up-scaled form to be added to the London skyline? Kim Bridgland’s suggestion was Boaty McBoatface – I like it! We finished at the Walkie Talkie building (due to cloud cover no cars were melted today!) David was a great tour guide – he enjoys controversial buildings and presented the city fabric to us in an unbiased and upbeat light. I think we are all still adsorbing what we learnt today – I was challenged on my opinions of style and city making, so I think Day 1 closes with study tour success!  

– Leah Gallagher

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“The Institute is pleased to announce that Kim Bridgland, Leah Gallagher, Jason Licht, Joseph O’Meara and Dirk Yates have being selected to join the Australian Institute of Architects Dulux Study Tour 2018. We congratulate all for their success from such a competitive field of applicants.  The jury was impressed by the depth of skill, and dedication to their profession by all who submitted and strongly encourages those eligible members not successful this year to apply in the future. The award acknowledges the activities and achievements across the criteria of individual contribution to architectural practice, education, design excellence and community involvement. The Institute’s Dulux Study Tour is one of our most coveted awards that celebrates the importance of experiencing architecture first hand by our most promising practioners. Thanks are due to Dulux for their generous support, and my fellow Jurors Jennifer Cunich, Richard Hansen, Adam Pustola, Natalie Ruuska and Ksenia Totoeva  for their guidance and insightful contribution to the selection process”

– Richard Kirk, Jury Chair

Kim Bridgland | Edition Office  (VIC)

Kim 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 on-going practice, in the visual arts which continues to inform his architectural approach. While Edition Office has a short history, it has with Kim’s leadership developed an outstanding body of award-winning residential projects and small public projects. Kim has contributed to projects in different Australian states and the challenges of working across the country has informed his engagement with questions of the Australian landscape and engagement with site. The clients of key projects, such as the Fish Creek House and Gertrude Contemporary attested to Kim’s ability as a highly engaged and collaborative design leader who was able to exceed the client’s expectations of the project. The practice has held initiated an exhibition and publication of its work. Kim has been active in university teaching and with emerging architects’ forums. This level of critical reflection will contribute to the group’s experience. The jury is confident that Kim, as an emerging designer, will benefit greatly from the Study Tour and will channel these experiences into the practice’s wider design discourse.

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Edition Office website

Leah Gallagher | Kin Architects (QLD)

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 social justice issues. As co-chair of QLD EmAGN (2015-17) and a council member of the Australian Institute of Architects’ Queensland Chapter, Leah was a critical part of the public campaign to achieve better heritage and public domain outcomes for the controversial Queen’s Warf Redevelopment in Brisbane as well as working to develop a register of significant QLD buildings that do not have heritage protection. The knowledge and experience Leah has gained from these achievements is shared with students through her significant contribution to teaching at both Bond University and the University of Queensland, where she recently taught a social outreach studio in Far North Queensland Indigenous communities. Leah is a registered architect and recently established Kin Architects, a small Brisbane based practice. Having spent seven years working alongside Keiron Gait on several award winning boutique residential projects, Leah is now defining her own direction. She brings with her a keen interest in the creation of new domestic narratives within existing dwellings and in the process of intensive collaboration with clients. The jury believes that Leah will greatly benefit from the experiences and insights of the Dulux Study Tour and don’t doubt that these will inform and strengthen her practice position and continue to inspire her volunteer work in the profession.  

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Kin Architects website

Jason Licht | Cumulus Studio (TAS)

Jason completed a Master of Architecture in 2008 and is an Associate at Cumulus Studio in Tasmania where he has worked for the past four years. In 2013 Jason was awarded a Rotary Vocational Scholarship to Italy and this opened his eyes to the power of the architecture of tourism. Jason’s work at Cumulus has consolidated his passion for tourism related architecture, working on projects such as the Cradle Mountain Master Plan and as a member of the Devil’s Corner project team that won several awards. This passion has been recognised by Tasmania’s professional and tourism industries, identifying Jason for leadership programs within their organisations. His exceptional contributions both as Vice President of the Australian Institute of Architects Tasmania Chapter and Chair of Emerging Architects of Tasmania programs are notable and many and he continually strives to give back to the broader community. Undoubtedly, Jason’s participation in the Dulux Study Tour will further his passion, desire for learning and continue his ongoing contribution to the profession.

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Cumulus website

Joseph O’Meara | BVN (NSW)

Joseph O’Meara is an Associate at BVN Architecture. He is deeply committed to the profession and our built environment and this is evidenced through his many diverse pursuits. Joseph’s interest in the fields of sustainable design, innovation and new materials and technologies led to him gaining Green Star accreditation and being appointed site project lead on a significant new research facility for the CSIRO. A graduate of University of Sydney in 2009, Joseph has continued his involvement with education through various tutoring and lecturing positions, including at his alma mater, University of Sydney and Billy Blue College of Design, and for the Australian Institute of Architects’ Practice of Architecture Learning Series. His gift for teaching and broad practice knowledge has led Joseph to take an active role in BVN’s in-house architectural education program where he established a highly successful mentoring program and a preparatory architectural registration workshop series. As co-chair of EmAGN NSW (2016-17) Joseph both led and assisted with a range of events across education and advocacy, with a focus on building and construction tours. Joseph is a registered architect who alongside BVN maintains a private practice. He pursues architectural photography semi-professionally and has had his photography exhibited. The jury believes that Joseph’s developing leadership role in one of Australia’s largest practices and his long-term interest in innovation will be greatly advanced by his participation in this year’s Dulux Study Tour; it will allow him the opportunity to consider the future challenges confronting the profession in Australia through a global lens.

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Dirk Yates | Speculative Architecture (QLD)     

Dirk Yates is a graduate from 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 Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts) in 2001. Dirk is a registered architect and has practised and collaborated with local firm m3architecture for over ten years. His involvement with the practice commenced as an artist, and then evolved into an architectural role over the course of his studies and beyond. His referee highlighted Dirk’s contribution to several award-winning projects. Most recently, he was a project architect on the significant Nudgee College Learning Centre. Throughout, his capacity and resolve to translate ideas between disciplines is evident. He has contributed to journals as an editor and writer, has been a board member for arts organisations and an Australian Institute of Architects awards juror and tutored at universities. His volunteer contribution, again in a dual capacity, to the Media Arts Asia Pacific organisation was also highly valued. The jury believes that Dirk will be an intriguing member of the Study Tour and will bring a unique perspective to the experience. His ability to act as a mentor and engage a broad audience will ensure that the lessons learnt will be shared with his creative communities.

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JURY:

Richard Kirk (Chair) | National President, Australian Institute of Architects
Jennifer Cunich | Chief Executive Officer, Australian Institute of Architects
Richard Hansen| Dulux
Natalie Ruuska | Dulux
Ksenia Totoeva | President, EmAGN
Adam Pustola | Dulux Study Tour Alumni

The Dulux Study Tour is a collaborative initiative between Dulux Australia, the Australian Institute of Architects and EmAGN (The Emerging Architects and Graduate Network). It is proudly supported by ArchitectureAU.

SOCIAL MEDIA:
#2018DuluxStudyTour
#DuluxStudyTour

And the 2018 Dulux Study Tour shortlist is…

• Evie Blackman (Bild Architecture + Hinge Architects)
• Kim Bridgland (Edition Office)
• Ryan Brown (Kerry Hill Architects)
• Phil Burn (Matt Gibson Architecture + Design)
• Jessica Edwards (NT Government – Design Office)
• Leah Gallagher (Kin Architects)
• Steve Hunt (Owen Architecture)
• Nancy Ji (Bates Smart Architects)
• Phuong Le (MPA Construction Group)
• Amy Learmonth (O’Neill Architecture)
• Yuri Leong-Maish (YL Architecture)
• Jason Licht (Cumulus Studio)
• Adam Markowitz (Self employed)
• Carly McMahon (Liminal Studio)
• Jennifer McMaster (TRIAS)
• Yvonne Meng (Circle Studio Architects)
• Natalie Miles (Austin Maynard Architects)
• Phillip Nielsen (Regional Design Service)
• Joseph O’Meara (BVN)
• Viet Pham (Pham Tuan Viet Architects)
• Christopher Schofield (Studio Schofield)
• Tamarind Taylor (Conrad Gargett)
• Rebekah Verrier (Bence Mulcahy)
• Elizabeth Walsh (Cumulus Studio)
• Rebecca Whan (Jackson Teece)
• Alexandra Wilson (Andrew Burges Architects)
• Emily Wombwell (SJB)
• Dirk Yates (m3architecture)

Congratulations to all those who entered – the entries were all of a particularly high standard, making the 2018 jury’s job very difficult!

Now on to Stage Two…

Time behaves differently when you travel. A day can simultaneously pass in a flash, but seem like an age. Your physical displacement from the routines of home both heighten your senses and insulate you from life’s complexities. Our final days of the #2017DuluxStudyTour brought these shifts in time and perception into sharp relief as we spent our last days in Prague. On this day we visited a private architectural college, two local practices and a private home, all of which were formed in the spaces created by cultural, physical or national displacement.

Telling the story chronologically, we start in 1929 in the Villa Rothmayer by Czech architect Otto Rothmayer, who worked with Josef Plečnik for two decades on the Prague Castle. The villa presents an austere facade composed of a cyclindrical tower and a blank block to a garden that vibrates with translucent foliage and purple petals. This house is a replica of a house designed by Rothmayer’s much-adored mentor, Plečnik, who originally designed it as a prototypical modest freestanding family home in Slovenia. Displaced not only from it’s intended culture and climate, this house also has displaced authorship. While the planning and form is unmistakably Plečnik, the interiors are crafted by Rothmayer, a carpenter-cum-architect, with a preference for functionality and warmth over Plečnik’s beautiful but austere historicism.

Skipping through the decades of the 20th Century to arrive at the beginning of the 21st Century with the establishment of ARCHIP (Architectural Institute, Prague), a school conceived in 2005 by Regina Loukotová and Martin Roubík and opened in 2011. This private, English-language architectural school was born out of a much earlier displacement, when Roubík fled the communist regime of Czechoslovakia in the 1970s to complete his architectural studies and eventually become a founding member of Norwegian architectural practice Snohetta. The idea to return home to start a new school for architecture is a direct result of an architect’s experience of living, working and travelling overseas and wanting to contribute to the new Czech Republic. The student base and academic staff are diverse coming from 41 countries, and counting. The school adopts a single brief over the under graduate and masters courses, facilitating a rich but focused discussion that spans cultures, ages and backgrounds. This richness and hyper global connectedness is in direct contrast to the insular days of the Communist rule.

The two final practice visits of the trip were to Schindler Seko Architects and FAM Architekti, both local firms, working predominantly in the Czech Republic. The directors of both firms teach at ARCHIP, contributing to that ambitious international project. Our visit to Schindler Seko Architects demonstrated how the common ground of our profession can be revealed in moments of travel and displacement. Sitting in an their beautiful offices in a repurposed religious school  that overlooks a city square, the discussion started with wonder at Jan Schindler’s reflections on the difficulties of working with a building founded in the 10th Century and quickly returned to the familiar ground of comparing notes about planning approval processes and client frustrations.

So in a trip that has spanned three countries and 11 days has passed in a flash, but felt like an age. Our group of travellers find themselves with a more subtle displacement. As we individually make our way back home to our regular life and regular routines we carry with us the collective experience that will bind the five of us together more tightly than the differences of our geography and practices. We have connected with a global network of architects that builds on our shared passions. The space that has been created by our displacement is now the space where we can sow the seeds from hours spent in discussion, inspiration and exchange wandering the streets of Barcelona, London and Prague.

– Imogene Tudor

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We started our day by revisiting the Prague Castle with a second guided tour focusing specifically on the interventions of Josef Plecnik in 1920 to 1930. We had already been the day prior, but this second visit allowed us to discuss his work in greater detail and to absorb the subtlety of the way in which he had worked with the old fabric of the building. On the first day I had been blown away by the tectonic elegance of what he had done and the beauty of the way he had assembled these “mini projects.” On the second visit, I started to realise the sensitivity of his overall site plan and the way that he had used these small interventions to rationalise an incredibly intricate existing fabric, dense with historical, political and functional complexity.

Today the focus for me was less on the actual doors, stairs or openings, but more on what they contributed to how the palace might work and the rationalisation of existing geometries into a cohesive whole which could act at both a civic and human scale. These interventions for the most part occur in corners of the buildings to absorb (and celebrate) this geometry, or to create or strengthen axes within the castle walls and to link these site lines into the city beyond. He created a sense of permeability in the castle walls that I had not noticed the day before, and there is a constant ambiguity between the new work and the old.

Plecnik was the son of a carpenter and had started his career as a furniture designer, which gave us a deeper understanding of the detailing and the materiality of the renovations. I noticed that the same approach of intricate assembly was being used on the civic scale. There is a humility and an absolute mastery of architectural choreography here – quiet moments stripped of all decoration, intimately scaled moments where a stone tile meets a concrete stair tread perfectly, urban scale moments where Plecnik has cut through internal spaces to link multiple courtyards, and civic moments where he has visually linked these axes to key elements of the city beyond. The Prague Castle has definitely been one of the highlights of the trip so far for me.

The afternoon was spent visiting a number of multi-residential and commercial projects with Jaroslav Safer, a Czech architect who had spent 13 years in Australia working for Daryl Jackson in Melbourne and Perth. Jaro had emigrated to the UK as a political asylum seeker in the 1970s and met Karl Fender while working as an architect there. This friendship then took him to Australia where he worked until 1992. His insights into the days of Communism and the difficulties of architectural practice during that time were particularly interesting to give us more context around the city we walked through. It was particularly moving for us when he was talking to Katelin about the importance of print media and he told us an anecdote of how he and his friends used to smuggle copies of Architectural Digest back from Britain and pore over them as though they were semi-religious artefacts.

Jaro showed us a large selection of projects by a range of international and Czech architects, but the two that we all connected with most were designed by his own practice, Safer Hajek Architekti. The first of these was an experimental infill typology that re-oriented a ten-unit development towards a public park in the centre of a previously industrial block, with units addressing the park and allowing site lines from this space towards the spire of a nearby church.

The second project was a massive multi-residential development in a largely commercial zone which had been designed around a massive central garden used to give all units access to light and air. The central garden space meant that internal circulation was minimised and occupants moved through the space to their lift cores, in turn activating the public realm below. The material detailing and massing in this project elevated it beyond anything of this typology that we had previously seen in the city.

In the other cities we have visited on the tour, it has been the contact with locals that has given us the true richness of experience. In particular, I have been blown away by the generosity of the architects and guides that we have had.

– Morgan Jenkins

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