27 October 2014

The inaugural Festival of Architecture and Design (FAD) has proven to be a real hit with a fantastic array of events and activities.  The enthusiasm of our younger members and the interest shown by members of the public were particularly encouraging.  The linkage with One to One and Troppo’s Gold Medal Dissertation provided opportunities for physical participation and intellectual stimulus.

We are now marshalling our thoughts for the next FAD in October 2015.  And with the shift of Open House Adelaide to October next year there is an even greater opportunity to focus the public’s interest in Architecture and the Built Environment.  Ultimately the ambition is that FAD will join Adelaide’s ten major festivals.  We are confident that the next FAD will be an energizing build up to the National Architecture Conference to be held in Adelaide in April 2016.

In recent weeks the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure has undergone a major restructure or ‘rejuvenation’.  The Institute has written to Ministers Rau and Mullighan seeking their assurances that the positions of the Government architect and ODASA have not been eroded or compromised.  As members will be aware the AIA lobbied over a long period for the creation of the position of Government Architect. We were heartened by the establishment of the Integrated Design Commission and the Government Architect.  Since then however we have witnessed the apparent reduction of the Government’s commitment to these initiatives.

We will keep members informed as information becomes available.

Steve Grieve FRAIA, SA Chapter President

The inaugural Festival of Architecture and Design in Adelaide has proved to be a huge success with over 1,000 people attending events and a significant number of the general public in attendance. The feedback from a wide variety of people has been extremely positive and encouraging. The team of staff and member volunteers worked tirelessly to deliver an exciting program in a spectacular Hub venue. It is remarkable that so much was achieved in such a short time frame.

Delivering the Festival gave us the opportunity to collaborate with key participants, who are suggesting ways of strengthening the program and engagement with other stakeholders in 2015. Clearly this was the right time to commence FAD with an expectation it will return in 2015 bigger and bolder. The Festival was all about engaging the public about the value of architecture and design and that’s just what it did. The program was diverse and engaged a wide variety of people and ages, with much of the driving force coming from the younger members of our community, as they look for active and creative ways in which to talk about our profession.

We congratulate all the organisers and contributors and thank all our sponsors who made the Festival possible and to those of you who attended. If you didn’t get there, then talk to those who did, log onto www.fad.org.au or follow #adlarchigram on Instagram to see what you missed. This stands to become a future cultural festival in South Australia and is the most significant initiative the SA Chapter has undertaken within the architecture and design community.

– Richard Hosking, State Manager

As the Creative Director team for Forecast, the inaugural AILA Festival of Landscape Architecture, we’re bringing a little bit of South Australian energy – as well as our appetite for fun and innovative events – to Brisbane in October. And we want to share it with the Architects too!

Approaching their 50th birthday and having recently undertaken major, membership driven changes in their administration, AILA is uniquely positioned right now to seize the chance to press change throughout the Institute and its programs. Having decided to inaugurate a festival, AILA has set the scene for a remodeling of the way that practitioners come together and learn from each other. For us on the Creative Director team for the Forecast Festival, it’s exciting to contribute to this optimistic shift by curating a program that elevates conversation over keynote speech, and in which the design of the social moment – sharing food and drink and collegial catch-ups – is just as important as the speaker series.

Landscape Architect’s are playing an increasingly influential role in the strategic development of our cities and regional areas, and in an increasingly challenging economic environment, Forecast asks the question – how do we celebrate and strengthen this role and ensure the future relevance of the profession? And as we continue to navigate and nurture interdisciplinary collaborations, it’s a question that invites response from all design professionals working in the built environment.

With that in mind we (with our advisor Dr Catherin Bull AM) have curated a program of conversation panels that include Architects, planners, public servants and Landscape Architects to explore a series of topics that we hope will inspire many more conversations forecasting the role of Landscape Architecture in Australia.

Having worked on a number of projects together, we have been testing ways to curate engaging discussion that enables genuine exchange of ideas. The outcomes are always diverse, they are often unpredictable, they always involve having a lot of fun, and they inevitably lead us immediately to devising the next project so we can continue the conversation. Often they lead to real and systemic change. Forecast brings these experiences together to reimagine the conference format and we hope that as many Architects as possible will join in the conversation.

For more information please visit the Forecast website: http://forecast.aila.org.au/#about

Sharon Mackay and Diana Snape

Creative Director team, Forecast Festival of Landscape Architecture

National Awards Short-listing

Congratulations to local architects Woods Bagot and MPH Architects, both of whom have projects short-listed in the National Architecture Awards. It was announced last week that the SAMHRI building was shortlisted into four separate categories which in itself is a remarkable achievement. In addition, MPH in association with Architectus have had their Sustainable Industries Education Centre short-listed in the Interior Architecture category. Winners will be announced on the night of the awards on 6 November in Darwin.

SA members often comment to me about the relatively low showing that SA projects receive in the National Awards. Is it simply a question of quality or is there more to it than that? That debate will rage for some time. To have a look at what our local architects are competing against within a national awards context, you can view a number of the entries at ARCHITECTUREAU along with the summarised shortlist on our national website.

One thing is for certain… SA architects have a great chance in 2014 to come home with a coveted trophy!         Good luck to both MPH and Woods Bagot.

– Richard Hosking, State Manager

Recent discussions with a cross section of members has revealed an ongoing concern with a range of issues including:

> Fees (cutting) and fee scales (or lack thereof),
> procurement methods practised by Local and State Government agencies,
> general respect for  and understanding of what architects do,
> engagement with younger architects and graduates,
> planning reform
> and the sense that membership activity is declining (in spite of steady membership numbers).

These concerns are being addressed at both local (Chapter) level and at the national (Council) level.  The Institute is currently exploring a range of strategies to report more regularly to members on the expected costs of providing appropriate levels of service in architectural practice.

There is no doubt that in these difficult times  (less work around, tighter fees) many architects are being worn down by the relentless demands of submissions required in the various procurement procedures.

There is a general sense that the esteem with which the profession was once held has slipped – arresting this decline is a major issue and the subject of much debate.  The AIA has just launched the “ask an architect” campaign, which is in part expected to raise the profile of the services architects provide.

As part of our early preparations for the 2016 National Conference to be held in Adelaide (first time for 20 years!) the SA Chapter is organising the inaugural Festival of Architecture and Design to be held over four days next month from 10-14 October.  It will include a presentation by this year’s Gold Medal recipients Phil Harris and Adrian Welke of Troppo, walking and cycling city tours, the second ‘Soapbox’  Debate with the proposition:  “Design will save our suburbs” and more.  Make sure you put these dates in your diaries.

Our local Co-opertition program is continuing to gain momentum and is an indicator of the renewed enthusiasm amongst emerging practices and architects.  This has got to be good for the future of our profession.

And finally with the review of the Planning Act currently occurring we are at a critical point in providing final input to the process.  I implore all architects to consider the latest publication of the Review Panel and provide feedback ASAP.

SA Chapter President, Steve Grieve FRAIA

By now most members should be aware of the Planning Review Expert Panel’s Our Ideas for Reform report in which a series of recommended reforms are offered for public debate. From the commencement of the Panel’s commissioning, Mario Dreosti (Brown Falconer) has been representing the SA Chapter of the Institute as a member of the 25 person Reference Group that supports the Expert Panel. Mario is driving a workgroup which will deliver the SA Chapter’s response to the report. After two direct meetings with the Expert panel, we have delivered our initial submission and a subsequent letter offering specifically targeted feedback.

As the next step in the consultation, all members are invited to attend an industry briefing that Brian Hayes QC (Panel Chair) is providing to our Institute members along with Engineers Australia and the Institutes of Landscape Design and the Building Surveyors.

WHERE Engineers Australia, Level 11, 108 King William Street, Adelaide
DATE Thursday 28 August 2014
TIME 5.30pm (networking) for a 6.00pm start
RSVP Monday 25 August 5pm to sa@architecture.com.au

We urge members to attend as clearly the outcomes of this report will have an impact on the profession. The Institute supports many of the recommended reforms however we will be making our own recommendations to the Panel in a submission being prepared. The panel is inviting public feedback on their www.thinkdesigndeliver.sa.gov.au site. If you are planning to provide direct feedback to the panel we would appreciate being copied into your correspondence to ensure we present a united voice. Alternatively you can submit feedback directly to myself for consideration by the workgroup preparing the Institute’s submission.

What happened to Architecture Week?

The SA Chapter used to deliver an Architecture Week every year in October but has not done so for several years. Why? Architecture week is meant to focus on delivering events and activities that connect with the general public to allow them to better understand the profession and its work. Instead the week was too focused on delivering member based events that failed to connect with the public. Therefore we made a decision to abandon it in favour of creating Place SA.

Of late however we have seen some changes within the profession. The first being a renewed focus on design and its value and secondly, the beginning of a transition toward younger members that are moving into higher levels of authority as we face a generational handover within the profession due to our baby boomers retiring. This has been amplified by the proliferation of new practices started over the last two years, a trend not seen in any other state.

As a result we have seen the opportunity to create a Festival of Architecture and Design, which we are looking at commencing in October this year. This would be an annual event that would both lead into and carry us beyond the Institute’s 2016 National Conference to be held in Adelaide. Plans are currently underway to deliver an exciting 5 day festival full of events, all of which will be designed to engage with the general public.

We already have a venue booked for our event hub, a brand designed and we are building a website. Over the next few months you will see a lot more about the Festival. We have a very enthusiastic core group of members wanting to help deliver this fantastic new initiative.

If you would love to be involved, please contact us at the Chapter on 8402 5900 or sa@architecture.com.au so we can get you on board in the early stages. The Festival stands to be the most significant initiative our members have delivered to the general public in many years.

– Richard Hosking, SA Chapter Manager

Congratulations to all our SA award-winning entrants in this year’s State Architecture Awards program. Recipients of Named Awards and Architecture Awards will now be eligible for consideration in the National Awards later in the year.  South Australia has had recent success on the national stage and I am optimistic that this success will continue this year.

The primary purpose of the annual Awards Program is to recognise the best completed projects. It is our profession’s opportunity to celebrate our members’ achievements and to raise awareness of architecture in our community. While awards are given to individuals and practices we must remember that the production of architecture is a complex business relying on teamwork, collaboration and the input of many individuals.

To produce works of excellence requires extraordinary tenacity, thoroughness, talent, experience and boundless energy. And we should never underestimate the role of our clients. The most successful projects invariably have clients with vision and a commitment to quality outcomes.

On behalf of the SA Chapter, I wish to extend a vote of gratitude to all who have made the Architecture Awards program and the celebration of architecture dinner on Friday night. Firstly to all our Sponsors, of which their importance of whom cannot be underestimated.

I would also like to thank the Awards Director Peter Dungey, which is a complex job ably supported by Deputy Awards Director David Brown, and to all our jury members, specialist advisors and guest jurors. The Awards Taskforce Chair Dino Vrynios and his team Lu Balsamo, Scott Meek, Alison McFadyen and Emma Wood who assist the Chapter staff to plan and deliver the Awards Night dinner. Awards Manager Kara Growden and State Manager Richard Hosking and our great Institute team Sally Bolton, Rebecca Duddy and Ima Hadj Shirmohammadi.

And last … but not least I must thank the Chapter Councillors for their support, dedication and creative input throughout the last year.

– Steve Grieve FRAIA, SA Chapter President