3 Mar

Congratulations to 2009 Institute Gold Medallist Ken Maher for his appointment as a member of the Institute’s National Council. At a local level I am pleased to welcome Shahe Simonian, as well as previous councillor Alex Kibble, who will join us from the NSW Chapter Council meeting on 4 March. Our sincere thanks also to outgoing councillors Emili Fox and Louise Nettleton for their contribution to Chapter Council and the committees of which they have been a part.

While clearly focused committees play a very valuable role in furthering the many interests of our members, it is also necessary to review the committee structure every few years to make sure we are getting the best value out of them. As a result of a recent review we have merged the Large Practice Forum with the Practice Committee. Key members will chair task groups around specific topics as and when they arise – the intent here is to ensure committees remain task and outcome orientated. This task-orientated model is similar to that implemented for the Design Culture Committee last year. I am confident this new structure will give the practice task groups a renewed sense of purpose. The chapter will also occasionally call for EOIs for committees to ensure membership remains fresh and engaged; all committee chair positions will  be considered annually.

Planning for the 2014 NSW Architecture Awards is well under way, with entries for this year’s awards closing next Tuesday 11 March. This is your opportunity to have your work recognised alongside others from across the state for projects completed by the end of December 2013. The presentation of the Newcastle Awards will take place this Thursday 6 March at Merewether Surfhouse.

If you haven’t attended any of the Chapter’s excellent Tuesdays@Tusculum talks for a while, make a late new year’s resolution and get along in 2014. Our curating teams are also drawn via an EOI process from our enthusiastic membership. There are two offerings this month on 11 and 25 March. See E-News for more information.

Joe Agius
NSW Chapter President