NSW Chapter President, Shaun Carter. Photo by Brett Boardman

5 December, 2016

In addition to wishing all members a safe and enjoyable holiday break, this final message for 2016 is an opportunity to review the highlights of my second year as your President.

I am particularly pleased to see further strong progress on the gender equity issue, which is one of the highest priorities during my term. The Champions of Change program was established 18 months ago and is a key factor in achieving change that is positive, real and lasting.

Our Champions are making great progress in making their workplaces and the profession more broadly gender equal. The process is a rigorous long term one, where we are addressing inherent conscious and unconscious bias woven into our language and social fabric and setting about reconstructing it to be gender neutral and balanced.

The Chapter Council on the road initiative has enabled councillors and me to connect directly with many more members. These were listening and learning tours. I am grateful to so many of you for taking this opportunity to let us know of your concerns. Your participation in these sessions reveals the widespread passion held by our members for your professional organisation. We are also looking forward to our first member forum, to be held in the new year.

Another fine group of projects received recognition in the NSW Architecture Awards ceremony held at Australian Technology Park in July. We set out to make this year’s awards not only a celebration of the collective skill and excellence of our profession, but also a celebration of our friendships, our relationships and our shared stories. I will continue to work on the NSW Awards to help elevate them to be the best in the Country. Victoria, you are in our sights!

The awards are an annual reminder of the high quality of our members’ work and its beneficial effect on the whole community.

Advocacy on two key issues – the Barangaroo casino and the Sirius building – has occupied much of my time and energy this year. We are waiting to hear the judgment from last month’s Land & Environment Court hearing on the casino. Following a very successful rally and crowd funding campaign the Sirius hearing has been scheduled for April next year. I am grateful for the support of so many members for these important campaigns.

Advocacy for and on behalf of our members, our profession and for the public interest elevates the Institute as your peak body that has a strong and principled voice. Our motto is to be the critical friend of government and business. We are uniquely qualified to understand and interpret the built environment and act as its conscience. We should never be afraid to praise a good project, and equally we should never be afraid to criticise, and even protect and lobby if we believe it is not in architects’, architecture’s or the public interest. If we continue to operate this way we win respect of our peers, our business leaders and our governments.

The Government Architect’s Office celebrated its first 200 years and completed its move to the planning cluster of agencies under Minister Stokes’s able leadership. While the office’s strategic role advising government on design excellence is welcome, this ambition can only be realised if it has the staff numbers and expertise to fulfil these demands.

I applauded the release of the government’s draft architecture and design policy and medium density design guide two months ago. They confirm the emphasis on design quality as the re-development of our urban environment gathers pace.

Although it seemed like a backward step to participants at the time, the government’s decision to reject all 13 bids to develop the 10 hectare White Bay site in the Bays Precinct was actually good news for effective urban planning. UrbanGrowth NSW is developing a master plan and designing the precinct; smaller lots will be made available for tender to the private sector. We continue to work with and also be a critical friend of this process in the quest for an exemplar of good city making.

The first appointments to the Greater Sydney Commission were made only a year ago, yet already its six district plans have been released for comment. This is a major achievement for such a new agency, particularly if, as promised, the new Transport for NSW long-term master plan to be released next year is fully aligned with the Commission’s forecasts and targets. The Institute has high hopes for the Commission. However there is still much to do, and turbulent political waters to navigate. We encourage the Government to stay the course and also to expect the highest possible standards.

It has been a great pleasure work for and on your behalf of you all this year. It truly is the great joy of this role, and what makes the long hours worth the effort. I wish you all season’s greetings and a prosperous and productive new year.

Shaun Carter
NSW President