I’m writing this column on my iPad overlooking the ocean on a holiday up north. An unreasonably strong plunger coffee next to me, and the day just starting to heat up as the air sits a little heavy with humidity.

I feel a bit like that guy from the TV show 800 Words.

I’ll send my insightful and engaging column over to my high flying corporate editor and get on with my life for another week. 

If I recall, he’s a single dad, and pretty heavily involved in the local community. I think in the last show I saw, he’d headed off for days with a mate to support him with a personal challenge.

That’s where things start to differ. 

I’m not a single dad, but if I was, there’s no way I could be that involved with community or friends. In fact things at work would have to change just to accommodate a carers role by itself. 

…..that’s where this column was headed. Into the world of lifestyle equality and linkages with gender equality and indeed equality in general. Not a bad article if I say so, although nothing that Sarah Paddick as your local lead for the gender equity task force has not said before.

But now, thanks to three hours in a plane seat I’m back in Adelaide, didn’t sleep well last night, and starting to think about the practice realities which face me this week. 

I’m contemplating the three unwieldy submissions we have to produce and in doing that, the client balance we seek as I reflect upon a conversation with the gold medallist Peter Elliott after his talk at FAD. 

Submissions are more and more onerous. There is a profession now in paperwork and assessment, in meetings and interviews and presentations which at the end of the day are simply an engagement tool before someone gets on with the actual project. The thing we trained for remember? To get to know a client and take our own brief, and collaborate and explore and coordinate and then progress with them a piece of architecture which enhances both their and everyone’s interaction and business with the world.

And in thinking about that I then contemplate that perhaps this ever increasing load is having influence on our ability to do other things – like attend FAD. It was a great success. Multiple events both day and night, through the weekend as well as working week. Varied and flexible so that there was a match for everyone, as well as a crossover with the non architectural content of Open State. 

But let’s be honest… so few of you came. 

And that makes me contemplate the letter I am about to co-sign with the Board seeking amendment to our act for the inclusion of mandatory CPD. Because maybe with mandatory CPD we will force a bit more attendance. Because as a profession, who is registered and regulated, and who hold such influence over the shape of our society, we should be continuing to learn. Which further makes me contemplate that if we learn more together maybe we will talk more together and collaborate more together and foster that culture of architecture that we see is aligned with award winning work.

And in contemplating the ability to spend the time to attend and talk, and the capacity to resource for equity, creativity and quality it brings me back around to the submissions. To the section where we set fees and programme. 

The industry is busy at the moment. We are fortunate in the face of the state’s fundamentals. So now is the time to make sure we do not forget lifestyle equity, and the time to learn and the time to invest in culture rather than just the production of content. 

These things take time and we all know that time is money.