The act of making; the dirtiness, directness and honesty of architecture is the inspiration behind the theme for the Australian Institute of Architects\u2019 2014 National Architecture Conference, hosted in Perth for the first time in over a decade.<\/p>\n
Adam Haddow, Helen Norrie and Sam Crawford were introduced as the 2014 creative team with their theme, Making<\/em>, by the Institute\u2019s National President Paul Berkemeier on the last day of the 2013 Conference, Material.<\/p>\n The creative team are inspired by the process of making architecture, rather than simply the presentation of architecture as a finished product, as well as the collaborative relationships and catalytic projects that lead to cultural change and shift the context of architectural practice.<\/p>\n \u2018Our interest lies both in the machinations of the process, and the beauty, delight and surprise of excellence.Making will be a celebration of ideas. It will celebrate approaches to achieving architectural excellence that challenge cultural, economic, social and political environments. It will be through an investigation of the unknown that our own place will be revealed more clearly. \u2018We want to hear from the speakers about other ways of making architecture. How architecture is made in other cultural, economic and geographic contexts, particularly Asia, Latin America and Africa.\u2019 The team explained.<\/p>\n Making<\/em> will also explore the expanding role of the architect and consider a broader definition of \u2018architect as maker\u2019 \u2013 not just of singular buildings, but as the maker of environments and connections that extend the bounds of traditional practice.<\/p>\n \u2018The contemporary architect is not constrained to the drawing board but is engaged with communities and cross-disciplinary collaboration and is often a champion of political change. We are interested in a new emerging role of the architect and the different ways of \u201cmaking\u201d in differing social, political and economic environments.<\/p>\n \u2018The conference is an opportunity to celebrate our profession, to enjoy a collegiate environment and be inspired and energised from practitioners who share our ambition but differ in approach and context.\u2019 The team said.<\/p>\n The creative team, keynote speakers and panellists will further investigate \u2018making\u2019 through four subthemes \u2013 Making: Culture, Life, Connections and Impact.<\/p>\n About the team<\/strong> Helen Norrie is an academic in the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Tasmania and a writer, curator and architectural critic contributing regularly to national and international architecture and design discussions.<\/p>\n After leaving university Sam Crawford established his own practice. Sam Crawford Architects has since been widely published nationally and internationally and has been recipient of numerous state and national awards including a 2012 NSW Architecture Award and National Commendation for the Smee Schoff House.<\/p>\n
\n\u2018How do we learn, as practitioners, from these alternative processes, the wins and losses, the mistakes and coincidences that led to better outcomes?<\/p>\n
\nAdam Haddow is a Director of SJB. He has received numerous awards and is known most for his work on multiple housing and his engagement in ideas about the future of our cities. He is a contributor to many journals and is actively involved in built form advocacy through the Institute.<\/p>\n