So, 2024 to 2026. Where do I even begin?
Two years, one Masters of Architecture, a lot of drawings, some genuinely wonderful people, one trip to Cambodia, one slightly unbelievable trip to Venice, many yoga classes, a queer museum, an Indigenous plant nursery, Woolloomooloo, Country, community, heartbreak, healing, pain, work, turning 40 and finally, somehow, finishing.
I came into my Masters having already worked in architecture and the built environment for quite a while. I didn't really need university to teach me how an office worked. What I wanted was a reason to draw again.
And I think that is probably the biggest thing UNSW sparked within me.
Encouragement to question what architecture is, who it serves, who gets to design it, and whether making another beautiful building is really enough.
My work became much more about people, Country, identity, movement, ecology, memory, joy and belonging.
And somewhere along the way I became much more comfortable putting myself into the work too.
Below is a selection of photographs, drawings and digital representations of the work produced throughout my Master of Architecture. Together, they capture some of the ideas, experiments, collaborations and moments of growth that shaped this period of study.
THE PEOPLE
Teachers, tutors + people I learned from - Big thankyou all
Gillian Barlow
Designing with Country, UNSW
Peter Cooley / Uncle Peter
IndigiGrow, plants, regeneration, community and Country
Vicki + Sal
Qtopia
Eva Lloyd
Street Life Studies, Cambodia, community centred design
Vuth Lyno
Phnom Penh, observation, art, community and everyday urbanism
Luciano Cardellicchio
Architectural construction
Leanne Holt, Gillian Barlow, Peter Poulet + Rosie Baumann
Venice, the Biennale and one of the great experiences of my Masters. (Thankyou UNSW, City Futures Research Centre)
Renate + Brent
Social Agency, Woolloomooloo, Wallamullah and my final studio
And a very special thank you
Jasmine, Annie, Simi, Philip, Bek, Quinton, and the entire team at Nura Gili.
THE PROJECTS
INDIGIGROW
”Country isn't the context, Country is the beginning.”
Gillian Barlow Designing with Country, UNSW
IndigiGrow was where a lot started to click. Working at Gooriwall helped me think about architecture as part of a much bigger living system, Country, plants, people, culture and regeneration.
QTOPIA
”Past. Present. Future. Always Present. - We are the living exhibition.”
With Vicki + Sal
This one was personal. Qtopia became an exploration of queer history, healing, visibility and celebration, while asking how heritage can be respected without being frozen in time.
CAMBODIA
”Observe first. Listen properly. Design second.”
With Eva Lloyd + Vuth Lyno
Cambodia reminded me not to arrive with the answer. Walking, drawing, talking and spending time with people in Chen Dam Daek showed me how much architecture can learn from the everyday life already happening around it.
VENICE
”What feels impossible can look very different once you’ve seen it done.”
With Gillian, Leanne Holt, Peter Poulet + Rosie Baumann
Travelling to the Venice Architecture Biennale through UNSW was genuinely unforgettable. Seeing Indigenous Australian design on a global stage gave me more confidence to be bold, trust the big idea and keep Designing with Country central to my work.
WALLAMULLAH
”I wasn’t designing objects anymore, I was designing connections.”
Social Agency, with Renate + Brent
My final studio brought a lot of the Masters together, Country, community, movement, housing, social business and wellbeing.
New Wallamullah imagined a better connected Woolloomooloo, including a new shared path, social businesses, supportive housing and a grounded, unique yoga studio.
