Architecture Australia

Ask architects which Australian magazine they choose to read or to publish their work and the answer is most likely Architecture Australia. If you want to be up to date with the best built works and the issues that matter, then Architecture Australia is for you. Its commissioned contributors are independent, highly respected practitioners, architectural thinkers and design commentators and each article is supported by images from leading architectural photographers. Provocative, informative and engaging – it is the national magazine of the Australian Institute of Architects.

Renewal

A profession in transition

Selected writers and photographers

Architecture Australia

Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Cultural Centre by Ashley Halliday Architects and Wax Design • A new Living Cultural Centre on the banks of the Yerta Bulti/Port River is a testament to deep listening, regenerative design, and the story of a long fight for cultural restoration.

The Quandamooka Arts and Culture Centre (Quampi) by Cox Architecture • A new art and culture centre on Minjerribah/ North Stradbroke Island offers a material expression charged with identity, embedding layers of story and cultural knowledge in place.

Truth Telling at Wybalenna: Ablutions Pavilion and Homestead Renewal by Taylor and Hinds Architects • At Wybalenna, a deeply sacred place for Palawa, a community-directed project carefully creates space and amenity to support gathering, and honours a powerful story of resistance and resilience.

Regenerating Country • As Australia’s urban disruption continues, it’s more important than ever for designers to ensure their work is honouring Country properly – including by actively regenerating it, writes Danièle Hromek.

A new benchmark for low-carbon interiors

Indigenising the built environment • The 2021 integration of First Nations-focused performance criteria into architecture competency standards has created the opportunity to directly recalibrate cultural understandings and create more enriching, impactful built environments. But what effect has this had on the industry, and what more needs to be done?

How did we get here? • In 2021, the National Standard of Competency for Architects adopted criteria that centre Country and First Nations culture as fundamental considerations of the built environment. Findings from the Indigenising the Built Environment in Australia survey give us a glimpse of the impact.

① Discrimination and cultural safety • Racism and discrimination are deeply embedded in the systems of Australian society, often enacted without awareness of their consequences. The architecture and design industries are no different.

② Education • First Nations Performance Criteria are now mandatory in the curricula of all nationally accredited architecture programs. How are students and educators responding?

③ Practice • Built environment professionals have reported increasing interest and confidence in engaging with Country – but challenges remain.

④ Allyship and the role of non-Indigenous colleagues • Non-Indigenous practitioners have a vital part to play in challenging inequitable systems to support Indigenous colleagues and communities.

Where to next? • The evolution of architecture presents opportunities that the industry must build upon. Where to from here?

Baaka Cultural and Art Centre by Kaunitz Yeung Architecture • A new community-driven centre in northwest New South Wales creates a vital space to celebrate art, culture and belonging, with a striking use of materiality and sensitivity to heritage fabric.

Kamay Botany Bay National Park Visitor Centre by Neeson Murcutt Neille • At Kamay Botany Bay, a much-anticipated visitor centre creates a compelling space for new dialogue, while celebrating...