Architecture | Design Thinking | Research | Project Management | Operations
For me architecture has always meant creativity + responsibility…
…design thinking and a diverse skillset, focused on serving those with more acute needs…whether that’s in education, community based design or international development
Architecture + Operations
As a registered architect in NSW I co-founded a private practice specialising in houses, which I worked in actively for 15 years. In 2009 I took on a different challenge and stepped sideways from school governance into a role as operations manager in an independent school to help it to grow its programs and facilities. This coincided with the federal government BER Grant program, so getting grants and managing building projects was a large part of my role. I developed a wide range of skills including operations and facilities management, grant admin, risk management, child protection, event management and volunteer coordination.
Shift to the Humanitarian Sector
Working within a closeknit community led me to think about how I could use my architectural skills to actively help people. In the mid 2000’s I began following the work of organisations like Architects Without Frontiers, Engineers Without Borders, Oxfam and Habitat for Humanity. This made me consider the concept of ‘humanitarian architecture’ in a more focused way, and in 2013 I travelled to Bangladesh to participate in a resilience building workshop with Arup, RedR UK and Bangladeshi NGO SAFE. We examined ways to redesign dwellings in informal settlements to prepare them for the dangers of extreme seasonal flooding. This experience began to crystallise my interests.
International Development
Back in Australia…I did a short course in the essentials of humanitarain practice before enrolling in the master of disaster, design and development (MoDDD) program at RMIT. After graduating I travelled to India to take on a life-changing role with The Anganwadi Project (TAP), moving to Andhra Pradesh for 6 months to design and oversee construction of a preschool in a small rural village. TAP uses an immersive approach to participatory design including ethnographic research and close consultation with the community to determine what they want their anganwadi preschool to be. Part of my role during this visit was to establish a new collaborative relationship between TAP and the Rural Development Trust (RDT) in Anantapur.
Recent Work
In late 2019 I was invited to join Architects Without Frontiers as a Project Coordinator. This role was about facilitating AWF projects in Australia, India, Africa and Afghanistan - liaising between client organisations and AWF Network Partner architects as they worked through each project program. I was also responsible for the remote project management of the design and construction of site works for Cakaudrove Women’s Resource Centre in Fiji, including the pandemic impacted remote oversight of all local consultants and builders. Working with AWF is hugely rewarding and reinforces my conviction that talented and experienced professional architects can contribute significantly to international development projects.
