Queensland

Overview
Following on from the Institute’s national strategic planning day in April 2005, the Queensland Chapter focussed on successfully implementing a number of initiatives identified by Chapter Council as key priorities for Queensland.
As has been our emphasis for some years now, the Chapter continued in 2005 to celebrate and support the strongly regional nature of our membership. The ‘Make Your Mark’ program was initiated as a response to requests from regional members aimed at attracting graduating and third year architecture students to work in Queensland regional offices.
The October National Council meeting was held in Cairns and National Councillors were invited to participate in the ‘On Edge Off Centre’ regional conference and had an opportunity to engage with far north Queensland members. A report on Significant Queensland 20^th Century Architecture, featuring work from across the state, was completed by the heritage sub-committee and is now on the Queensland Chapter website.

Continuing Education
The seminar series were well attended with talks covering both technical, professional and design issues with speakers from Brisbane, the southern states, and as far away as Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Two forums held in 2005 were much appreciated by our members. The Grass Roots Forum, a joint venture with the Design Institute of Australia, was held in May and was themed around the notion of ‘Opportunities’. It explored the opportunities for invention, diversity, collaboration and engagement that are available to all design professionals.

The second forum ‘On Edge Off Centre’ was held in Cairns. The theme highlighted the challenges and opportunities for designers in a large tropical city. Interstate and local speakers compared and contrasted their experiences, and a strong focus of the event was how to manage development in sensitive environments.

The Chapter also ran two Practice of Architecture Lecture Series to assist graduates in preparing for the Architectural Practice Examination. This is a opportunity for experienced members of the profession to assist graduates facing this important milestone in their careers.

Awards and Events
In 2005, 165 entries were submitted, with 67 regional commendations progressing through to the Queensland Chapter’s State Awards. Jury Director Hamilton Wilson and Deputy Awards Jury Director Paul Fairweather again joined eight regional juries to visit all projects entered throughout the state.

The A. S. Hook Memorial Address by Gold Medallist James Birrell featured prominently on our calendar within Architecture Week and was followed by the Past President and Fellows Dinner at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
“Ask an architect @ raia” continues to run throughout Architecture Week, promoting architects to the residential market. This program ultimately raises money for the homeless, with all proceeds going to the OzCare St Vincents Homeless Hostel at West End in Brisbane.

The “Women in Architecture” breakfast introduced Tania Dennis of Insideout Architects of North Queensland. Insideout’s work deals with a range of complex issues, including extreme sites such as the isolated desert communities of the Northern Territory.

“Long Lunch in the Sub-Tropics” was a great event held in association with the Centre for Subtropical Design, a joint initiative between the Brisbane City Council and the Queensland University of Technology. The lunch featured discussion of the short-listed entries for the subtropical design award, which is part of the Queensland awards program. An exhibition from South Australia on affordable housing also featured throughout Architecture Week.

Advocacy
A number of submissions were presented to local and state governments including:

• A draft submission on the South East Queensland Regional Plan.
• A review of the General Conditions of Contract for Consultancy Services.
• A review of the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act.
• A submission to Brisbane City Council on Proposed Amendments to CBD Master Plan.
• A submission to and meetings with the Department of Industrial Relations regarding the amendments to the Workplace Health and Safety Act.
• A review of Construction Industry Payments Act.
• Participation in the Quality of Documentation Taskforce.