2021 NSW Life Fellows
Peter Kemp, LFRAIA
Peter Kemp’s contribution to the field of architectural practice and education, has directly assisted numerous graduates to become registered architects, especially within regional NSW. He has also contributed more broadly to the field of architectural practice through his long-standing service to the Australian institute of architects.
Not one to seek public acknowledgement, Peter has selflessly volunteered his time and expertise for a period of over 20 years, while maintaining full time employment in a number of well-known architectural firms and running his own consultancy in health facility architecture.
From 2006 to 2018 peter convened the practice of architecture learning series course (pals) in Newcastle. making the course available locally to Newcastle and other regionally based graduates, saved them the time and expense of traveling to Sydney to undertake their studies for registration.
Peter served on the Newcastle chapter committee (later the Newcastle division) from 2007 to 2019, including as its chair from 2016 to 2019. During the institute’s structural changes of 2015 and 2016, peter sat on the regional taskforce for the new south wales chapter, put in place to address these changes and ensure that the Newcastle and New South Wales country membership maintained their voice within the institute.
Peter’s membership of the practice committee from 2011 to 2015, and his ongoing service as a senior counsellor since 2010, has seen his expertise in the field of architectural practice continue to be generously put into the service of the institute and its membership.
Peter Kemp is a worthy recipient of an Australian institute of architects Life Fellowship.
ALEX POPOV, LFRAIA
Alex Popov graduated from the royal danish academy of fine art, Denmark in 1971 and worked for Henning Larsen and Jørn Utzon before returning to Australia and establishing Alex Popov architects pty ltd in 1983, now known as Popovbass (2007).
Since then, some 38 years later, Alex has applied his design skills to many and varied projects. He established the practices’ highly regarded reputation with a focus on single family and multi-residential developments. The consistently high quality and accomplishment of his completed projects has seen success in several design competitions and has received numerous major awards from the Australian institute of architects, including several Wilkinson awards and the Robin Boyd award.
Alex is an architect well known for his late 20th century modern style and has produced some of the country’s most remarkable private houses and, increasingly, multi-residential developments. all of which, as Popov puts it, “take possession of the earth” in an unabashedly robust manner.’
Alex has been linked to the “new wave” of architects who have applied the principles of Scandinavian architecture to create an increasingly distinctive body of work in Australia. While a practising director at Popovbass he regularly carries out in-house architecture talks to students of architecture, mentoring the next generation of architects.
Who we are, is influenced by our past and who we become, leaves a legacy for future generations to emulate. Alex Popov’s influential past, his award winning Australian contemporary architecture and his legacy as an architect, makes him an outstanding recipient of an Australian institute of architects life fellowship.
KATHLYN LOSEBY, LFRAIA
Over a period of 30 years of practice, Kathlyn Loseby has shown her acumen for leadership with senior appointments in leading practices, focussed on practice management, sustainability and change management, as well as major projects.
Since 2016 her significant contribution to the profession through appointments within the institute, as both an elected councillor, and more recently as chapter president, have profoundly shaped the way in which our profession and the institute are considered within government and industry.
Kathlyn presided over a period of immense regulatory change in NSW, and through extraordinary service, personal commitment, and sheer determination she advocated on behalf of the profession in parliamentary and government circles, elevating the profession as a trusted advisor, desirous of high quality, built environment outcomes.
Her service has also included an ongoing role as an assessor for both the NSW architectural registration board & the architects accreditation council of Australia, time as a juror and chair to the institute’s prizes and a series of lectures & talks for industry bodies around architectural practice.
Kathlyn continues to advocate for high quality outcomes within the built environment through her
appointment as CEO of the architects accreditation council of Australia.
Kathlyn Loseby is an exceptional recipient of and Australian institute of architects life fellowship and embodies the principles of advocacy through her dedicated service to the architectural profession.
rachel neeson, LFRAIA
Rachel’s contribution to the architectural profession and the built environment throughout her career has been immense. not only building a thriving practice with her collaborators, Nick Murcutt and Stephen Neille, but consistently producing high quality, unique and innovative design responses across a variety of sectors and typologies.
The work of her practice has been consistently acknowledged by the industry as evidenced by the many significant awards recognising the quality of Rachel’s work. notably the work of Neeson Murcutt + Neille has received the highest Australian institute of architects awards at a national level, including the Robin Boyd award for the best residential project in Australia (Castlecrag house, 2011), the Walter Burley Griffin award for urban design (Prince Alfred Park and pool, 2014), national awards for public architecture (Prince Alfred park and pool and the Juanita Nielsen community centre), heritage architecture (Juanita Nielsen community centre) and residential architecture (Zac’s house and whale beach house).
Rachel is also an educator, who over many years has consistently contributed to the development of students of architecture through her involvement with the schools of architecture throughout new south wales. Rachel is currently the professor of practice at the university of new south wales and serves on the city of Sydney design advisory panel. Rachel has presented many lectures, been widely published and contributed to furthering Australian architecture on the international stage through her involvement with the Venice biennale over several years.
Rachel’s dedication to the profession through her contributions to education and design showcases her professional success and personal attributes, making her an extremely deserving recipient of an Australian institute of architects prestigious life fellowship.
Olivia Hyde, LFRAIA
Olivia Hyde has made a significant contribution to the built environment of new south wales and to the wider profession through her work with the government architect new south wales (GANSW), the university of Sydney and in architectural practice.
In her role with the government architect, Olivia was integral to transitioning the office from design production to strategic advisory. The GANSW is now at the forefront of policy research and production, with a suite of documents and guidelines that are used by all tiers of government and the industry to promote good design of the built environment.
As the GANSW director of design excellence, Olivia leads the development of policies and programs to support design quality in the built environment across the state. she also leads the state design review panel, providing independent design advice to government on major projects in NSW.
Prior to joining the government architect NSW, Olivia was a senior practice director at BVN architects in Sydney, where she led a number of award-winning projects including the Marrickville library and pavilion and, Taronga zoo upper entry precinct. Olivia also worked for foster and partners in Hong Kong and London, and briefly ran her own practice in Malaysia.
In addition to practice, Olivia has maintained a long affiliation with academia, both locally and internationally. She was the Oberdick fellow at university of Michigan, a sessional design studio tutor at the university of Sydney for many years, currently a professor of practice at the university of Sydney and has been a contributor to ‘architecture Australia’ magazine for over 15 years.
The breadth of Olivia’s contribution to the discipline of architecture and to the profession in new south wales makes her a worthy recipient of an Australian institute of architects life fellowship.
Agi Sterling, LFRAIA
Agi Sterling has made a sustained contribution to the betterment of the profession over many decades. Her tireless efforts to support the continued professional development of practitioners through the Sydney east architects network, the Australian institute of architects and association of consulting architects (aca), has raised the professionalism of architecture.
Agi’s commitment to communicating the value of architecture is evidenced through her involvement and leadership as national vice-president of the aca, branch president of aca NSW/act, founder and chair of the Sydney east architects group, former chair of the institute’s NSW practice committee and current chair of the NSW cpd committee. Agi is also director of sterling architects, the successful architectural practice she has run in eastern Sydney for over 20 years.
Agi’s generosity is boundless and passion to mentor emerging practitioners, inspirational. Her commitment to gender equality is exemplified through ongoing efforts to establish systems of work that provide flexibility for parents with young children. Her ability to connect networks and build relationships is outstanding and has enabled sharing and leveraging of expert knowledge among all levels of practice. she is professionally and personally invested in the profession, but equally committed to good quality residential design and to ensuring long term sustainable outcomes for built environments.
Agi is a contemporary role model for many professionals who see her interest in well-being, lack of egotism, inventive approach to work-life balance in practice, strong ethical compass, values based approach, and commitment to betterment of the profession as inspirational.
Agi sterling’s elevation to life fellow is in recognition of her exemplary service to the advancement of the profession of architecture.
2021 NSW Fellows
Jenna Rowe FRAIA
Jenna graduated from the University of Tasmania in 2011, and since that time has become a leader and significant contributor to architectural design, education and industry improvement. In practice, Jenna is a Principal of her own firm specializing in residential design.
In education, she has taught within and coordinated university programs since 2015, and has contributed to architectural registration education through her involvement in PALS and the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia.
Jenna is on her second elected term on the AIA NSW Chapter Council contributing to the Editorial, Education, Heritage and Gender Equity Committees. Her significant industry contribution also extends to chairing the EmAGN committees in both NSW and TAS.
Belinda Goh FRAIA
Over the past 20 years, Belinda has designed and delivered projects in Australia and internationally, which focus on the creation of quality architecture that responds to the human experience of fans, players and users of sports, entertainment and public assembly buildings. These buildings contribute to the cultural, economic, and sustainable urban fabric and social infrastructure of cities and regions around the world.
She is a regular contributor to the architectural industry as both chair of the (GET) Gender Equity Team and member of the Built Environment Committee and the Sustainability Working Group, as well as contributing to juries and mentoring programs for various industry groups.
As Principal and Project Leader at Populous, Belinda is currently leading an initiative which aims to provide design innovations for inclusion and equity for Women in Sport and Entertainment (W.I.S.E Design).
Steven Donaghey FRAIA
An active member since 2004, Steven has experience on numerous committees, working groups, and panels, as well as terms as Chapter Councillor and Chair of the Practice Committee. From early participation in the Urban Design Committee, now the Built Environment Committee, Steven transitioned to the Education Committee. Here he led a working group that sought to promote and encourage research links between tertiary institutions and practice.
As a long-term member of the Practice of Architecture Committee, Steven was integral in the development of the Best in Practice Prize, as well as Safety in Design guidelines. Recently he has championed mentoring between students and practice through the LAUNCH initiative between the PoA Committee, EmAGN and SONA.
He has been a juror, guest critic and panellist for numerous advisories and academic events, bringing an all-round understanding of the broader industry, practice and the value of quality architecture. Seven’s continued contribution to the betterment of our industry makes him a worthy Fellowship recipient.
Guy Luscombe FRAIA
Guy graduated from the University of Sydney in 1985 and has over 35 years experience in both private and public practice. For over 15 years he has focussed on design for an increasingly ageing population and is a recognised authority and strong advocate for better design for the aged. Guy has designed over 40 projects for older people at all levels of need and is currently leading the Australian office for System Architects, a New York based practice.
In 2014 he completed a Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship to study innovative architecture for the aged in Europe, entitled “The NANA Project – New Architecture for the New Aged” and recently edited a ‘Dossier’ for Architecture Australia.
He is regular commentator on design for the aged in print and radio and was co-editor of the influential book “Beyond Beige”. He has also tutored and lectured at UTS and UNSW and is regularly asked to speak at conferences and seminars.
Angus Kell FRAIA
Angus is a long-term member of the Institute, and his architectural career has encompassed design practice, development, technical services and manufacturing. Significantly, Angus was NSW / ACT State Manager of Archicentre, where his experience as an architect enabled him to deliver non-core architectural services to a broader customer base whilst using the services of our member architects. In recent years Angus has contributed to various industry bodies as a member including the BCA Reference group, Standards Australia Council, ABCB, Housing NSW Planning Code Working Group and GECA.
A member of the Practice of Architecture Committee for over 10 years, Angus brings expertise and experience across the broad construction industry, and established the framework for Practice to Practice mentoring, as well as the Best in Practice Prize.
With a career encompassing non-core architectural markets, Angus’s diversity of roles in private, corporate and not-for-profit sectors has allowed him to be a mentor and trusted advisor across the industry.
Iftekhar Abdullah FRAIA
Iftekhar originally studied in Bangladesh, graduating with a degree in architecture in 1984 and spending the next ten years contributing to the built environment and communities in Bangladesh through his work on significant social and public projects.
Iftekhar continued his studies at the University of Sydney, receiving his Masters in Urban Design in 1993. Exploring Urban Design further, Iftekhar subsequently worked throughout Asia on numerous significant projects, including the Establishment of Putra Jaya the Administrative City in Malaysia.
Returning to Australia in 2000 Iftekhar dedicated himself to developing his knowledge of Australian architecture and contributing to the development and fostering of ties between the Australian and Bangladeshi design communities. Along with colleagues, Iftekhar established Bangladeshi Architects in Australia (BaA) in 2006, serving as the President and engaging with over 150 members.
Iftekhar has been passionate advocate for the establishment a support network for migrant architects, providing a platform for sharing experiences and promoting diverse design cultures. He has been active in organising exhibitions, lecture series, presentations and academic travel scholarships, fostering a bi-lateral relationship between Australia and Bangladesh.
Robert Graham FRAIA
Rob’s significant contribution to the profession has been as both a senior experienced practitioner for Bates Smart in the delivery of award winning complex projects such as The Kensington Colleges at UNSW and Canberra Airport Hotel as well as in his voluntary service work for the Institute.
Through an important period for the profession where advocacy across issues of building reform, procurement, quality and process have been paramount, Rob’s involvement over a number of years as a key member of the Procurement Taskforce, Design & Building Practitioners Act Workgroup and the Professional Advocacy Committee have been invaluable in providing his time and knowledge to share insights from Industry and develop tools that can benefit the profession.
Rob is a deserving recipient of Fellowship to the Institute and we thank him for his continued service to the profession.
William Smart FRAIA
William is the Founder and Creative Director of Smart Design Studio. His approach to design is holistic, combining both architectural and interior design with a passionate attention to detail. His designs have layers of richness and complexity yet maintain elegance and a sense of delight whilst often being described as timeless. Delivering a wide range of projects ranging from large-scale masterplanning, cultural buildings, offices, workplaces to private houses and product design.
William’s design philosophy is “From the exterior, we believe buildings have a duty to contribute positively to the public domain and have a responsibility to respect the environment in which they sit, both in an immediate visual sense and with regard to sustainability, in its broadest, most nuanced understanding.”
William has received international and national awards for architecture, urban design, and interior design. William’s contributions to the architectural profession include participating in numerous juries for architectural design competitions and AIA awards. He has taught and lectured across Australia, published written work, given talks, panel discussions as an active participant in the design community.
