Last updated 30 March 2020
Architects Donate is our campaign to drive financial support from our 12,500 members and their communities and is designed to allow all members and colleagues to play their part.
You can donate as little or as much as you wish, with all funds gathered into the Institute’s Foundation, with 100% of these funds used to directly support the rebuild efforts aimed at Australian communities most in need. All donations above $2 will be tax-deductible.
To make Architects Donate as successful as possible, we’ve also created a suite of creative assets for you to use in raising awareness and donations with your own colleagues, friends and family as you see fit. Please share these far and wide so we can together, as the peak body for the Australian architectural community, support our country in the challenging times ahead.
If we have not been directly affected by one of the many bushfires ravaging our country, we are sure to have a connection to people who have been. We thank those dedicated volunteers and emergency services who have been working tirelessly over the past weeks and continue to battle these fires daily and give support to those in need.
Right around Australia, communities are mobilising, providing assistance in every possible way to family, to friends and to complete strangers. The stories of kindness, compassion and generosity we’ve witnessed or seen in the media show the Australian spirit is strong, providing a source of hope for many facing the darkest and most difficult of times in recent memory.
At times like these, we all want to know what we can do to be useful. We know that many members are already helping where they can in many different ways, and we too will do our part. We’re doing that in a number of ways.
Firstly, in recognition of the scale and severity of these unprecedented events, we’ve created this page, focusing on our ongoing response to the bushfire crisis. This features the immediate support we’re providing, together with subsequent relief projects and volunteering initiatives we’ll be developing in 2020 as we work to support the rebuilding of communities.
We also encourage you to visit our new Architects Assist site where members can register their interest in supporting the overall bushfires response effort. You will also be noted on our members map as we plan for the eventual deployment of architectural, design and building resources in collaboration with other professional and regulatory bodies.
This is not a short-term crisis, and we need the support of the architectural profession to support us as we face this crisis together. When the fires clear, we will need to not only replace what has been lost, but build back better.
We’re providing all architects, regardless of membership, full unrestricted access to the following practice notes from our Acumen platform, and other resources which may be of assistance at this time.
This paper outlines the significance of disasters and post-disaster recovery, highlights the need of designers to harness community skills, emphasises survivor participation in the planning and realisation of their post-disaster environment, and suggests some characteristics of design that may smooth the path to recovery.
This Note outlines the impact of climate change on bushfire conditions in Australia and the ensuing regulatory imperatives for planning and construction within bushfire prone areas. It provides an overview of bushfire attack, the Fire Danger Index, the regulatory framework plus development issues and concerns currently applicable to states and territories
When asked to design a ‘fire bunker’, ‘fire-shelter’, ‘fire refuge’, or the like, it is wise to be extremely careful and risk-averse about what you say in response to such a request, and preferably in writing.
Architects may provide pro bono services to a range of groups including community groups, through membership of churches, sporting or social clubs and out of a spirit of social compassion for communities in need, such as the victims of a natural disaster.
Common risk areas for architects include liability for free advice, partial services, design and documentation without contract administration, contract administration on another architects’ design, certification without full inspection and contract administration, pre-purchase and other inspections, valuations, pro bono services, working in specialist areas, secondment of staff and staff qualifications.
NATSPEC TECHnotes: Bushfire protection DES018
The impact of bushfire on life and property can be reduced with responsible preparation and bushfire management plans.
There a number of national and state charities who are currently seeking donations to raise funds to support the victims of the bushfire crisis.
We are calling on our staff around the country to donate a day’s salary to charities including our own Foundation, which will be used to support various post-fire design and rebuild programs across many affected areas.
100% of funds raised to be used in post-fire design and related support efforts throughout the coming months.
We’ll also reach out to relevant local, state and federal government agencies to work through how and where we can best support those affected. We will keep you updated as these discussions progress. We encourage you to keep up to date on our dedicated website page which we will continue to update once further initiatives are developed.
This is a very distressing time for many in our community. For those experiencing the devastation first hand, for those responding to it, and for those witnessing the heartbreak and damage to the country and the people close to them. It is a time to band together, to support each other and to take extra care of each other’s welfare.
Thank you to all members who are already helping at this time, and thank you to our first responders and our firefighters for their heroic efforts.
Should you require additional support, contact your local Chapter and we can put you in touch with our dedicated confidential Assistance Portal, who can provide counselling and support to those who may be struggling throughout this ongoing crisis.
We will continue to keep you updated and encourage you to seek assistance from colleagues and your local Chapter.
The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements was established on 20 February 2020 in response to the extreme bushfire season over the last 12 months. The Commission has examined the coordination, preparedness for, response to and recovery from fire, as well as ways to improve resilience, adapt to the changing climate and mitigate the impact of natural disasters.
With some 5,900 buildings destroyed in the 2019-20 bushfires and communities anxious to rebuild, governments have a limited window of time to effect reforms that will ensure a higher standard of more resilient construction.
Delivered to the Australian government on 28 October 2020 the Royal Commission Final Report underscores that there is no time to waste, both in preparing for the next fire season and ensuring we build back better from the last one.
Urgent reform is needed to make our construction standards fit for purpose and ready to face a more hostile climate in the future. supporting homeowners to enhance bushfire safety and resilience would be sensible economic stimulus opportunities in the context of the COVID-19 recovery.
Read more about the role the Institute played in supporting the work of the Royal Commission and read our submission and response to the recommendations here.
Media release: Bushfire Royal Commission recommendations need immediate action Final Report: Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements Institute Submission: Royal Commission into National Natural
On 24 July my wife and I departed from our newly adopted home in Tasmania on our tour across the bushfire-affected regions, raising awareness of the Architects Assist services along the way.
On 24 July my wife and I departed from our newly adopted home in Tasmania on our tour across the bushfire-affected regions, raising awareness of the Architects Assist services along the way.
Jiri Lev is an Australian building and urban designer. He has been working with the Australian Institute of Architects on the Architects Assist program, a network set up for architects who wish to help affected Australians rebuild after the devastating summer bushfires. In this piece, Jiri details his recent visit to some of these communities in need.
We are thrilled to be working with Glowing Structures, an architectural lighting firm and About Space, a Melbourne-based lighting company. Glowing Structures are designing a
Despite the fires in some Victorian and NSW regions being contained through cooler temperatures and limited rainfall, we’re all too aware that Australia’s fire season