Wilya Janta (Standing Strong) Explain Home 1

Wilya Janta is an Aboriginal-led organisation dedicated to bringing culturally safe and climate-appropriate housing to remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Established in 2023 by Warumungu Elders, the organisation centers Aboriginal voices in housing design and creates homes that listen to Country and to the people who have cared for it for over 60,000 years. The aim is to produce homes that are safe, functional, and culturally empowering.

The first Wilya Janta home was developed over two years in collaboration with a Warumungu family. The design was guided by cultural protocols, environmental conditions, and the financial and logistical challenges of remote construction. Modular building methods were adopted, with transport limitations directly shaping the home’s footprint. Within this framework, the layout reflects cultural priorities.

The house features deep verandahs that provide shade, enable outdoor living, and accommodate extended family during ceremonies or community events. These verandahs also support cultural avoidance practices by allowing people to move freely. Bedrooms are oriented east-west in line with Warumungu sleeping traditions, while two living rooms provide space for different kinship groups. Multiple bathrooms, accessible both inside and outside, offer privacy and flexibility for visitors. Universal access is built in, with ramps, wide doors and accessible bathroom allowing elders to age on Country.

The design responds to climate with breezeways, cross-ventilation, and orientation to capture cooling winds. Mudbrick walls made from anthill and spinifex provide thermal mass and improve comfort within the lightweight structure. Outdoor areas include a bough shed, vegetable garden, pond, and grassed play spaces for children. An outdoor kitchen with an open fire forms the communal heart of the home, celebrating traditional cooking and cultural practice, while mudbrick windbreaks protect these outdoor spaces from prevailing winds.

The Wilya Janta Explain Home sets out a new model for Aboriginal housing. It is culturally grounded, environmentally responsive, and adaptable to contemporary life. It shows how design can sustain cultural identity while delivering affordable and scalable housing solutions for Central Australia.

Girrawaa Creative Work Centre at Bathurst Jail

The Girrawaa Arts Centre at Bathurst Jail was opened in 1998. There was a consultation process undertaken with the Indigenous communities that these buildings were built for to reflect cultural needs. The building design is based on the shape of a goanna, decided upon in collaboration with inmates as it is the totem of the local Wiradjuri community.

Designing with Country

Designing with Country is a part of the Connecting with Country Framework. It involves taking a Country-centred approach with spatial design opportunities that improve the functional design of projects and reinforce a connection with Country.

Djakanimba Pavilions

Djakanimba Pavilions – conceived as adaptable, modular, cool, local, theatrical and fun, the Djakanimba Pavilions use fold-up and fold-down solutions for local people, travellers, training places, itinerant exhibits, and many other needs. The Djakanimba Pavilions support local indigenous enterprises that facilitate training, employment, remote art, performance and culture., Djakanimba Pavilions – conceived as adaptable, modular, cool, local, theatrical and fun, the Djakanimba Pavilions use fold-up and fold-down solutions for local people, travellers, training places, itinerant exhibits, and many other needs. The Djakanimba Pavilions support local Indigenous enterprises that facilitate training, employment, remote art, performance and culture.

Design: Building on Country

Design: Building on Country, published in 2021, is the second book in a six-book series. The First Knowledges series offers an introduction to Indigenous knowledges in vital areas, with the second book focusing on Design. The book explores building on Country and two different ways of understanding the natural world: ancient and modern.

Deadly Djurumin Yarns

Deadly Djurumin Yarns is a yarn series moderated by Sarah Lynn Rees and Danièle Hromek. The series brings together built environment voices and projects from across Australia, centred around First Nations women’s experiences., Deadly Djurumin Yarns is a yarn series moderated by Sarah Lynn Rees and Danièle Hromek. The series brings together built environment voices and projects from across Australia, centred around First Nations women’s experiences. The Yarns elevate First Nations voices, promote cultural understanding and inspire a more inclusive and sustainable built environment.

Connecting with Country: A pathway to listening

In this discussion, Andrew Broffman spoke with Dillon Kombumerri about the challenges and rewards of shifting from a human-centred approach to a Country-centred view that offers more than just sustainability. Dillon Kombumerri is principal architect with the Government Architect NSW and co-author of the Connecting with Country framework. Kombumerri discusses the principles and protocols that shaped his approach creating the Country-centred framework.

Campuses on Countries Design Framework

Campuses on Countries is a written document featuring an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Design Framework at The University of Queensland. The document was published by the University of Queensland in 2021 to serve as a guide for architects, designers, project managers and construction staff in all future projects.

Bunjil Place

A built project featuring diverse cultural facilities and community spaces under one roof. The design features central focus on interpretation of the land in the culture of the Traditional Owners and inhabitants, the Wurundjeri, Bunurong and Boon Wurrung people. Completed in 2017, the project features public theatres, gallery, library, exhibition and meetings spaces.

Campus to Country Strategy for QUT

Campus to Country: Positioning Strategy is a written document by the Queensland University of Technology published in 2020. It is a strategy that outlines the importance of connecting to Country and provides guidelines for planning and designing culturally sensitive buildings, spaces and places that reflect local context and respond to the current needs of the campus community.