Thank you for the very warm welcome to the Institute. The past two months have been a dynamic period for us, with the opening of our contribution to La Biennale di Venezia, the start of the 2023 awards season, and the AGM in Hobart.
We are very excited to announce plans for the creation of a new Queensland headquarters for the organisation. Read more about this acquisition and other highlights in this newsletter, the first of my monthly CEO updates.
Cameron Bruhn
Hon. FRAIA
Chief Executive Officer
La Biennale di Venezia
The 18th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, titled The Laboratory of the Future, has opened.
This year’s exhibition is curated by academic and educator Lesley Lokko OBE. Australia’s exhibition is deftly aligned with Lokko’s provocative theme and is titled “unsettling Queenstown.”
Congratulations to creative directors Anthony Coupe, Professor Julian Worrall, Emily Paech, Associate Professor Ali Gumillya Baker, and Sarah Rhodes, members of the Institute’s Venice Biennale Committee, led by Chair, Tony Giannone LFRAIA and Nikki Massadi, the Institute’s National Manager, Events. Take a virtual tour of the pavilion.
Federal Budget and Commonwealth Urban Policy Forum
The Institute has proactively commended the Australian Federal Government on the multi-faceted approach to the development of greater housing supply, diversity and affordability announced in the 2023-2024 Budget.
The Commonwealth has also launched the Urban Policy Forum, a taskforce advising on urban policy frameworks and delivered by the new Cities and Suburbs Unit. Members include Rebecca Moore FRAIA (Western Australian Government Architect) and Institute collaborators, Professor Rufus Black (Vice-Chancellor of the University of Tasmania) and Matt Collins MPIA (the new CEO of the Planning Institute of Australia).
Architecture Awards Season
The Institute’s 2023 awards season has kicked off with the first of our Regional and Chapter Awards being announced. Congratulations to all members that have entered their projects this year.
In the past month members have also been acknowledged in other award programs, including the National Trust Heritage Awards, and the Australian Interior Design Awards, where Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects received the program’s highest accolade, the Premier Award for Australian Interior Design for Campbell House.
Our Annual General Meeting
The Institute’s AGM was held in Hobart on 31 May. At this meeting, the chains of office passed from the now, Immediate Past President Shannon Battisson LFRAIA to the new National President Stuart Tanner FRAIA, with both he and Jane Cassidy RAIA, as National President Elect, commencing their roles following the AGM’s conclusion.
This meeting was also the last official engagement for Peter Hobbs LFRAIA, who has completed his term as Chair of the Institute’s Board. Thank you to Peter for his steadfast leadership of the Institute.
I would like to acknowledge and thank Past National President Tony Giannone LFRAIA, who has now completed his term as a Board Director. His august contribution to the Institute, over several years, included his role as the Chair of the Institute’s Venice Biennale Committee.
At the meeting of the new Board following the AGM, Shirley Chowdhary was elected as the new Chair of the Board with Lisa Moore FRAIA taking up her role as an Institute Director. Please join me in thanking and congratulating all.
Milestone birthdays for landmark Australian buildings
In 2023 the Adelaide Festival Centre and Sydney Opera House celebrate their 50th birthdays.
Then-prime minister Gough Whitlam officially opened the Adelaide Festival Centre in June 1973. The centre was designed by Hassell and Partners, led by John Morphett AM OBE LFRAIA, the Institute’s 2000 Gold Medallist.
The Sydney Opera house is presenting a year-long festival celebrating the past, present, and future of Jørn Utzon’s AC Hon. FAIA masterpiece and the Institute will be involved in several events that acknowledge Utzon’s contribution to Australian and Danish architecture.
New Queensland Headquarters
The Institute is moving to create a new Queensland headquarters for the organisation and is purchasing 620 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley.
This heritage-listed building was designed by the émigré architect Karl Langer FRAIA in 1953 as the showroom for Wests Furniture. The painstaking restoration of the building by Riddel Architecture won the National Award for Heritage at the 2010 National Architecture Awards.
