Dear members,
The first snow approaches and out come the scarves. In the upcoming three months, with low sun angles and cold temperatures, our Tasmanian buildings need to work hardest. As we all know, good design can transform a building’s thermal performance, without resorting to mechanical heating control, something we should always reinforce to our clients.
In the last few weeks, we have continued our strong representation at industry roundtables including a TCCI Tasmanian Industry Summit where the Institute was able to emphasise the critical need for low income and social housing and the opportunities, both fiscal and cultural, that flow from high quality design at all layers of the built environment.
The Tasmanian Chapter has dealt with key stakeholder matters such as the Draft Land Use Planning and Approvals Amendment Bill regarding Major Projects Legislation (thank you to the members who contributed to this) and the Chapter Council decision to retain the Triennial Prize. Personally, I have sat on the Board of Architects of Tasmania where discussion has centred around Automatic Mutual Recognition and its implications, among other issues. As National Councillor I presided over the recommendation for the new independent director of the Institutes’ National Board and met with various members regarding specific issues around Government EOI matters and ABIC contracts.
I had the pleasure of attending the EmAGN monthly committee meeting and it is fantastic to see such an organised and motivated group of graduates and emerging practitioners focused so hard on connecting with the broader profession and burgeoning their experience. Please get along to an EmAGN event if you can. One of the most important things in the last fortnight has been the Planned Cover seminar on Scope of Services. If you missed this, it is a good one to catch up on and highly relevant to guiding sound project outcomes.
The Tasmanian Chapter also opened the 2022 Tasmanian Architecture Awards Exhibition in Launceston last week at Brickworks, which attracted almost 60 people, including students, practitioners, and the public alike. It was a great event and we look forward to seeing everyone at the Hobart Exhibition opening at Brooke Street Pier on Thursday 26th May.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci”

Stuart Tanner RAIA