The Australian Institute of Architects International Chapter is delighted to unveil the jury for the 2023 International Chapter Architecture Awards. The Awards offer an unrivalled opportunity to showcase the extraordinary depth and breadth of Australian architects working overseas.
Robert nation AM LFRAIA - Jury chair
Robert Nation is an award-winning architect with more than 40 years’ of experience in all facets of architecture, both nationally and internationally. He has worked and studied in Australia and abroad throughout this time, owning practices offshore for more than 20 years. He has lectured extensively at universities in Australia and overseas, has won design competitions throughout Asia and Australia, and has received a number of national and state architectural awards.
Over the past 40 years, Bob has been responsible for a diverse range of projects, from small houses to a city in Thailand, which was the largest construction project in the world in the 1990s. In 2012, he was appointed design director for the Barangaroo development in Sydney, Australia. He currently practices out of Hong Kong.
In 2006, as National President of the Institute, Bob was able to gain support from National Council for the formation of the International Area Committee, which has now become the International Chapter.
FIONA NIXON FRAIA | Studio NvS
Fiona Nixon is a co-founder of STUDIO NvS, specialising in the design of experience-dense environments for living and leisure. Her past projects include the Lalu Hotel Sun Moon Lake (Taiwan), the Victorian College of the Arts Centre for Ideas (Melbourne), and Beachside Leighton (Fremantle). The Australian Wildlife Health Centre at Healesville Sanctuary earned the Victorian Premier’s Design Award and the Australian Institute of Architects, William Wardell Award.
Fiona studied architecture at RMIT and urban planning and design at UTS. She is a Victoria and Singapore registered Architect, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, and a former Chair of its International Committee.
Ali R Reda RAIA | ar+d Singapore
Ali R Reda is currently the Principal & Design Director of ar+d Singapore, a design consultancy that he established in 2002. He graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Sydney in 1990 and began his career with Luigi Rosselli Architects followed by Philip Cox Architects and Burley Katon Halliday.
In 1992, he joined Kerry Hill Architects, where he worked on several design projects, including the Aman Singapore, ITC Sheraton Calcutta, and Dubai Desert Palm. After leaving KHA in 2002, Reda established ar+d Singapore and collaborated on design projects in Bali, Dubai, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Oman, Lebanon, Seychelles, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Australia, and New Zealand. He has worked with various teams and clients, including government entities, developers, and investors. Reda has managed projects and teams of different sizes, and he believes in empowering his employees. He emphasizes sustainability and longevity in his designs and coordinates with local Qualified Persons to appropriate solutions to the culture, climate, budgets, and aspirations of clients. He also oversees the progress and completion of master plan designs of the projects through the development lifecycle to ensure design integrity is maintained.
Grant Marani LFRAIA | Robert A.M. Stern Architect
Grant Marani, Partner, joined Robert A.M. Stern Architects in 1984. Since then, his responsibilities have included the design and management of a broad range of projects: federal courthouses, institutional buildings, mixed-use and residential developments, resort hotels, golf clubhouses, a concert hall, a university recreational facility, a seminary chapel, as well as private residences. The geographical reach of Mr Marani’s project portfolio spans across the entire US, with work in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, California, New Jersey, Ohio, Maine, Nebraska, North Carolina, Illinois, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Virginia, and Hawaii. He has also worked throughout the world on projects in Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kenya, Liberia, Turkey, Taiwan and Australia. He is also co-author of the monograph Designs for Living: Houses by Robert A.M. Stern Architects (2014). Currently, Mr Marani is the Project Partner for various projects with the United States’ Overseas Building Operations, as well as apartment buildings in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and a residential resort community in Turkey.
PAMELA MCGIRR RAIA | Office of the Victorian Government Architect
Pamela McGirr is a versatile architect with experience gained through education and work in both the United States and Australia. She has worked across a diverse range of projects in various roles, including design lead, design quality advocate for the government, project manager and as client representative for a major institution. She is currently working with Angelo Candalepas and Associates, assisting with design delivery for the NGV Contemporary.
