I’m not sure where the year has gone but there are only 15 Friday’s until Christmas.
Let’s start off with some exciting news about the expansion of the degree program at CDU. The program will transition from the generic Bachelor of Design into a Bachelor of Arts Architectural Design with plans to lead into Masters and PhD programs. This is an exciting development which we have been working on in partnership with the University. Over the next couple of months, we will do some formal media and education however such amazing news needs to be celebrated. I know there are a lot of passionate people out there who are excited to see this especially those who want to work and live in the NT.
July and August have been busy months with school holidays, the racing carnival and several events across the chapter so it just flew by. The Creative Industries seminar was very interesting with good discussion points and an opportunity to look at how these industries are supported in the NT. This is looking at the whole of the creative industries sector, including architecture, and a brief of the current research out before the end of the year. Thanks also to the members who completed the survey as part of this as it ensures we are front and centre as part of the research. As soon as we have the brief we will circulate to all.
As you are aware there has been a lot of conversation around about the Shergold Weir report. We have received confirmation that the NTG will implement the recommendations of the report we just need to know what that means in the NT. I will keep you up to date as we learn what this involves. Please find a link which provides the summary of the SHERGOLD/WEIR REPORT and the impact of the recommendations on Architects.
Some other policy and advocacy areas currently being looked at by the Institute are:
- NT Planning Commission ‘Designing Better’ paper to look at ideas for improving Mixed Use & Residential Apartment developments. A draft for comment will be available soon and is a good start to reviewing current guidelines and zones.
- The Central Palmerston Area Plan is also out for comment from the general public and we will be briefed and asked for input once this round is completed.
- Some concerns were raised over the Room to Breathe program, particularly around the consultation process. We have raised these issues and have been assured that they are trying to address these. They still trying to finalise the implementation plan which will be sent to the architects and I will keep you up-to-date as we are advised. If you have concerns or suggestions about this, please contact us or the Department of Housing to raise them directly.
We also continued to work with the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics (DIPL) on issues including the recommendations from the Institute on procurement and Section J. If you would like to add additional commentary on these areas give me a call.
Events
August was a packed month of events kicking off with Superstudio which was held on the 10 and 11 August at CDU. We had a great weekend and we want to thank Rossi Architects for being a sponsor of the event. We also want to thank Rossi Kourounis, Allison Stout, Andrew Svenson and Beck Adams for being mentors and jurors for the program. I also want to recognise Karen Relph for all her hard work and Pio Gillamac our SONA Rep, they did amazing jobs over the weekend. We also thank the Dean of the College of Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society, Professor Ruth Wallace, who attended to support the Design students and to see their presentations. Pio is doing a great job as the SONA rep and has a lot of engagement with the Design students. He has also been working to attract an international student Architecture conference to Darwin and is running an R U OK day forum today on campus. Great work Pio your leadership really shows.
The Superstudio winners were:
- Winning team – Kristian Mortlock, Yunus Surtie and Garry Villar
- Second place – Joseph Shanahan and Patricia Pindot
- Third place – Jurse Salandanan, Gregory Agbasi & Pio Gillamac III.
Sponsors for Superstudio
- Australian Institute of Architects
- Rossi Architects
- Charles Darwin University
- Saffron Restaurant.
On 16 August we hosted a bus tour with our partner COLORBOND® to three sites which highlight great work being done here in the NT. The Darwin Middle School and the Mother Teresa Catholic College – Architects Rossi Architects as well at the Sidney Williams Hut – Architects AJAR. It was great to visit the site and here the design outcomes and was followed by networking at the Darwin Festival.
On 22 August we hosted the Emerging Architects prize winner for 2018. NT winner Miriam Wallace from Susan Dugdale & Associates and the National winner Monique Woodward. It was a really inspiring hearing them talk about their architecture journeys.
There are a few events happening in the last couple of months so please put them in your diary.
