Discussion

The Paris-based, Lebanese architect speaks about the power of architecture to reflect on the past in order to ameliorate our present and future.

While interest in tiny houses has soared, actual numbers of tiny house dwellers has stayed low.

When it comes to the evolution of our built and natural environment, design thinking offers a valuable approach to decision making, posing questions from many angles and hearing from diverse voices as a way of developing a creative approach to the problem itself.

New research into Tasmania’s large eucalypts highlights the valuable lessons trees can offer urban planners, designers and the public.

Recent research reveals that the City of Melbourne’s transport strategy and urban forest strategy aren’t currently working together.

Just as “sustainability” in the built environment incrementally transitioned from a buzzword to a blueprint for action, the trajectory of “wellbeing” within design is gradually moving from the periphery to the core of architectural discourse.

When I think about plastics, something doesn’t add up. Once imagined as a responsible substitute for natural materials, their reality speaks of disconnection from materials, labour and responsibility.

Disasters are worsening the housing shortage, rendering more people at risk of homelessness. Australia needs a coordinated strategy and taskforce to align housing, homelessness, and disaster policies and programs.

Are competitions and demonstration projects enough to shift the status quo of housing design? Rory Hyde reflects on the role and realities of conceptual ideas for new ways of living.

“Why aren’t entire cities built from hemp?” was a question I found myself asking following a chat with Byron Bay-based architect and hempcrete advocate Michael Leung.

At the core of the housing issue is a mismatch between supply and demand – an issue that servitisation and prefabrication are well-positioned to help resolve.

The British architect reflects on the significance of local knowledge, systems thinking and small, collaborative practice models to catalyse social and environmental change.

By providing adequate and well-designed public and open spaces, cities can facilitate people lingering in place, opening up opportunities for convivial interactions and reducing the epidemic of loneliness.

Allied to progressive approaches to procurement, partnership and engagement, London is building a new wave of projects that hold developers to higher accountability. This context offers insight into how, in Australia, we might catalyse new directions in social housing, public health and economic imperatives.

Used wisely, humble electric water heaters and EVs can do more than meet household needs – they can help power Australia’s clean energy future.

Public architecture in Australia is increasingly celebrating cultural diversity, but residential design is lagging behind. How do we ensure that, in the rush to increase housing supply, we don’t create stock that isn’t adaptable to the needs of our culturally diverse and developing population?

To make genuine progress, we need to invest heavily in modern construction techniques, transform housing approval processes and ensure states promptly release essential land.

ArchitectureAu Asks the Sydney architect, “Is the creative ‘spirit’ of architecture being crushed under the weight of compliance checklists? Is there still room for architectural flair?”

Nicole Larkin contends that NSW’s current coastal planning controls are poised to benefit from an integrated, mutual-by-design approach for coastal infrastructure.

For the political pain to be fruitful, the NSW government’s housing pattern book, streamlined planning pathway and mass rezonings must offer an opportunity for profound change in favour of the collective, writes Elizabeth Farrelly.

Oversized and underused existing homes present an opportunity to consider the solution of “increased supply” in a more efficient and sustainable way.

Clear communication, cross-disciplinary collaboration and evidence-based research play critical roles in rethinking housing solutions. Sarah Buckeridge talks to Damian Madigan and Diana Snape about the influence of community advocacy on government decisions, and vice versa.

Improving the energy efficiency of existing housing by nearly 50 percent is central to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

ArchitectureAu Asks the Brisbane architect and builder, “Is the creative ‘spirit’ of architecture being crushed under the weight of compliance checklists? Is there still room for architectural flair?”

When it comes to built environment projects, Danièle Hromek notes that it is not feasible nor culturally appropriate for non-Indigenous designers to lead the design of complex cultural experiences or concepts.

Imagine thousands of individual car parts were delivered to your front yard, where workers painstakingly put the car together – it’s essentially what we do with houses, especially freestanding ones.

From 2027, new homes have to be all-electric, while landlords will have to replace defunct gas appliances with electric and have ceiling insulation. The move will cut energy bills and accelerate the shift away from gas.

ArchitectureAu Asks the Melbourne architect, “Is the creative ‘spirit’ of architecture being crushed under the weight of compliance checklists? Is there still room for architectural flair?”

ArchitectureAu Asks the Sydney architect, “Is the creative ‘spirit’ of architecture being crushed under the weight of compliance checklists? Is there still room for architectural flair?”

ArchitectureAu Asks the Fremantle architect, “Is the creative ‘spirit’ of architecture being crushed under the weight of compliance checklists? Is there still room for architectural flair?”

The Australian Design Centre has been abandoned by state and federal government funding, meaning NSW will be the only state or territory in Australia without a government-funded organisation dedicated to craft and design practice. As Cassie Hansen writes, it’s a sad scenario but one that the creative community can change.

The value of architecture is often framed in economic terms – costing less than expected, adding more than imagined. Even if those things are true, the argument diminishes the role of the profession.

Brendan Coates, housing and economic security program director at Grattan Institute, provides an overview of the crisis in Australia and outlines how the built environment industry can contribute to the pursuit of affordable and desirable housing.

By focusing on planning laws as the main barrier to housing supply, we risk diverting attention from the overarching systemic changes needed to improve access to affordable housing.

Cemeteries are running out of space, and cremation damages the environment, but there are other ways we could honour our dead.

In 2017, residents of Melbourne’s Ascot Vale Estate were told their homes would be “renewed,” involving forced evictions and the demolition of existing buildings to make way for a mix of private and community housing dwellings. This book excerpt, authored by Office, evaluates the estate’s potential for refurbishment instead.

A recent exhibition of Harry Seidler’s work in Venice quietly affirmed something hopeful: that Australian architecture holds its own on the global stage not by being louder, but by being clear, grounded and generous.

The Design Institute of Australia has launched the National Interior Design Working Group to tackle urgent industry challenges and establish national professional standards, marking a turning point for the profession’s future.

When Folk Architects’ director Tim Wilson’s daughter Alfie was born, she brought joy, challenges and a new lens through which he sees the world: one that reveals how our built environment too often excludes, rather than includes.

Supply remains a key factor underpinning Australia’s housing crisis. We simply aren’t building enough homes. It is critical that we explore modern construction methods, improve planning systems and unlock land for development.