In this episode of Talking Architecture & Design, architect and lecturer Tone Wheeler looks at where we went wrong with the design and build of our social housing stock.Wheeler discusses some novel ideas to get social housing back on track in Australia and what are some examples from overseas that we could emulate, as well as wondering whether a housing crash would be the best thing to invigorate the social housing sector?

Talking Architecture & Design

Episode 55: Tone Wheeler on social housing and do we need a housing crash to fix all our social housing woes?

One of Australia's most well-known and most respected architects, Philip Thalis is a founder and principal of Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects, professor of practice at UNSW Sydney, and a City of Sydney councilor.Philip's advice and expertise have regularly been sought by government and private clients and in this episode, he talks about what we need to do to make Sydney great once again in terms of urbanism, liveability, and overall design.After 30 years’ experience in the design of public space, urban design, multiple housing, infrastructure, and heritage adaptation, his insights, views, and understanding of what a modern city needs both now and in the future are incisive and unparalleled and he shares these views in this exclusive podcast.

Episode 54: Architect, lecturer, author and councilor Professor Philip Thalis talks about the design of Sydney, where its gone wrong & what we can do about it

Gerhana Waty is a well-rounded designer with a solid understanding of built form and an appreciation for viable, sustainable and pedestrian-oriented cities. She talks about how to strike the right balance between stakeholders’ interests and achieving triple bottom line outcomes through urban design practice when it comes to our urban spaces.Gerhana explains why evidence-based design and urban analytic influence quality decision making and design outcomes in a constantly evolving urban environment, more so now with the fallout from our global pandemic.

Episode 53: Gerhana Waty, director of urban design at the Hansen Partnership on how humans and their space is more crucial than ever thanks to COVID-19

Koichi Takada is a member of a new generation of architects that aim to ‘naturalise’ architecture in the urban environment – an approach he developed after living in cities of high urbanization: Tokyo, New York, and London.In this interview, he talks about his latest projects, why bringing the 'outside-in' is the new black, and how COVID-19 has altered human activity for god and what this means for architects and designers both here and abroad.

Episode 52: Koichi Takada talks about sustainable design and how COVID-19 has forever changed how we work, live and design our buildings

Peter Hogg is a practicing architect with more than 30 years experience in the field and is a foundational tutor and lecturer in the Bachelor of Built Environment program at Melbourne Polytechnic, where he has been Head of Program since January 2018.Peter is presently researching traditional indigenous building typologies in Victoria for his PhD at Deakin University. He talks about the challenges of teaching, the impact COVID-19 will have on apartment design, why work will never be the same and why sustainability needs to be at the very core of everything we design in the urban environment.

Episode 51: Peter Hogg talks about the challenges of teaching design, post-COVID architecture and why work will never be the same

Troy Creighton is the managing director of Stormtech Grates & Drains who has some 31 years of working in the building materials industry.In 2004 Stormtech won a Design Mark at the Australian Design Awards for their drainage design and since 2006, Stormtech has been a member of the Standards Australia Committee and has been involved in the writing of the code covering linear drainage in bathrooms, and other plumbing products.With his unique outlook on the industry, Creighton talks about bringing manufacturing back onshore, water conservation and sustainability and the latest in 'smart' drains.

Episode 50: Troy Creighton talks about the importance of making building materials in Australia, sustainability and smart drains

Steve Fox is an architect and the general manager and principal of BIM Consulting as well as a leading expert in BIM technology and on the impacts of technology on the construction process. After 15 years working as an architect for well-known firms like Architectus, he has spent the last 10 years in technological leadership positions as well as being a lecturer at Sydney University.He explains how the explosion in data is changing the world of design and how it is more than ever leading the industry into different ways on how it will design and construct the buildings of the future.

Episode 49: Steve Fox from BIM Consulting & Sydney University talks about the huge impact data is having on the design profession

We talk with executive director of the Suzanne Toumbourou, executive director of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council and a judge for the 2020 Sustainability Awards about how the pandemic has changed the way we look at green buildings, why sustainability should be now on everyone's mind and is there a real possibility that Australia will start manufacturing more of its own building products and materials.Toumbourou also talks about what she would like to see included in the entries for this years' Sustainability Awards.

Episode 48: How COVID-19 has changed the built industry, why moving to green buildings now makes sense and should building products be manufactured onshore

Big River Group began operations in the early 1900s as a family-owned timber business. Today, it has established its position as a major Australian building materials distributor, supplying an extensive range of high quality timber, builders’ hardware, building supplies and services for the residential, commercial, industrial, building and construction industries.With almost 20 years of working in the building materials industry, John Lorente, general manager sales and marketing talks about sustainability, the building industry, timber use in architecture and what he thinks this pandemic will bring the industry and the idea of bringing more manufacturing of building products back to Australia.

Episode 47: John Lorente discuses sustainability, the building industry, timber use in architecture and manufacturing building products in Australia

Builder and developer Kris Daff is the managing director of two progressive building firms – the first is Make Ventures, a Melbourne-based property development and investment group focusing on large scale urban renewal projects and the second is Assemble Communities, an end-to-end build to rent developer and community manager responsible for the introduction of a new and exciting housing model gaining significant interest across the country.He explains why the the social, human and societal benefits of building housing for rent-to-buy schemes far outweigh by a wide country mile any arguments over potential lower or for that matter, slower profits. 

Episode 46: Kris Daff talks about why rent-to-buy is the smart way to address housing issues

This episode we talk with founder and owner of design firm Archisoul Architects Jo Gillies about what is really important in these days of lockdowns, social isolation and social distancing and how we respond to these challenges will determine how we will get through them.Gillies also talks about wellness and its intimate relationship to our mental and physical wellbeing in a time of stress and isolation and how individual wellness is critical to our eventual general recovery as a society.

Episode 45: Architect Jo Gillies on how social isolation will change who we are as people and as workers

Principal and director of Sydney-based architecture studio Furtado Sullivan Sandra Furtado talks about what it's like working as an architect under a lockdown situation with an economy that's in hibernation and an industry desperately trying to keep going under the most unusual and trying of socio-economic conditions.Furtado gives us an insight into how things are at present and where they may well end up when the situation eventually starts to change back to what we would consider as being much more normal.

Episode 44: Architect and lecturer Sandra Furtado surveys our new work / life lockdown paradigm

Dr Peter Sweatman graduated with first class honours in Industrial Design from the University of Canberra Peter started work with Caroma R&D on research to launch the first generation of Smart Flush toilets to the market and is currently completing a PhD in user centred bathroom design for older people at UNSW Built Environment. He talks about creating a new class of bathroom that works as an integrated space that can also be tailored and adapted to individuals to provide convenience, comfort and safety.

Episode 43: Caroma's Dr. Peter Sweatman talks toilet design, water usage, automation and why toilet paper is on the way out

Architect Nermine Zahran talks about how it is vital to continually learn and to educate others in the industry and in the general public about ways to minimise the impact of the built environment on the planet. With a career that started in Egypt and that has now come to one sense of fulfilment in Australia, Nermine Zahran explains her journey from one side of the world to another and how she is currently working to make the world a better place-one sustainable design at a time.

Episode 42: Gensler’s Sustainable Design Leader for A/PAC Nermine Zahran and her journey of architectural discovery

We speak with Ruth Wilson about her diverse and accomplished 30-year career that has seen her manage large, complex projects and direct multidisciplinary teams towards buildings and places that exist at the forefront of innovative design.Wilson's role at Architectus spans being Studio Leader in Melbourne, a member of the Board of Architectus and an active leader of projects in higher education and the public domain. She specialises in projects involving large and complex stakeholder groups and is often sought after to set the strategy for engagement and lead the consultation process.A recurring theme in Wilson's projects is development within large existing precincts – be it university campuses, airports or on significant urban sites such as the State Library Victoria. Working with existing assets, including heritage-listed buildings, and designing for ongoing operation during construction, Wilson has utilised her lateral thinking and well-honed collaborative skills to ensure these complex and sensitive projects come to fruition.

Episode 41: Architectus Principal Studio Leader, Ruth Wilson on the design and management of large and complex projects

Now celebrating its second year, Talking Architecture & Design is Australia’s first B2B architecture podcast that regularly talks about a range of issues that affect Australia’s architects, building designers and built environment professionals.Run by Australia’s most popular architecture magazine, Architecture & Design, the Talking Architecture & Design podcast gives a regular bite-sized dose of what is important and sometimes what is just plain old interesting to anyone and everyone in the business of building design.

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