Design Speaks Weekly

Rob Champion is the founder of TARN, a landscape practice that focuses on experimental projects. Alongside his residential work, Rob is currently co-leading the design of the National Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery in Canberra, an ambitious project that is revitalising and expanding an important landscape.

In this episode, Emily Wong, editor of Landscape Australia, speaks with Rob about the opportunities of experimentation and imperfection, and how doing less can be more impactful in small-scale landscape design.

 

Further reading

Local hero: Robert Champion
https://landscapeaustralia.com/articles/local-hero-robert-champion/

Meet the jury for the Landscape Australia Awards
https://landscapeaustralia.com/articles/meet-the-jury-2026-landscape-australia-awards/

Testing grounds: Gardens as laboratories
https://landscapeaustralia.com/articles/testing-grounds-gardens-as-laboratories/

David Welsh and Chris Major founded their practice, Welsh and Major, more than twenty years ago. Since then, they have refined and embraced an adaptive reuse design method, delivering thoughtful and enduring architecture across a diverse range of project types.

In this episode, they reflect on the evolution of adaptive reuse in Australia and the value of designing with the unexpected.

 

Further reading

Pyrmont Community Centre by Welsh and Major
https://architectureau.com/articles/pyrmont-community-centre-by-welsh-and-major/

Greybox by Welsh and Major
https://architectureau.com/articles/Greybox-by-Welsh-and-Major/

Comedor by Welsh and Major
https://architectureau.com/articles/comedor-by-welsh-and-major/

The Imperial by Welsh and Major
https://architectureau.com/articles/imperial-welsh-and-major/

Gathering character: Seagrass House
https://architectureau.com/articles/seagrass-house/

Bohemian legacy: The Hat Factory
https://architectureau.com/articles/the-hat-factory/

Breathing room: Darling Lane
https://architectureau.com/articles/darling-lane/

First House: Hordern Street
https://architectureau.com/articles/hordern-first-house-welshandmajor/

Telescopic vision: Annandale House
https://architectureau.com/articles/annandale-house-1/

A house with tiles on it
https://architectureau.com/articles/a-house-with-tiles-on-it/

Fitzroy Terrace
https://architectureau.com/articles/fitzroy-terrace/

Since establishing his practice in 2007, Anthony Gill has crafted residential projects that challenge assumptions about contemporary housing. His work often focuses on refining spatial arrangements, resulting in homes that feel generous and functional without relying on excess.

In this episode, Alexa Kempton, editor of Houses magazine, speaks with Anthony about how residential architecture that resists resale-driven logic can lead to unconventional, understated, and delightful ways of living.

 

Further reading

Four houses of Anthony Gill Architects
https://architectureau.com/articles/houses-of-anthony-gill-architects/

Randwick House by Anthony Gill Architects
https://architectureau.com/articles/Randwick-House-by-Anthony-Gill-Architects/

Blue Mountains House by Anthony Gill Architects
https://architectureau.com/articles/blue-mountains-house/

An outdoor challenge: Waterloo House
https://architectureau.com/articles/waterloo-house/

Paddington House
https://architectureau.com/articles/paddington-house/

Surry Hills House
https://architectureau.com/articles/surry-hills-house-by-anthony-gill-architects/

Potts Point Apartment
https://architectureau.com/articles/potts-point-apartment/

Lee Hillam is a seasoned design critic. Her experience as a principal of Dunn Hillam, as a reviewer for national publications such as Architecture Australia, and as chair of the State Design Review Panel for the Government Architect NSW has sharpened her eye for what makes a successful architectural outcome.

In this episode, Lee unpacks how we justify a project's merit and explores the tension between subjective and objective evaluation in design.

 

Further reading

Lee Hillam on how to improve the competition system
https://architectureau.com/articles/lee-hillam-on-how-to-improve-the-competition-system/

Green Square Public School and Community Spaces by BVN
https://architectureau.com/articles/green-square-public-school-and-community-spaces-by-bvn/

Murrin Bridge Preschool Community Hub by CD Studio, Supercontext, GFA2, Fake Industries and University of Technology Sydney
https://architectureau.com/articles/murrin-bridge-preschool-community-hub/

The Pavilion Performing Arts Centre Sutherland
https://architectureau.com/articles/the-pavilion-performing-arts-centre-sutherland/

Music, desert and sky: Cobar Sound Chapel
https://architectureau.com/articles/cobar-sound-chapel/

Architecture as storytelling: Quay Quarter Lanes
https://architectureau.com/articles/quay-quarter-lanes/

An act of civic pride: Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre
https://architectureau.com/articles/gunyama-park-aquatic-and-recreation-centre/

Third-gen city-making: 44A Foveaux Street
https://architectureau.com/articles/44a-foveaux-street/

The architecture of interdependence: Escarpment House
https://architectureau.com/articles/escarpment-house/

Making a community: Arkadia
https://architectureau.com/articles/arkadia/

Tall ambitions: Short Lane
https://architectureau.com/articles/short-lane/

Cowper Street Housing
https://architectureau.com/articles/cowper-street-housing/

Long hours: Go hard or go home!
https://architectureau.com/articles/long-hours-go-hard-or-go-home/

Anthony Clarke is an architect, scholar, writer, and founder of BLOXAS – a practice that focuses on the relationship between architecture and care.

In this episode, Lucia Amies, editor of ArchitectureAU, speaks with Anthony about the challenges and opportunities of regulation when it comes to designing inclusive spaces that support users' complex needs.

 

Further Reading

Residential design through a lens of care
https://architectureau.com/articles/residential-design-through-the-lens-of-care/

Justine Clark on whether inclusive design should move from aspiration to obligation
https://architectureau.com/articles/justine-clark-on-whether-inclusive-design-should-move-from-aspiration-to-obligation/

Allen Kong on whether inclusive design should move from aspiration to obligation
https://architectureau.com/articles/allen-kong-on-whether-inclusive-design-should-move-from-aspiration-to-obligation/

Pragya Gupta on whether inclusive design should move from aspiration to obligation
https://architectureau.com/articles/pragya-gupta-on-whether-inclusive-design-should-move-from-aspiration-to-obligation/

Angelo Candalepas on whether inclusive design should move from aspiration to obligation
https://architectureau.com/articles/angelo-candalepas-on-whether-inclusive-design-should-move-from-aspiration-to-obligation/