Thursday 18 November – Friday 21 January 2022 5.00pm (AEDT)
Where
Design Speaks Virtual Portal
Virtual Event
Tickets
Ticket sales for this event are closed.
Program Info
Architecture can be a catalyst for transformation at all scales. The Architecture Symposium: Beyond the Building presents a curated selection of contemporary Australian architects whose public projects have an impact that is beyond the built form itself. In these buildings, form and use, aesthetics and technology, concept and program, ethics and immediacy, private need and public good often meet head-on. Discussion will highlight works that have synthesized these often-conflicting factors, extending the brief to unlock remarkable results that have a ripple effect on the building’s context and its community.
Header Image
Church of the Living God by Candalepas Associates. Photography: Rory Gardiner.
Program.
Emotional Connection At its highest level, architecture can stir the emotions and induce feelings of joy, elation, calmness or solemnity. A visceral response to the built form provides an opportunity to deepen cultural understanding, embed memories and open the mind to new possibilities. In this session, we explore projects that have evoked emotive or spiritual responses and left a lasting impression.
12.50 pm
Welcome Log in to the Design Speaks Virtual Portal
1.00 pm
Connecting with Country Dillon Kombumerri, Office of the Government Architect NSW
1.30 pm
Church of the Living God, Sydney Angelo Candalepas, Candalepas Associates
1.45 pm
Phoenix Central Park, Sydney Camilla Block, Durbach Block Jaggers
2.00 pm
Dissection An hour-long panel discussion with Dillon Kombumerri, Kerstin Thompson, Angelo Candalepas and Camilla Block, moderated by Abbie Galvin and William Smart.
3.00 pm
Session 2 concludes Return to the Design Speaks home page to see the full program.
Dillon Kombumerri is a principal architect for the Government Architect NSW. Originally from Queensland, he grew up on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) and is a Yugumbir descendent from the Gold Coast.
With over 25 years of experience in architectural practice, Dillon brings his own unique indigenous perspective to the design of buildings and places. Through the design process he always strives to improve the health and wellbeing of Country and indigenous communities.
Kerstin Thompson is founding principal and design director of Kerstin Thompson Architects (KTA), established in Melbourne in 1994. A pracademic committed to practice and design-based research and education, she is an adjunct professor at RMIT and Monash Universities and professor of practice at Abedian School of Architecture, Bond University.
In recognition of her work and contribution to the profession and tertiary education Kerstin was elevated to life fellow by the Australian Institute of Architects in 2017. In 2022 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and in 2023, she was awarded the Gold Medal, the Institute’s highest honour. In 2025, she was made an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
Angelo Candalepas graduated from the University of Technology Sydney in 1992. He was made a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects in 2019.
In 1994 he established his own architecture studio which, in its first months of practice, won an international competition for housing in “The Point” in Sydney’s Pyrmont. The project was the recipient of several awards. Since then, Angelo has won and been shortlisted for several national and international competitions.
Camilla is a life fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and a director at Durbach Block Jaggers (DBJ) where she has been a design principal in all major projects.
Camilla brings multiple decades of design experience to the DBJ practice, with contributions across all stages from broad site strategies to detail resolution. Camilla is an agile and inventive architectural thinker, with deep knowledge of architectural language, forms and history. Camilla has taught, lectured, exhibited, judged awards and been published both nationally and internationally.
Abbie Galvin is the twenty-fourth NSW Government Architect, a role which has been in effect for over 200 years.
Using her skills and knowledge from 30 years of leadership in architectural practice, Abbie is responsible for championing design quality across the state, through advice, programs, policy and advocacy.
William Smart is the founder and creative director of Smart Design Studio, which takes a holistic approach, combining architectural and interior design with a passionate attention to detail and an ethos of “architecture from the inside out.” Over the past 23 years, Smart Design Studio has delivered a wide range of projects, from large-scale masterplans, cultural buildings, offices and workplaces to private houses and product design.
Smart Design Studio’s buildings have received critical acclaim, with the studio receiving more than 40 international and national awards for architecture, urban design and interior design. William was also the recipient of the People’s Choice Award (The Luminary) at the 2017 Inde Awards. He has taught and lectured across Australia, published written work and is an active participant in charity organizations.
