Clarendon Auditorium, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
2 Clarendon Street
South Wharf Melbourne Vic 3006
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Program Info
The small group of First Nations architects and academics have been shifting the Western paradigm of architecture in Australia for many years. Finally, we are witnessing a broader swath of built projects that champion Indigenous collaborations, histories and knowledge. As the movement for Indigeneity in architecture grows, it is timely to take a pulse check on the industry, to see how far we’ve come and how far we have to go. This symposium explores projects and architectural processes that demonstrate best practice when designing for First Nations clients, communities and for Country.
Jesse Judd is a director at ARM Architecture providing design and project leadership for major community, recreational, commercial, retail, urban design, cultural, public and residential projects.
He has practised for more than 20 years, playing major design, delivery and executive leadership roles on some of ARM’s highest profile projects. He leads relationships with clients and stakeholders and heads ARM’s design teams.
First People’s Partnerships and Design Lead, Aspect Studios
Anne-Marie is a landscape architect and First People’s partnerships and design lead at Aspect Studios, committed to advocating and practising culturally responsive and meaningful design processes with First People’s communities to enable self-determination through a genuine collaborative engagement.
Anne-Marie understands and deeply respects the value local communities knowledge brings to design and encourages us all to connect with this ‘Indigenous way of knowing’. She has successfully implemented this approach through many of her projects working with Traditional Custodians from across Victoria.
Ashley Halliday is the director of Ashley Halliday Architects. With a passion for drawing, designing and building, Ashley’s approach to architecture has always been ‘hands-on’.
A highly perceptive, creative, and practical person, Ashley applies great technical skill and creative insight to his architecture, valuing imagination, originality, craftsmanship, and authentic form composition as key tenants of his design approach. This mindset permeates the studio’s work where Ashley remains directly involved in and responsible for all projects supported by a talented team.
Jennie Officer is a founding director at Officer Woods Architects, a senior lecturer in the School of Design at the University of Western Australia and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects.
Committed to practice and research which considers architecture at multiple scales, Jennie enjoys working with the potency of people and places and responding to non-standard challenges and issues. She combines several roles in professional life: practitioner, teacher, researcher and advocate.
As director of Winsor Kerr, Bradley works closely with communities and stakeholders to develop integrated design responses appropriate to place, Country, Peoples and culture.
A Quandamooka man and an architect living, working and learning on Wurundjeri Country, Bradley is a member of the Australian Institute of Architects’ First Nations Advisory Committee, Victoria Chapter Council, the AACA’s Accreditation Standing Panel and the 2023 Australian Architecture Conference Committee. In 2023 and 2024, he curated the BLAKitecture series at MPavilion.
Luke Watson is a principal at Deicke Richards, an architecture firm focused on work that achieves social purpose and focused on outcomes that support the broader community.
Luke is an award-winning architect with over 20 years’ experience working on housing, community, and education projects, including a number of projects delivered collaboratively with First Nations clients. His work reflects a commitment to affordability and innovation in new models of housing development.
Matt Elkan is a director of Incidental Architecture, a small practice based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. It is the core belief of the practice that the design of buildings is always incidental to bigger social and environmental outcomes that any built structure should serve.
In the case of the recent work for Nungalinya College in Darwin, a long-standing relationship has resulted in the development of student accommodation buildings which aim to provide a sense of both physical and emotional welcome to indigenous adult students coming from a large range of very diverse communities across the Top End and Central Australia.
Jefa Greenaway is a director of Greenaway Architects, an adjunct industry fellow at Swinburne University, an honorary fellow of design at Deakin University and is a registered architect in New South Wales and Victoria.
Further, Jefa was a founding director of Indigenous Architecture and Design Australia (IADA), a member of the State Design Review Panels in New South Wales and Victoria, a member of the Australian Institute of Architects Cultural Reference Panel and a founding director of Homes Victoria’s Ministerial Advisory Board.
Belinda Allwood co-founded People Oriented Design (POD) in Gimuy/Cairns in 2014. She has a deep appreciation for the people, Country, and landscapes of Northern Australia, and as an architect and landscape architect, she approaches project delivery and sustainability from a holistic perspective.
Belinda has worked closely with First Nations organisations and communities across regional and remote areas for more than twenty years. She is committed to working under First Nations leadership, and with traditional knowledge holders, to facilitate the design of spaces that respond meaningfully to Country and culture.
Finn is a director of Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects, a studio based in Melbourne and Perth with a diverse body of work throughout Australia. Finn has an interest in culture, social justice, landscape, and how architecture can affect and enhance the relationship between people and place. He has worked with many First Nations communities throughout Western Australia and is particularly interested in the way that architecture and design can provide innovative solutions that are deeply respectful of Indigenous Cultural practices.
Dr Michael Mossman is a lecturer and researcher from the University of Sydney’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning where he leads the school's upcoming exciting initiative: the Indigenous Knowledge Place. His work explores Indigenous knowledge systems in the built environment, cultural heritage, and Country through design, teaching, and collaborative creative practice.
Michael is the chief investigator for the Australian Research Council project: Indigenising the Built Environment in Australia, and is the current co-creative director for Home at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale Australia Pavilion.
Dr Danièle Hromek is a Saltwater woman of the Budawang tribe of the Yuin nation, with French and Czech heritage. Danièle is a spatial designer and Country-centred designer.
Danièle is the first Indigenous person in Australia to achieve a Doctor of Philosophy (Design) in spatial disciplines. Her research and experience contributed to the Connecting with Country framework and Designing with Country discussion piece by the Government Architect New South Wales.
Kieran is a co-founder and partner at The Fulcrum Agency (TFA), a BCorp and social enterprise practice of architects, project managers and grant writers who support First Nations-led projects across Australia. TFA use their skills to advance social justice in Australia across housing, infrastructure, and community planning.
Kieran has worked with communities from many First Nations including Warnindilyakwa, Martu, Noongar, Yawuru, Miriwoong Gajerrong, Kardu Yek Diminin, Warlpiri and Kuku Yalanji. His work has received national and international awards for its design quality, community engagement processes and social impact.
Sarah Lynn Rees is a Palawa woman descending from the Plangermaireener and Trawlwoolway people of North-East Tasmania. Based in Birrarung-ga (Melbourne), she is an architectural practitioner, academic and writer. She is also a prominent advocate and advisor with a firm commitment to Indigenising the built environment.
Sarah is an associate principal at Jackson Clements Burrows Architects, a lecturer at Monash University, and was the inaugural co-chair of the Australian Institute for Architects First Nations Advisory Committee.
Carroll Go-Sam is a senior lecturer and researcher at the School of Architecture, University of Queensland. She is a descendant of Dyirbal bama peoples of gumbilbara Country, from the upper Herbert and Tully bana (water) basins, North Queensland.
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.
