Basil Sellers Theatre, Bond University
14 University Drive
Robina Gold Coast Qld 4226
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Tickets
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Program Info
In an age of acceleration, we are looking for ways to slow down. Alongside the slow food and slow fashion movements, there is a case for slow architecture that prioritises long-term environmental and social wellbeing over fast, resource-intensive construction. Time is a critical design tool that enables better relationships, deeper research and sustainable outcomes. But how can we sell the value of time to our clients? On Saturday 23 May, this symposium will explore how we can prioritise slowness over spectacle and consider opportunities to embrace deceleration in the design process.
Extend the experience to Sunday 24 May with a rare opportunity to visit two landmark sites of Australian architecture. At The Warehouses, J.AR Office founder Jared Webb will guide visitors through the adaptive transformation of industrial sheds into a flood‑resilient commercial precinct. The journey continues to Lune de Sang, a rainforest regeneration project in the Byron Bay hinterland, where Choi Studio founder John Choi will lead a tour of structures designed over the past decade by Choi Studio and Chrofi, including the Lune de Sang Pavilion and Sheds.
7.30 am
Delegates arrive Group 1 delegates assemble at The Warehouses by J.AR Office (Currumbin Waters, Qld)
7.45 am
Tour and talk at The Warehouses Tour and talk with Jared Webb, founder of J.AR Office
8.30 am
Delegates depart Bus departs for Lune de Sang (Federal, NSW)
10 am
Tour and talk at Lune de Sang A guided tour of Lune de Sang (Choi Studio and Chrofi) introduced by John Choi, founder and director of Choi Studio
12.30 pm
Lunch
1.30 pm
Tour continues
2.30 pm
Delegates depart Bus departs Lune de Sang
4 pm
Program concludes Estimated time of return to The Warehouses
24 May
DAY TWO: TOUR – GROUP 2
10 am
Delegates arrive Group 2 delegates assemble at The Warehouses by J.AR Office (Currumbin Waters, Qld)
10.15 am
Tour and talk at The Warehouses Tour and talk with Jared Webb, founder of J.AR Office
11 am
Delegates depart Bus departs for Lune de Sang (Federal, NSW)
12.30 pm
Lunch
1.30 pm
Tour and talk at Lune de Sang A guided tour of Lune de Sang (Choi Studio and Chrofi) introduced by John Choi, founder and director of Choi Studio
5 pm
Delegates depart Bus departs Lune de Sang
6.30 pm
Program concludes Estimated time of return to The Warehouses
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.
Andrew was born in the Northern Territory, but his roots are with the Dhanggati nation in Central New South Wales. Together with Francoise, his life and business partner, Andrew runs Indij Design, a small architecture and design practice in Cairns, Far North Queensland.
Throughout his 30-year architectural career he has focused on Indigenous housing and infrastructure, taking him to many parts of remote Australia including Central Australia, East Arnhem Land, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland.
Louise Wright (PhD) is an architect and director of Baracco and Wright Architects (est. 2004) in Melbourne. She is a practice professor at Monash School of Architecture and Design where she is co-director of Monash Urban Lab. She is interested in a role for architecture that can extend its relationship with the natural world towards one that supports all life and explores this through built form and practice-based research.
Louise was appointed in the role of creative director by the Australian Institute of Architects with Mauro Baracco in collaboration with Linda Tegg, of the Australian Pavilion at the 16th International Venice Architecture Biennale 2018, with the theme Repair, which sought to explore the role of architecture in the repair of the natural environment.
Dominic is an architect and founding director of DFJ Architects, based in Byron Bay. He studied architecture at the University of Sydney before spending eight years training under pioneering modernist architect Bruce Rickard. Rickard’s legacy of human-scale architecture and sensitive site planning, orientation and landscape integration continues to underpin Dominic’s practice.
After relocating to the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Dominic established DFJ Architects in 2010, growing the studio into one of the region’s leading architectural practices.
Tom Schoonjans is an architect and member of the Rotor collective since 2021, where he performs research and assists commissioners and architects with reusing materials in construction works.
Rotor is a Brussels-based non-profit organisation that is interested in material flows in industry and construction, with a particular focus on our relationship to resources, waste and reuse. This has led to a large variety of projects in the fields of research, consultancy, interior and scenography design, exhibition curation and education. In 2013, the association ventured into the reclamation and sale of used building elements, which in 2016 led to the creation of the cooperative company RotorDC (for ‘Deconstruction’).
Peter Besley is an architect based in Sydney. With Jessica Spresser, he leads the practice of Besley and Spresser.
Peter’s work includes buildings and urban design in the UK, Australia and the Middle East. He formerly led Assemblage for 15 years, a London-based studio of architecture and urban design which he co-founded. His work has been widely published in the industry and mainstream press.
In parallel with practice, Peter has taught studios and lectured in several schools of architecture including the Bartlett, the AA, University of Westminster, University of Sydney, University of Queensland and University of Technology Sydney.
Jennifer McMaster a founding director of Trias and a practice educator in architecture at the University of Sydney.
Trias’ work is grounded in an ethic of “sophisticated sustainability,” with projects that are ambitious, elegant and environmentally responsible. The studio’s portfolio has been widely recognised in local and international awards programs, design competitions and press, including via multiple Australian Institute of Architects’ Awards at a local and national level.
Søren Pihlmann founded Copenhagen-based Pihlmann Architects. His practice works through transformation and generative preservation, pursuing potentials in residuals.
In recent years, Søren’s work has contributed to Danish and international discourse on reuse, maintenance and architectural rationality. Buildings are treated as material banks, exemplified by Thoravej 29, where 95% of the existing materials were reused on site. In 2025, he curated the Danish Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, initiating a renovation of the building to mitigate recurrent flooding and using surplus construction material as the exhibition’s core.
