Parlour POD

Our conversationalist for this episode are Chi Melham and Eva Marie-Prineas. Eva is director of Studio Prineas. At the time of this recording, Chi was a director at Tzannes. She has since established a new practice, EM BE CE. In this engaging conversation Chi and Eva-Marie explore how they have navigated family and work and the challenges of balancing  gender roles in both. The talk about mentoring young women in architecture, and the push toward better working environments for the next generation. This discussion is a fantastic look into the complexities of the modern workplace. This Salon was recorded live on Gadigal Country at AJC in Sydney in Summer 2020. It was convened by Justine Clark. We hope you enjoy the conversation.We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this session are  Georgia Lindsay and Tara Broun.  Georgia is a senior lecturer in architecture at the University of Tasmania. At the time of the recording Tara was an architect at John Wardle Architects. She is now at Cumulus.   Georgia and Tara begin their conversation by discussing significant ‘life moves’. Tara spent time in Europe and Melbourne before returning to Tasmania. Georgia started with a passion for art, exploring how it affects people, and moved around the US before landing her current job at the University of Tasmania. "What are the differences in environments, cultures, and systems between Australia and the US?", Tara asks.  They then discuss kids, maternity leave and its effects on architects, and their own experiences with life balance. This Salon was recorded live on Kanamaluka Country at the Launceston Brickworks Design Studio in Winter 2022 and was convened by Helen Norrie. We hope you enjoy the conversation.  We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are Ivana Glavinic May and De’Arne Matthews, The discussion revolves around their careers working client side in the education sector – Ivana as at Flinders University and De’Arne as an architect at Catholic Education SA.  This is a fascinating discussion of the potential and strategic opportunities in project management, and the career paths that took Ivana and De’Arne from architecture and interior design degrees to client organisations. De’Arne highlights her involvement in both the client and consultant sides of a project and the perspective shift required to work effectively in this context.  Ivana  details her current project – Factory of the Future – an opportunity for industries to tackle problems within their way of working with researchers at Flinders University. The conversation includes reflections on the importance of relationships and communication,  the transition from university to practice and the value of broad critical thinking skills. This Salon was recorded live on Kaurna Country at the Australian Institute of Architects in Adelaide in Winter 2022 and was organised by Alison McFadyen. We hope you enjoy the conversation.We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our speakers for this episode are Perth architects Michelle Blakeley and Leonie Matthews, each of whom have wide-ranging, non-linear careers. Leonie and Michelle speak about their mirror experiences of exploring other fields of work, and how their skills have transferred across to architecture.   Wide-ranging backgrounds and skills gained from previous work include nursing that provided discipline and empathy, teaching toned one’s listening skills and ability to articulate and review work whereas advertising and journalism taught alternative ways of operating in the industry and the importance of communication skills.  They detail how their journeys in unexpected places led to their personal growth and career trajectories in architecture.   They both agree on how important it is to build relationships with clients, solve even the smallest of problems, and the architect’s innate gift of questionable presentation skills.We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are Brisbane architects Karen Ognibene, and Libby Ba-Pe. Karen is director of KO&Co Architecture and Libby is an associate at JDA Co. This conversation includes strategies from balancing work and personal life challenges and setting boundaries, to business development and client relationship building.  Both provide rich networking advice, articulating the importance of enjoying what you do and who you do it with.They share their enjoyment working on the social and environmental aspects of projects, discussing the level of responsibility required as an architect to do this effectively.  Advice to their younger self is pondered, focusing on the themes of continued learning, making conscious choices that align with your values, and prioritising skill development.  We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are Nicky Adams and Sarah Lindsay. At the time of recording, Nicky was a Senior Associate at Terroir Architects, she is now a director of MANA. Sarah is a founding Director of LXN Architecture. This fascinating conversation traverses many topics from the challenges with the multidisciplinary nature of the architecture profession to part time roles, the influences of travel on education and practices and their diverse career paths.Nicky and Sarah argue the need for the architectural profession to acknowledge the diverse career paths within the industry, especially for women, and to recognise the value these different experiences contribute to the built environment. They also touch upon the challenges of balancing work and personal life, the benefits of teaching in academia, and conclude with questions to their younger selves. We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this session are Josephine Evans and Victoria Clarkson. Josephine  is a Director at JPE Design Studio and Victoria at the time was a graduate of architecture at Grieve Gillett Andersen. Their wide-ranging chats centres on the pleasures of participating in extracurricular activities, and the connectedness this brings. Both speak passionately about how we can be far more powerful as a collective and the importance of prioritising collaboration for better design outcomes.This conversation also offers rich advice on the benefits of having a career in architecture that cultivates a deep curiosity and passion for the built environment. They delve into how this can better equip architects to navigate the challenges and complexities in their field of work in and around architecture. We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are architects Hari Pliambas and Justine Brennan. Hari is a Director at Lyons and Justine is a director of Pop Architecture – she kindly stepped into the conversation at the last moment to replace her business partner Katherine who found herself isolating due to the pandemic.    This engaging discussion focuses on the impact and potential of practice scale in terms of careers, architectural opportunities and juggling family and practice. Hari and Justine share honest and insightful stories hitting all the important topics, including challenges of not having enough time, juggling young children and work, getting buildings out there in a new practice why being visible matters, mentoring and career progression in larger practices. The positive conclusion is that women now have more choices in relation to practice scale and that there is opportunity to be found in many different places.   This Salon was recorded live on Wurundjeri Country at the Melbourne Brickworks Design Studio in Winter 2021. Organised by Justine Clark, it was supported by Parlour Partner AWS.    We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are Eva Sue and Natalie Busch. Eva is a an architect and Principal at Woods Bagot and Natalie is a landscape architect and Managing Principal of Hassell in Perth.   In this session they share their experiences working in global practices and engage in a bit of myth busting, arguing that larger practices bring the potential of collective intelligence and the opportunity for everyone to contribute. The conversation touches on the future of practice – they suggest  that demonstrating value will not occur through traditional architectural modes of working, while increasing numbers of women will help to create new visions and diverse thinking about how practices should be run.   This Salon was recorded live on Whadjuk Nyoongar Country at the Perth Brickworks Design Studio in Winter 2021. Organised by Suzie Hunt and Justine Clark, it was run in collaboration with #WorkWomenWisdom and supported by Parlour Partner AWS. We hope you enjoy the conversation.We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this cross-disciplinary episode are Hariklia Pontikinas and Lisa Lisutu. Hariklia is an architect and associate at Russell & Yelland and Lisa an electrical engineer at Aurecon.   Lisa and Haraklia met for the first time at this session. Both had been requested as speakers by previous salon attendees and both have a reputation as spirited and lively. The hunch that they would get on, proved absolutely correct. The entertaining conversation includes the healthy banter of architect versus engineer, career highlights, role models and an honest account of their experiences as women working in the construction industry – along with and their most used emojis.   This Salon was recorded live on Kaurna Country at the Adelaide Brickworks Design Studio in Autumn 2022. Organised by Ali McFadyen, it was supported by Parlour Partner AWS. We hope you enjoy the conversation.  We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are Marti Fooks and Amalie Wright. At the time of the recording,  Marti was a director of Outer Space Landscape Architects, and Amalie a landscape architect at Tract Consultants and founder of Landscapology. Marti has since set up her own practice FOOKS. Based in Melbourne, they met for the first time in this enthusiastic and humorous Zoom conversation.  This episode is available as both podcast and video.The discussion ranges from the influences of their fathers on their professional lives, to the conjunction of queerness and landscape and the need to create safer places and visibility for all, to waterway restoration and community engagement – including Amelie’s Design Your Creek Week. Both agree that working in landscape is continually stimulating as the environment is ever-changing, and the outputs endlessly diverse.  This Salon was recorded live on Zoom in Summer 2021. Organised by Ali McFadyen and Emma Healy, it was supported by Parlour Partner AWS.  We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are April McCabe and Amelia Lee. Amelia is the founder of Undercover Architect and April is a strategic planner and founder of Urbanistas Sydney. At the time of this conversation April was Associate Director at Cred Consulting she has since become Director, Social Strategy + Engagement at The Planning Studio. They meet for the first time in this passionate conversation.Our speakers barely pause to draw breath as they speak about their dedication to improving the built environment for all, the importance of giving people access to good information and why working on projects that align with your values matters. April describes herself as the ‘knowledge bowerbird’, describing how she loves community voices and stories and the conversations you get to have as a planner when creating policy. Amelia explains her mantra for Undercover Architect – “a rising tide floats all boats” – arguing that power is knowledge we should share and not hold. They are in furious agreement about the importance of giving people access to good information (your secret ally), and of generosity when engaging with communities. This Salon was recorded live on Zoom in Summer 2021. Organised by Ali McFadyen and Emma Healy, it was supported by Parlour Partner AWS.We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are Ruth Woods and Leah Gallagher. Ruth is a Brisbane-based heritage architect and Leah is a Director at KIN Architects.  Ruth and Leah met as mentor and mentee, with Ruth passing on her architectural heritage knowledge to Leah. The conversation shares relatable advice about how to cultivate a similar collaborative relationship, including having shared values and understanding – for Leah and Ruth this meant shared respect for the role heritage work plays in society.   This Salon was recorded live on Yuggerah and Turrbal Country at the Brisbane Brickworks Studio in Winter 2021. Organised by Emma Healy, it was supported by Parlour Partner AWS. Photograph Alanna McTiernan.  We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are Caroline Stalker and Genevieve Quinn. At the time of the session, Caroline was a Principal and Design Director Architecture and Urbanism, Australasia, at Arup. She is now a Principal at Hassell. Genevieve is a graduate at Deicke Richards and is active with the Gabba Community Vision team.  The conversation explores advocacy and activism from different perspectives and professional positions. Caroline shares her positive experiences working on projects that have incentivised collaborative partnerships and provided strategies on how to advocate for better public realm contracts that include this. Genevieve is interested in the role of architecture in a political landscape and the conversation covers the role of good design education, concluding that by learning how to navigate strategic contexts in a collaborative forum, you can make a difference to a complex problems and create impactful design.This Salon was recorded live on Yuggerah and Turrbal Country at the Brisbane Brickworks Design Studio in Spring 2021. Organised by Emma Healy, it was supported by Parlour Partner AWS. Photograph: Alanna McTiernan. We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are Perth architects Tanya Jones and Deborah Binet. Tanya is a director of Gresley Abas and Deborah is associate director at Cameron Chisholm Nicol.  Tanya and Deborah offer open accounts of their lives working in architecture. The conversation offers advice to younger women and suggests candid strategies on how to check out when away from work. They emphasise the importance of work life balance and offer insights into how senior managers can provide clear career progression for women working  part time. While recognising the complexity of the topic, they reiterated that meaningful part-time work for women and men is essential to closing the gender gap in the built environment professions.  This Salon was recorded live on Whadjuk Nyoongar Country at the Perth Brickworks Design Studio in Spring 2021. Organised by Suzie Hunt and Justine Clark, it was run in collaboration with #WorkWomenWisdom and supported by Parlour Partner AWS. Photograph Kelly Bucksey.   We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are architects Sophie Dyring and Miriam Wallace. Sophie is director of Schored Projects and Miriam is a senior associate at Sue Dugdale and Associates. They came together from Melbourne and Alice Springs via Zoom for a discussion about the varied work they are undertaking within marginalised communities. From the challenges of getting the government to meet living and environmental standards for Indigenous communities, to creating housing for women over 45 using a Tiny House typology, Sophie and Miriam lead a passionate discussion about trying to make spaces more welcoming, the necessity of access to good design, and the push to work in partnership with Indigenous elders and Traditional Owners. This Salon was recorded live on Zoom in Spring 2020. Organised by Ali McFadyen and Emma Healy, it was supported by Parlour Partner AWS. We hope you enjoy the conversation.We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists are Kali Marnane and Loata Ho. Kali is an architect and urban designer and, at the time of this session, a doctoral candidate at the University of Queensland. She has since obtained her PhD. Loata is an architect and researcher, and is also undertaking a PhD.In this fascinating discussion, Kali Marnane and Loata Ho discuss their experiences of working with communities of women in India and Fiji respectively. An Indigenous Fijian, Loata explores how Indigenous women’s knowledge alters the spaces they inhabit, and attempts to bring this understanding into the areas she builds. Kali shares her experiences working with women and children in Ahmedabad and the challenges she faced as a foreigner. Through this chat, Kali and Loata share the struggles that embedded paternalistic structures have had upon their opportunities to work as women in patriarchal spaces, and the necessity of understanding culture and belief systems before commencing a project. This Salon was recorded live on Zoom in Winter 2020. Organised by Ali McFadyen and Emma Healy, it was supported by Parlour Partner AWS.We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are Emma Williamson and Kerry Reed. Emma is CEO of The Fulcrum Agency in Perth and Kerry is involved in the Adelaide Sustainable Building Network and democracyco. They talk about the importance of stakeholder and community engagement, and the need to take time to do this well. Emma reflects on working with Indigenous communities on housing projects, where sitting and working with the communities helps to empower the community to develop a voice that flows into future projects. Together, they discuss experiences with the Citizens Jury Process, where it is also important to slow down, to give time for people to make social connections and develop empathy. This lively discussion also explores how sustainability considerations alter their practice, maxxing out HECS credit and making men listen to you! This Salon was recorded live on Kaurna Country at the South Australian office of the Australian Institute of Architects in Winter 2021. Emma Williamson was brought to Adelaide courtesy of the ACA. Organised by Ali McFadyen, the Salon was supported by Parlour Partner AWS. Photograph: Ben Liew.We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this episode are Gill Hicks and Trish Hansen. Gill is Founding Director of M.A.D Minds and Trish is the Founding Principal of Urban Mind Studio.This moving conversation explores how Gill and Trish each approached life after facing death – one through the experience of the London bombings, the other via a breast cancer diagnosis. These experiences changed how they chose to live. They asked themselves: ‘What do we want to do with what we have?’ and ‘What is our impact and what is our influence?’ Gill and Trish describe very different approaches to this, concluding that we can design our way to something else using policy, education, strategy and changing procurement practices. As an extra treat, Gill describes meeting Zaha Hadid – she exuded presence, confidence and posture! This Salon was recorded live on Kaurna Country at the Adelaide Brickworks Design Studio in Autumn 2021. Organised by Ali McFadyen, it was supported by Parlour Partner AWS. Photograph Ben Liew.We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!

Our conversationalists for this session are Alysia Bennett and Bek Verrier. At the time of the conversation Alysia, who grew up in Tasmania, was at Monash University, and an active participant in Parlour’s WikiD initiative to write women into Wikipedia.  She is now back in Tasmania and is senior policy officer in the Tasmanian Housing Strategy team at Homes Tasmania.  Bek is an associate at Hobart practice Bence Mulcahy, and a very active participant in The Findlay Project. Alysia and Bek’s conversation explores the challenges that young architects face traversing a wide range of topics – from seeking alternative ideas for share houses as urban sprawl increases to designing for their families. From being forced to measure a morgue alone to working in fire zones, to managing the mental health struggles that come from the stress and sleep deprivation of architecture school. There is something for everyone in this lively conversation.This Salon was recorded live on Muwinina Country at the Hobart Brickworks Design Studio in Winter 2019. Held in collaboration with the Findlay Project, it was supported by Parlour Partner AWS. Photograph: Nina Hamilton.We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!