Want to know more about architects? Are you planning to build or renovate, but don’t know where to start? Want to work with an architect, but don’t know how it works?
Want to find out more about architects and how they can help you with your design, deal with red tape and help you manage the building process? Rather than ring every architect in town, why not speed date, several architects, at once!
Speed Date Architects gives you the chance to quickly meet several architects who specialise in residential work, ask questions and chat in brief, obligation-free sessions on Zoom!
To get involved, browse the profiles of participating architects and note your preferences when you book your ticket. We’ll do our best to match you up plus – like any decent dating app – we’ll also throw in a random match with another architect who we think would be right for you. So join us and speed date some architects!
Presented by ArchiTeam and Lunchbox Architect.
MEET THE
ARCHITECTS
1. Nicola
Drawing Room Architecture
Why do you do it? I grew up seeing houses being transformed into considered, beautiful, liveable homes with better connections to gardens & daylight by my parents, aunties & uncles. I loved the process as well as the outcome. I knew I wanted to continue working in this way. I worked in NZ & Europe before settling in Melbourne where luckily we are able to design & build, alter and extend to create wonderful sustainable, liveable homes & communities.
Reading recommendations? ‘Forty Six Square Metres of Land Doesn’t Normally Become A House’. Just for the name really. Kidding. The idea that you need to think outside the box is a step in the right direction towards breaking down set ideas. Know how you like to live and create a beautiful home for your site, for you & your loved ones. Build a place you love and others will love it too.
2. Barnaby
Chiverton Architects
Why do you do it? I loved drawing and still do, I love creativity.
Reading recommendations? Houses Architects Design For Themselves (late 70’s early 80’s).
3. Audrey
Audrey Whisker Architect
Why do you do it? Our family moved a lot while I was growing up. I experienced different kinds of buildings, most banal and unmemorable, but some, like Sacre Coeur in Paris, were an incredible experience. I wondered why all buildings couldn’t make us feel something, and have been working toward that ever since.
Reading recommendations? Anything written by Peter Zumthor or ‘Thermal delight in architecture’ by Lisa Heschong. There is an overabundance of visual inspiration available to us (Pinterest, Houzz, Instagram) but experiencing a building impacts all of our senses and our personal perspective on what they tell us.
4. Marc
Melbourne Design Studios
Why do you do it? I am passionate about beauty, but I am also a really technical guy. And I always wanted to work hand in hand with people – clients and the team – so to bridge all those elements at the same time, and to have a happy client at the end of the day, gives me immense pleasure. Since I’ve started to practice, I’ve been focusing more and more on how to create a better, more sustainable world, so that we can pass our legacy on to our children and the next generations with pleasure.
Reading recommendations? I would generally recommend looking at different contemporary magazines, to get ideas and inspiration for what you like and what you wouldn’t like. If you want to get more technical, ‘Your Home’ issued by the Australian Government, is a great resource and introduction into sustainable homes, materials and building techniques, that can give a good overview as a starting point into a renovation/building journey.
5. Lachlan
Lande Architects
Why do you do it? From a young age, I was equally interested in the sciences and humanities. I think Architecture straddles both classes, as it can be quantified, but also tells a narrative. Architecture has the ability to better our lives, every day. To contribute to such a positive aspect of peoples lives is extremely rewarding.
Reading recommendations? Books are an endless inspiration for us as a practice. I couldn’t prescribe a one-stop book, but I would say deep dive into as much as possible. It’s never too early to start collating ideas.
6. Fooi
OOF! Architecture
Why do you do it? I love houses! They’re a perfect fusion of art and science where size doesn’t matter but ideas do. From ancient times to yesterday, they tell great stories about people and their ever-changing thoughts about life. It’s a great privilege, as well as great fun, to be part of making them.
Reading recommendations? “The Bathroom, the Kitchen and the Aesthetics of Waste” by Ellen Lupton + J. Abbott Miller – it sounds obscure but you won’t regret it. Fascinating! And “Home: A Short History of an Idea” by Witold Rybczynski – this will change the way you see your house forever.
7. Laura
Unfold Architecture
Why do you do it? I chose to become an architect because I believe that the built environment has a huge impact on our life. My work’s focus is on the emotional impact of spaces on our moods, outlook and relationships and through it, I get the chance to contribute to mental health and wellbeing.
Reading recommendations? ‘Happy by Design’ by Ben Channon – it provides a different perspective to architecture, not focused solely on the visual aspect, but on how it impacts our wellbeing. An eye-opener for many.
8. Monia
Monia Basso Architects
Why do you do it? I have always been passionate about people and what makes them happy and comfortable in the world. The intersection between craftsmanship and art, problem-solving skills and analytical thinking is what has made me choose architecture. I enjoy how diverse our profession is.
Reading recommendations? Hum, I don’t read many books about renovating homes, but I often refer to The Architecture of Additions by Paul Spencer Byard. It is more of a technical book that explains the thinking behind alterations and additions on classic buildings to modern ones. The intersection between old and new architecture.
9. Wesley
RARA Architecture
Why do you do it? It’s all I think about since I discovered architecture as a profession when I was 12.
Reading recommendations? Perfume, the story of a murderer, the scent is impossible to describe. It makes one consider how they interpret information received by one of their senses, and how to translate this into words. it is important for the client and architect to understand each other implicitly.
10. Sebastian
Code Architecture
Why do you do it? I was aged 4. It was a Sunday and my single mother wanted a sleep in. She set up a painting canvas near her bed with four primary colours. She asked me to go study the outside of our 1970’s face brick split level home and painted from memory. I painted the clerestory window, the brick chimney with the concrete lid and the vertical window that divided the elevation. Mum woke up and was astounded at what she saw. She asked me do you know what people do when they draw houses? They are Architects. The rest is history.
Reading recommendations? The Sustainable House Book by Michael Mobbs. It is written in clear English with little jargon. It sets out how even in the centre of a city in the 1990’s it was possible to be off-grid for electricity, water and sewage. A man ahead of his times.
11. Redmond
WHDA
Why do you do it? Fell in love with Heide II and loved learning about Melbourne architects and artists, and their contribution to society at large – I wanted to be like them and serve the public through design.
Reading recommendations? George Wilkes “Building your own Home”, hopefully, they’ll learn a lot reading it, but appreciate how much ‘yakka’ goes into the design, documentation and procurement of any project.
12. Matt
OMG Architects
Why do you do it? I have wanted to design and draw buildings since the age of around 7yo and haven’t really ever thought of doing anything else. I’ve since realised that architecture is a lot more complex than that but I still love it, forty years later!
Reading recommendations? The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton. It encapsulates the potential for joy and magic that can result from well designed built environments.
13. Jo
Foomann
Why do you do it? Since I was small I have loved to make things.
Reading recommendations? The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – the fewer preconceptions you have about the journey the more enjoyable it will be.
14. Michael
Atelier Red + Black
Why do you do it? I chose to become an architect because I love being creative and the visual arts in general. I chose to become an architect because I love being creative and the visual arts in general. There is also something really nice about helping people imagine how their homes could reflect who they are and how they want to live.
Reading recommendations? Any book by Robin Boyd. Boyd was a brilliant writer and thinker. Most of all I think he clearly sets out why we need to be thinking about designing for local conditions and not building French mansions or Spanish villas in Melbourne.
15. Renuka
RMR Architects
Why do you do it? My dream was to become a ballet dancer! I was trying to figure out career paths and my dad suggested I consider architecture. I took a gap year right after school and worked at a Melbourne city architectural firm. I loved it and have never looked back.
Reading recommendations? “THE NOT SO BIG HOUSE” by Sarah Susanka. An architect herself, Susanka proposes that big is not necessarily better and helps consider the value of the ‘quality of space’ versus the ‘quantity of space’. Through a series of examples the book examines how to make the not so big work.
