AA May/June 2021 preview

This issue of Architecture Australia announces and celebrates the recipient of the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2021 Gold Medal – Donald (Don) Watson. Our tribute is the centrepiece to the announcement of the Institute’s suite of National Prizes.

Until we embarked on preparing this Gold Medal coverage, I hardly knew Don, although I appreciated his work. I soon learnt of his humble nature, quick wit and encyclopaedic knowledge of Queensland architecture. Don likes to champion what he calls the “backroom boy” – and, in his modest way, this is how he sees himself. However, reading through the anecdotes from Don’s colleagues, friends and mentors collected here, it is clear that his comprehensive contribution to Queensland architecture and design is widely and affectionately recognized.

Although Don has practised as an architect and designed many extraordinary buildings over the years in both the private and public sectors, his impact within the discipline and beyond is far greater than the production of built works. He is an esteemed architectural educator, advocate, researcher, writer and pioneer. Alice Hampson, who was lucky enough to be taught by Don, writes in her essay that “no other lecturer was as frantically committed to so many facets of architecture simultaneously: design, local history, exhibitions, lunchtime and public lectures, school morale, new technologies, research collections, and the engagement of students.” Michael Keniger reiterates Hampson’s sentiment, writing: “Don has committed himself to conveying the value and nature of architecture in all its forms. The breadth of his unrelenting support for the work of others and for architectural causes is almost limitless.”

Finding leverage in roles outside of traditional architectural practice – as a teacher, design advocate or otherwise – is something explored in a number of other articles in this issue. David Neustein’s review of Architects After Architecture, edited by Harriet Harriss, Rory Hyde and Roberta Marcaccio, argues that “the heroes of alternative architecture have climbed up the chain to where civic, economic and political decisions are made, even if it means sacrificing tangible built outcomes for more diffuse and distributed gains.” The book suggests that architectural or design thinking can be applied across many facets of human enterprise and that there is an opportunity for built-environment professionals to address bigger societal problems.

In this issue’s instalment of our regular “Leverage” series (inspired by the theme for the cancelled 2020 National Architecture Conference), we again look beyond practice to the alternative paths that architectural graduates might take. Emma Williamson asks Danna Walker, the founder of UK not-for-profit Built By Us, and Andy Fergus, Melbourne-based urban designer, how we might increase diversity within our profession – and how architecture can be used to prompt thinking about a greater social impact. As Fergus argues, “You can’t design for diversity without embedding diversity in the design team.”

Significantly, architects also have an opportunity to deepen cultural understanding within the broader Australian community by strengthening Indigenous engagement in the design process. However, to have real impact, it is vital that architects can effectively communicate the role of Indigenous voices in their projects. In this issue, Sarah Lynn Rees and Finn Pedersen provide us with a practical guide for how to sensitively and clearly articulate the processes, relationships and outcomes of working with Indigenous peoples; this, in turn, educates a much wider spectrum of the broad community.

As the jury says, Don Watson’s Gold Medal is timely for both Watson and for our profession, “an affirmation of the holistic possibilities of ethical practice.” The outdated traditional stereotype of the “starchitect” has (hopefully) been relegated to the past. It’s exciting to be part of our industry’s evolution into a more collaborative, inclusive and wide-reaching profession.

Katelin Butler, editorial director

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