Jury citation
Nic Brunsdon.
The jury was particularly challenged in assessing the 2015 Emerging Architect Prize. The calibre of the candidates and the diversity of their contributions to the profession and the community gave the jury good reason to be optimistic about the future of the profession.
This year, the jury has awarded Nic Brunsdon for his entrepreneurial application of his skills as an architect in order to demonstrate the value that design can generate for the community.
After graduating from Curtin University in 2004 with honours, Brunsdon worked in Victoria and the United Arab Emirates before returning to live and practise in Western Australia. In addition to teaching at the University of Western Australia and Curtin University, Brunsdon has established architecture practice Post- and not-for-profit organization Spacemarket (both co-founded with Beth George). Spacemarket is an urban program that pairs empty urban spaces with potential tenants. Since its establishment in 2011, the innovative program has identified, re-imagined and reinvigorated otherwise forgotten spaces in key urban locations in the Perth and Fremantle CBDs. In the process, Spacemarket has engaged the community in a dialogue about the future of the city and has encouraged the public to explore and appreciate the attributes of our existing spaces, buildings and urban settings. Spacemarket’s interventions, often sponsored directly by Brunsdon, demonstrate how design-led thinking can create opportunity and value where conventional thought did not. This is a powerful message that has captured the imagination of city leaders, politicians, property owners and the public.
Brunsdon is a WA Chapter Councillor, a supporting contributor to Open House Perth, a state architecture award winner and an active advocate through public and conference presentations. His diverse and innovative contribution to the profession is inspiring and makes him a worthy recipient of the 2015 Emerging Architect Prize.
Jury
David Karotkin FRAIA (chair) Australian Institute of Architects National President, managing director Sandover Pinder Architects; Jacqueline Connor RAIA 2014 EmAGN chair, SJB Architects; Andrew Burns RAIA 2014 recipient of the National Emerging Architect Prize, Andrew Burns Architects; Kellie Moore marketing services manager AWS.
In the following video, Brunsdon talks about his practice, risk and the idea of ‘not knowing.’
