2022 Houses Awards: Emerging Architecture Practice

Jury comment

Placement Studio is an emerging Melbourne-based practice founded in 2019 by Stephanie Kitingan, Jacqueline O’Brien and James Flaherty, who first worked together under the skilled guidance of Emilio Fuscaldo at Nest Architects.

The spaces of their built residential work are layered and quiet – tinged with nostalgia, yet still of their time and place. This spatial richness demonstrates a deft understanding of sensory qualities and longevity over short-term fads. This understanding is important now more than ever, as our homes have taken on multiple roles in recent times. Beautifully composed and detailed materials strike a delicate balance between robustness and softness, familiarity and newness, light and dark.

The jury was impressed with the collaborative nature of the studio and its strong commitment to working with local craftspeople, which is evident in the carefully made work presented. The jury also admired the studio’s design methodology, which empathetically prioritizes listening and the tracing of memory in the generation of a design response. The jury looks forward to the future work of this promising young studio.

The Award for Emerging Architecture Practice is supported by Blum. See full image galleries of all the winning and shortlisted projects here.

For more coverage, read the profile of Placement Studio by Peter Davies.