Six people have been recognized for services to architecture in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Among them are Charles Justin, founding director of both Plus Architecture and SJB Architects; Epaminondas (Nonda) Katsalidis, founding partner of Fender Katsalidis; Lolita Mohyla, architect, lawyer and author; Shelley Penn, architect, academic and government advisor; Dominic Charles Richards, architect, educator and LGBTQI activist; and Roger William Poole, former director and chairman of Bates Smart.
Charles Justin was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the museums sector, arts administration and architecture. He was a founding director of Plus Architecture (1997) and SJB Architects (1980s) and has been the planning and project advisor for the Caulfield Hebrew Congregation since 2013. He is a life fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and was president of the Institute’s Victorian chapter from 1986 to 1988. He was president of the Jewish Museum of Australia from 2004 to 2009 and is the founder and director of the Justin Art House Museum.
Nonda Katsalidis.
Nonda Katsalidis also appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, for significant service to architecture and sustainable construction innovations. He was the co-founding partner of Nation Fender Katsalidis , (1996-2001) and, later, Fender Katsalidis (since 2001). His citation notes that his is a “leader in the integration of art into architecture” with notable buildings including the Melbourne Terrace Apartment, Republic Tower and Eureka Tower.
Lolita Mohyla was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant services to architecture and construction law. She is the author of Construction in Australia: Law and Project Delivery (1996) and has been senior counsellor for the Australian Institute of Architects’ South Australian chapter since 2002. She is also a commissioner for the Environment, Resources and Development Court of South Australia and is managing partner of Mohyla Architects Interior Designers.
Shelley Penn.
Shelley Penn was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for architecture and design in the public realm, and to professional institutes. She is an associate professor in architecture at the Melbourne School of Design and has been the principal architect and owner of Shelley Penn Architect since 1993. She was president of the Australian Institute of Architects from 2012 to 2013, associate Victorian government architect from 2006-2010 and has sat on numerous government advisory boards in Victoria, NSW and the ACT.
Elsewhere in the honours, Dominic Richards was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to architecture and the community. He is the co-founder and chief executive of Our Place, London and a director of Architekton. He is also chairman and co-founder of Prosper Education, Sydney and RoyalABC and was previously chairman of LGBT London and co-founder of Queercompany.
Roger Poole.
Image: Bates Smart
Roger Poole was also awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to architecture and the community. He was a director of Bates Smart from 1981 to 1997 and chairman from 1998 to 2015. He has been director of Roger Poole Architects from 2015 and has sat on various committees and boards for the Property Council of Australia and Committee for Melbourne.
Interior designer Sue Carr was also appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to interior design, to education, and to women in business. The founder of Carr Design Group is also a member of Women Chiefs of Enterprise in Australia. She has been inducted into the Australian Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame and the Design Institute of Australia’s Hall of Fame, and was named one of 100 Women of Influence by the Australian Financial Review in 2016.
Sue Carr.
