Evelyn Reynolds

Entries can now be submitted for the 2026 Galang Residency, a program that supports Australian-based First Nations creatives to undertake two intensive three-month residencies in Paris.
The program, presented by Powerhouse Parramatta and the Cité Internationale des Arts, provides return flights to and from Paris, accommodation at the Cité Internationale des Arts and opportunities to collaborate and network with other creative professionals.
Australian-based First Nations creative practitioners in disciplines such as architecture, design, music, performance, photography, visual arts, weaving and writing are encouraged to apply.
Previous residency recipients include architect Jack Gillmer, artist Jody Rallah, multidisciplinary creative Jarra Karalinar Steel and Archibald Prize-winning artist Vincent Namatjira.
The selection panel for the 2026 Galang Residency comprises residency programmes and partnerships manager at Cité Internationale des Arts Souraya Kessaria; Powerhouse adjunct curator Brook Garru Andrew; and Powerhouse director (First Nations) Beau James.
Kessaria said that the work of Cité Internationale des Arts is focused on “creating conditions where artistic practices can unfold with the attention and freedom needed to deepen research.”
“Welcoming First Nations artists from Australia as part of the Galang Residency is always a profoundly meaningful moment for our residents’ community. Their presence opens new conversations, expands our shared ways of thinking and making, and strengthens the fabric of dialogue that lies at the heart of the Cité,” added Kessaria.
Applications close 30 January 2026. Successful applicants will be announced in March 2026. To apply for the 2026 Galang Residency program, visit the Powerhouse website. More

Located near Penrith, the Group GSA-designed proposal includes 17 mid-rise buildings and close to 3,500 square metres of retail space. More

A proposal for a $341 million mixed-use precinct on a former drive-in cinema site in Caddens, 50 kilometres west of Sydney’s CBD, has been lodged for planning approval.
Designed by Group GSA for developer Holdmark Property Group, the state-significant development application comprises 17 mid-rise buildings, delivering a total of 482 homes and 3,461 square metres of retail, new streets and community space.
The 8.1-hectare site, which is located within walking distance of Western Sydney University’s growing Kingswood campus and the Nepean Hospital health precinct, adjoins the existing Caddens Corner shopping centre.
Group GSA architect and project lead Alberto Murgia said the masterplan is structured around a permeable, walkable street grid that expands the existing retail precinct and strengthens local amenity. “Our landscape-first, Country-led approach focuses on a mix of high-quality and affordable homes, delivered within a generous public realm that builds on the precinct’s evolving character,” he commented.
At the core of Group GSA’s organisational strategy is a new “village green” civic hub and central pedestrian spine called the “six seasons walk”, which links together the green with two other major parks, a cultural trail that weaves oral histories and site narratives, and a preserved and expanded Cumberland Plain Woodland nature reserve along the site’s northern edge.
According to the architects, a series of Indigenous co-design workshops with local Aboriginal stakeholders shaped the cultural framework for the precinct. As a result, the design embraces water, sky and Country as key connectors, restoring natural ecologies and expanding habitat, and integrating endemic plantings, organic built forms, natural materials and water-sensitive landscapes.
Group GSA’s design of the built form responds to the site’s varying edge conditions, with two-storey terraces on the southern boundary and modulated apartment buildings stepping in height across the precinct in response to the site’s topography.
The palette of the project’s north-eastern buildings picks up on the colours and textures of the nature corridor and employs layered planting to create an architectural expression that recedes into the landscape, while the southern terraces adopt articulated brickwork with deep reveals and expressed thresholds. The buildings that border the village green employ stepped forms and active retail frontages on the ground level, with dining that spills out from beneath a continuous colonnade.
Murgia commented, “Our proposal delivers a village-scale centre that supports social interaction and community identity while demonstrating a long-term vision for sustainable growth within the Werrington Enterprise Living and Learning (WELL) Precinct.”
“By pairing mixed-tenure housing with flexible communal indoor and outdoor spaces, the precinct is designed to foster social diversity, wellbeing and a strong sense of community ownership.” More

The winners of the 2025 Architeam Awards have been named, with the winning and commended projects demonstrating that “small practice architects continue to lead through creativity, empathy and purpose.” More

The winners of the 18th annual Architeam Awards have been named, celebrating the innovation, creativity and vision of Australia’s small practice architects.
A media communique from Architeam noted, “This year’s winners showcased a refined and confident use of materials, a deep understanding of their clients’ needs, and a sensitive appreciation for heritage and place.”
This was exemplified in Public Realm Lab’s Meeniyan Community Hub, which claimed the Architeam Medal and took out the Community and Public Award. The project, which involved replacing a building that was no longer fit-for-purpose with a new precinct for community meetings, was praised by the jury “as a new benchmark for how small-town architecture can deliver lasting civic value.”
This year’s just included Michael Roper (Architecture Architecture, AT Member and chair), Thomas Bailey (Room 11), Jemima Retallack (Retallack Thompson Architects), Anita Panov (Panov Scott), Andrew Steele (Studio Nine), Monique Woodward (Wowowa), Andrew Klenke (Swanbury Penglase Architects), Clémence Carayol (Architecture and Design digital editor) and Wesley Spencer (Architeam Awards director). In 2025, the program also included a new Heritage Award.
Reflecting on this year’s awards, Spencer said: “The calibre of projects this year proves that small practice architects continue to lead through creativity, empathy and purpose. These awards celebrate not just beautiful design, but the meaningful impact small practices have on our communities and the built environment.”
The winners are:
Architeam Medal
Winner
Meeniyan Community Hub – Public Realm Lab
Sustainability Medal
Winner
Subtle Shift – Steffen Welsch Architects
Small Project Medal
Winners
East West Play Structure – Pop Architecture
This is Lumeah – featuring Paul Couch – Pepper and Well
Residential New Award – up to $1 million
Winner
Sorrento Bathhouse – Davidov Architects
Commendation
Horsham House – Jake Taylor Architecture

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Residential New Award – above $1 million
Winner
The Boulevard – Archier
Commendations
Point Lonsdale House – Field Office Architecture
Taroona House – Archier

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Residential Alterations and Additions – up to $500,000
Winner

Treeview Cottage – Tsai Design
Commendations

North Melbourne Terrace – Birthisel Wittingslow Architects
This is Lumeah – featuring Paul Couch – Pepper and Well

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Residential Alterations and Additions – between $500,000 and $1 million
Winner
Oval House – Topology Studio
Commendation
Coburg House – Card

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Residential Alterations and Additions – over $1 million
Winner
Yarraville Peak – Weaver and Co Architects
Commendation
The Don – Mihaly Slocombe

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Commercial Award
Winner
BVIA on Bank – Agius Scorpo Architects
Commendation
Kastex Studio – Format Architects

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Community and Public Award
Winner
Meeniyan Community Hub – Public Realm Lab
Commendations
East West Play Structure – Pop Architecture
Syndal South Primary School – WHDA

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Heritage Award
Winner
This is Lumeah – featuring Paul Couch – Pepper and Well
Commendation
Yarraville Peak – Weaver and Co Architects

View gallery

Innovation and Contribution Award
Winner
Placemaking Clarence Valley – Equity Office
People’s Choice Award
Winner
This is Lumeah – featuring Paul Couch – Pepper and Well

View gallery

Unbuilt Award
Winner

Three-Fold – Steffen Welsch Architects
Passivhaus Scholarship
Winner
Matthew Oczkowski of MOA Studio More

The initial 10 train station precincts have been prioritised for the development of higher density housing through streamlined planning processes. More

The Western Australian government has declared 10 train station precincts that will be subject to “improvement plans and schemes” by the state, designed to drive housing development in metropolitan Perth.
The 10 stations are the first to be prioritised by the government, with precincts defined as the land within an 800-metre radius of each train station. According to the government’s media release, the reforms will establish the state as the body that sets the height and zoning density settings within these precincts, as well as act as the responsible decision-maker.
The government’s hope is that the precincts will “boost urban infill,” “unlock more land for housing around transport hubs” and “enhance consistency in planning and decision-making.”
The first ten stations to be selected include:

Ballajura
Bassendean
Carlisle/Oats Street
Claisebrook
Cottesloe
Glendalough
Morley
Mosman Park
Redcliffe
Swanborne.

Planning and Lands Minister John Carey commented that “while some councils have done great work and embraced a reform agenda, many have lacked the ability, the will or both to drive the change we need to get more housing out the door.”
“We are stepping in to ensure a consistent and streamlined approach to deliver vibrant, mixed-use precincts within walking distance to train stations,” he said. “These precincts will supercharge the delivery of more supply in targeted locations.”
The government’s media release notes, “Consistent and coordinated planning frameworks are key to realising the full potential of transit-oriented development and increasing density in high-amenity areas.
“Consultation with local governments will help to inform context specific precinct planning. This process will ensure that development complements the character of each precinct and delivers greater housing diversity.”
A similar approach is already underway in Victoria, with 60 activity centres slated for planning reforms that will come into effect next year. In New South Wales, faster approvals and amended planning controls are being implemented across 37 transport-oriented development (TOD) precincts, and eight priority high-growth areas have been designated for accelerated rezoning.
Western Australia’s deputy premier and Minister for Transport Rita Saffioti said the government’s approach builds on the delivery of Perth’s Metronet rail network upgrade. The Metronet upgrade has seen several architects contribute to its design, including Hassell, which delivered five new elevated stations, and Woods Bagot in collaboration with Taylor Robinson Chaney Broderick, TCL and UDLA on the Morley-Ellenbrook line, which recently won the Australian Institute of Architects 2025 National Award for Sustainable Architecture.
“Our government is focused on driving transit-oriented development to support vibrant communities, and these reforms will help streamline approvals and improve consistency,” said Saffioti. “More housing choice around our train station precincts will be critical to supporting our city as it grows, and implementing these improvement plans will ensure we expedite the delivery of new developments for the benefit of the community.”
The current series of ArchitectureAu Asks, which tackles the rise of high-density housing, invites experts to respond to the provocation, “When it comes to apartment towers in our suburbs, how high is too high?” Read their responses here. More

The Australian Institute of Architects’ Victorian chapter has awarded fellowships and prizes to architects, students and allied professionals. More