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City of Parramatta has approved the business case for the redevelopment of its Riverside Theatres venue on the banks of the Parramatta River. “Our much-loved theatre has been entertaining locals and visitors for more than 30 years and it’s time to move Riverside into the future,” said lord mayor Donna Davis. “We are so excited […] More
Architects with Pride is a non-profit organization bringing together members of the LGBTIQ+ community in the built environment industry to celebrate the 2023 World Pride and Mardi Gras festival.
This February, the organization has curated a comprehensive program of events, from panel discussions to social dances, to promote inclusion and diversity in the built environment profession ahead of Sydney World Pride.
In 2023, World Pride will be held in February/March to coincide with the Sydney Mardi Gras festival. This is the first time World Pride has been moved out of its regular June/July schedule, which aligns with the summer season in the northern hemisphere.
Adam Haddow, incoming president of the Australian Institute of Architects’ NSW chapter and SJB director, and Ben Peake, design director at Carter Williamson, are two founding members of Architects with Pride.
“The intent in establishing Architects with Pride was to collect all the things that happen in the LGBTIQ+ community in the built environment under one banner, so it’s easier to know what’s going on,” said Haddow, a long-term member of the Champions of Change Architecture Group and an advocate for greater representation within the industry. “We have a diverse industry – it’s just about owning it. We’re not an industry that necessarily wears its diversity on its sleeve.”
Architects with Pride debuted in the Mardi Gras parade in 2022 and, as far as the organizers are aware, theirs was the first architectural group ever to take part. Today, the group has 16 contributing organizations, including 13 practices, the NSW Gender Equity Taskforce, the Australian Institute of Architects, and the young architects’ network EmAGN.
“We’ve been taken a bit by surprise. It’s been taken up with a lot more vigour than we thought it was going to be,” said Haddow.
Peake forecasts that World Pride may be one of the biggest things to happen to Sydney since the 2000 Summer Olympics. “We’re expecting a number of global visitors, and people from interstate as well,” he said. “In the parade, numbers are limited. But the shoulder events are a way that we can reach out and have as many people involved in World Pride as possible.”
2023 Sydney Mardi Gras will run from Friday 17 February to Sunday 5 March, and Architects with Pride will be marching in the parade on Saturday 25 February.
Architects with Pride is sponsored by DKO, Design Inc, Carter Williamson, NSW Gender Equity Taskforce, Grimshaw, Bates Smart, SJB, Heim, Peddle Thorp, BVN, Cox, EmAGN, Turner, Hassell, Geyer, and the Australian Institute of Architects.
See Architects with Pride’s full February calendar below.
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Courtesy of Architects with Pride
The Architects Ball
On Thursday 16 February, the Architects Ball, presented by the Architects with Pride collective, brings together Australia’s queer design community for a night of celebration at Pleasures Playhouse in Sydney. Tickets are $25 each and free for First Nations and trans-women of colour. Book here.
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Courtesy of Architects with Pride
Queer Careers
On Tuesday 21 February, Architects with Pride will host “Queer Career – conversations on the design profession”: a discussion with a panel of built environment professionals on the subject of diversity in their professions and their strategies for challenging space-making for greater inclusivity. Panellists include Brahman Perera, Lucian Hicks and Stephen Todd, and the talk will be moderated by Anna Brown, chief executive of Equality Australia. Tickets are $15 each and free for First Nations and trans-women of colour. Book here.
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Courtesy of Architects with Pride
Love Letters to Queer Space
On Wednesday 22 February, “Love Letters to Queer Space,” 16 of Australia’s most diverse design practitioners will present in a fast-paced, Pecha Kucha-style format. The panel will look at the architecture of desire, from gay beats to churches, and ask: What does queer space look like today? Tickets are $15 each and free for First Nations and trans-women of colour. Book here.
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Courtesy of Architects with Pride
Queer Space: In Conversation
On Thursday 23 February, Architects with Pride will host a discussion between the Australian Institute of Architects’ newly announced chief executive Cameron Bruhn with RMIT professor, architectural academic and author Naomi Stead, on the subject of Stead’s forthcoming book, Queering Architecture: Methods, Practices, Spaces, Pedagogies. “Queer Space: In Conversation” will take place in the home of architecture in New South Wales: Tusculum House in Potts Point. Book here.
For more information visit the Architects with Pride and the Sydney World Pride websites. More
The New South Wales government has committed funding for the development of a new $15-million Disability Sport Centre of Excellence, designed by Lahznimmo Architects.
Delivered by Blacktown City Council in partnership with Disability Sports Australia, the centre will be a multipurpose indoor training facility for athletes with disability, complete with bespoke and flexible amenities designed to allow athletes to train around work, family, educational and additional commitments.
The centre will be built within the Blacktown International Sports Park and will complement the $100 million Blacktown Exercise Sports and Technology hub (BEST), designed by ARM Architecture, slated to open early 2023.
Lahznimmo director Hugo Cottier said accessibility was not simply an overlay for this project: it is “wrapped up into the DNA of the building”. Once complete, it will be a truly inclusive, sports-oriented community centre.
“With this project, it is not just about designing for compliance with accessibility standards – it is about universal design,” said Cottier.
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Architectural render of the Disability Sport Centre of Excellence. Image:
Lahznimmo Architects
Blacktown mayor Tony Bleasdale said council was proud to partner with Disability Sports Australia to deliver the specialist facility for athletes of all abilities. “This partnership with Disability Sports Australia marks an exciting new era for sport and health in Western Sydney, and will provide a boost for generations of athletes to come,” he said.
Sports minister Alister Henskens said the government is investing in community sporting infrastructure through the Centres of Excellence program, aiming to improve talent pathways and community engagement for all sporting codes.
Chief executive of Disability Sports Australia Murray Melbourne added the project would set a new benchmark for inclusive community sporting facilities and would be vital to support established disability programs across the state.
“The holistic structure of BEST brings great collaboration from health and research education partners to optimise benefits for athletes for specific adaption sports,” said Melbourne.
Construction on the new centre will start in 2023 and is slated for completion late 2024. More
A 130-metre-tall, 39-storey tower could be joining the St Leonards skyline on Sydney’s North Shore. The developer has submitted a development application for demolition and excavation works on a site at 100 Christie Street to make way for a new mixed-use tower. The scheme designed by PWT Architects incorporates “a sculpted tower form with rounded […] More
Sydney Metro has submitted a proposal to the City of Sydney for an over-station development on Hunter Street in the commercial heart of Sydney’s CBD. The Hunter Street Metro Planning Proposal comprises two concurrent state significant development applications (Hunter Street East and Hunter Street West), which include establishing an integrated commercial, retail and station development […] More
Royal Darwin Hospital will soon receive a new mental health facility, with construction of a three-storey, 18-bed building due to start in the coming months. Designed by Territory firm Ashford Architects, the therapeutic facility is intended to help relieve pressure on the hospital’s emergency department. Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Lauren Moss said […] More
Gender equity advocacy organisation Parlour has launched a podcast series that shares candid conversation between women in architecture about life, work and issues of the built environment. Recorded live at its many “seasonal salons”, the series explore a wide range of topics from the personal to the profession. The salons were held across Australia, beginning […] More
A recent study by Curtin University sought to understand how design of Perth’s new children’s hospital impacted nurse workflow activities and patient and family experiences.
The $1.2-billion paediatric hospital, designed by JCY Architects and Urban Designers, Cox Architecture, and Billard Leece Partnership with HKS, hwelcomed its first patients in May 2018, replacing the former 109-year-old Princess Margaret Hospital in Subiaco.
The new hospital design incorporates mostly single patient rooms, a 65 percent larger floor area than the previous hospital, and a V-shaped ward designed to maximise natural light and views for its occupants.
The research, published in Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, considered the perspectives of nurses, patients and families through a pre- and post-move study, conducted over three different periods from November 2017 to September 2019.
The study found nurses spent double the amount time walking in the new hospital compared with the previous and the same amount of time spent at patients’ bedsides. Nurses reported initial exaustion after the relocation to the new hospital but the study concluded that “over time, the initial practice challenges reduced as nurses adapted to working in the new environment.”
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Perth Children’s Hospital by JCY Architects and Urban Designers, Cox Architecture, and Billard Leece Partnership, with HKS. Image:
Shannon McGrath
“Our research revealed both benefits and challenges. Patients and families liked the new environment (in particular the natural light, privacy of single patient rooms and views), yet also recognised how the design resulted in reduced visibility of nurses and a sense of isolation,” said lead researcher associate professor Fenella Gill.
“Nurses reported that the new environment resulted in them initially experiencing exhaustion; less visibility to families and other nurses; and decreased capacity to supervise less experienced nurses, but over time they did adjust to their new working environment and their experiences did improve.”
But while there was a perceived reportage that nurses were less visible and spent less time with patients, lead researcher associate professor Fenella Gill said the study revealed “no hard change” to nurse time spent at patients’ bedsides.
Read the full paper, “A new children’s hospital with larger floor space, single rooms and V-shaped ward design: A pre – post evaluation of nurse time providing patient care and nurse, patient and family experiences,” here. More
