Future Plans, Mentoring & Prizes in WA
The ACA – WA recaps recent events and future plans, and talks mentoring schemes and prizes.
Members Lunch and BoSP4
The WA Committee’s annual mid-year members lunch on 25 July was attended by a wide range of practices, from sole practitioners through to large-scale national practices. WA Museum CEO Alec Coles gave a generous insight into the design and construction process behind the New Museum.
On 2 August, we held the first BoSP outside Fremantle HQ, with attendees meeting over lunch at Brickworks in Perth to hear HR expert Merilyn Speiser present on the basic need-to-knows of employing your first employees. It was an excellent event and attendees found it extremely worthwhile. For an overview of what was discussed, head to Merilyn’s follow-up article HR 101 for Architects.
Thank you to Narelle and Darlene at Brickworks in Perth for allowing us to use their beautiful space for our events, and for offering such generous catering.
Save the Date for Xmas Drinks
Save the date for our annual Xmas drinks from 5.30pm on 5 December! The WA President and Committee invite you for a sunset drink on the rooftop at the Alex Hotel in Northbridge to celebrate the end of another year in architecture. ACA CEO Angelina Pillai will join us to provide an overview of the advocacy being undertaken at a national level. Free to all members.
Architects Declare Panel Event
Hundreds of architecture practices around Australia have signed up to the Architects Declare movement, which seeks to raise awareness of our global climate crisis and the need for urgent action in the built environment. Australia is the third country to join this global movement, and we now stand alongside fellow architects in the United Kingdom, Norway and New Zealand. As Angelina Pillai reported in August, the ACA aims to support this important response to the climate crisis through creating awareness and promoting the benefits of taking action.
In Western Australia, 17 practices have signed the declaration, ranging from sole practitioners through to national and international practices, and including ACA members. The WA branch has leant their support to a panel discussion to discuss ‘where to from here’. The curators of the event, Gemma Hohnen and Tobias Busch, have chosen speakers who they think will create a thought-provoking discussion for all current and aspiring members of the architectural profession.
They strongly believe that the architecture profession can and must be a part of the climate crisis solution, and will debate the following questions:
- What is the solution?
- How do we stop the “business-as-usual” approach?
- How do we transition to a climate and biodiversity sensitive built environment?
- What does this all mean, and why should it matter to me?
The event will be held in late September or early October at Brickworks. We will keep you informed of further details as soon as they are announced.
Building Quality
The issue of building quality, defects and non-Compliant building materials continues to bubble away, especially since the screening of the recent 4 Corners program on the ABC. A recent Radio National podcast on Building Defects, featuring Bronwyn Weir, co-author of the Shergold Weir Report, is also interesting listening.
Though initially it seemed as though these issues were more pronounced on the east coast than in Perth, anecdotal evidence suggests there are similar problems in Western Australia. One solution is more independent oversight. Another is to ensure that the architect carries out contract administration on all projects.
Mentor Scheme
We have had numerous requests from emerging practices to establish a business-mentoring scheme, partnering young and established practitioners. We are in the process of developing a framework for the scheme and investigating whether senior directors or partners of established member firms would be willing to participate. Could any interested members please send an email to Executive Officer Emma Brain.
Prize for Outstanding Registered Architect
The ACA – WA is currently liaising with the Architects Board of Western Australia regarding the establishment of an award for a recently registered architect. More to come shortly.
Call for ‘Help’
The WA Committee is in the process of putting together a WA-specific members survey that will help us to shape our events and to focus our advocacy going forward. We promise to keep it short and ask all members to complete it in a timely fashion. More to come.