Wellbeing of Architects Symposium
The Wellbeing of Architects [education + practice —] symposium on 8–9 May is the culmination of a groundbreaking, four-year research study – the Wellbeing of Architects: Culture, Identity and Practice. The ACA is a proud longstanding partner of the project. ACA CEO Angelina Pillai and National President John Held are delighted to participate in this important symposium alongside a stellar line-up of industry leaders, academics, practitioners and student representatives (see full program below).
The symposium aims to drive positive change and help create a healthier, more sustainable future for the architecture community. It is a call to action and a commitment to change. Championing a holistic and integrated approach to wellbeing, it will provide knowledge and tools to enable architects, educators and the profession to prioritise mental wellbeing in systems, culture and everyday activities.
Held over two days – ticketed separately – the symposium will present the research findings, offer recommendations for change, and facilitate key conversations. Day one will focus on Education and Day two will focus on Practice. See the program below.
Book now for the Wellbeing of Architects Symposium
WHEN
9am–6pm, Wednesday 8 May–Thursday 9 May 2024
WHERE
Collingwood Yards Music Market
Unit 2/35 Johnston St, Collingwood VIC
The Wellbeing of Architects [education + practice —] is a satellite event to the Australian Institute of Architects National Conference, held at Collingwood Yards in Melbourne.
CPD
5 formal CPD points (Day 2: Practice)
COST & BOOKING
Tickets are available for each day separately, or as a bundle for both days.
Two-day bundle general/concession $190/80
Day one – Architectural Education + Wellbeing $75/40
Day two – Architectural Practice + Wellbeing $130/65
CONTACT
For more information, get in touch with Vicki Leibowitz.
WELLBEING OF ARCHITECTS PROGRAM
DAY ONE: ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION + WELLBEING
Wednesday 8 May, 9am–5.30pm
Registration 9–9.30am
The first day focuses on architectural education, exploring methods to improve the wellbeing of students and educators. It will feature insights from teachers and student leaders, aiming to identify effective practices and cultures that foster mental wellbeing – in the studio and beyond.
9.30am – Welcome
Naomi Stead (RMIT)
9.45am – Keynote: Wellbeing in Architectural Education
Maryam Gusheh (Monash University), Vicki Leibowitz (RMIT)
What have we learnt about wellbeing among architecture students as reported by students, academics and professionals?
10am – New Approaches to Studio Teaching
Chair: Charity Edwards (Monash University), Amanda Achmadi (University of Melbourne), Kelly Greenop (University of Queensland)
How can studio teaching and assessment methods better support healthy connections, peer learning and an inclusive architectural culture and identity? This panel discussion showcases innovative teaching practices that enhance the protective features of design studio, while mitigating its challenges. The discussion explores the potential vitality of studio teaching despite ongoing cultural and institutional constraints that undermine it.
[morning tea 10.50am]
11.10am – Keynote: Throwing Out the Playbook
Narelle Lemon (Edith Cowan University)
How can attention to wellbeing reinvigorate architectural education? How can we empower students as the agents of this transformation?
Professor Narelle Lemon is a VC Professoriate Research Fellow at Edith Cowan University and an interdisciplinary expert in the Pedagogy of Belonging. Her keynote lecture offers a provocative critique of the status quo in tertiary education and positions wellbeing as a transformative force for a new and human-centred approach to educating architects.
12pm – Insights from SONA & Student Support
Nicole Mesquita-Mendez (SONA), representative from student support (tbc)
What is SONA telling us? What can we learn from health and wellbeing professionals within the tertiary sector?
[lunch 12.30pm]
1.10pm – New Approaches to Learning & Assessment
Chair: Chris Brisbin (University of SA), Alex Brown (Monash University), Michael Mossman (University of Sydney)
Can we design new learning and assessment methods that integrate wellbeing and care within architectural curricula? This panel showcases holistic approaches to learning and assessment with potential to benefit student wellbeing. The discussion explores ways in which learning and teaching can position wellbeing and care as foundational principles in architectural education.
2pm – New Approaches to Professional Practice
Chair: Helen Norrie (University of Tasmania), Peter Raisbeck (University of Melbourne), Helen Duong (RMIT)
How can professional practice curricula better equip students for effective, viable, inclusive and fulfilling career paths in architecture? This panel presents educational curricula that extend professional practice beyond architectural ‘competencies’. The discussion considers the role of universities in educating architects for the realities of professional practice while also advocating for alternative models of practice.
[afternoon tea 2.50pm]
3.10pm – What can the Peak Bodies, Universities & Student Organisations do?
Chair: John Doyle (AASA President, RMIT), Kate Hislop (University of Western Australia), Philip Oldfield (University of NSW), Kathy Waghorn (Monash University), Blake Hillebrand (SONA President, RMIT)
Looking at the bigger picture, what is currently being done, and what more could be done, to support wellbeing within architectural education? The wellbeing of architecture students is subject to pressures both within and outside of educational institutions. This panel will discuss how excellence, care and student wellbeing can be foregrounded in educational frameworks, and through leadership from peak bodies, universities and student organisations.
4pm – Launch of AASA Award for Wellbeing in Architectural Education
John Doyle (AASA President, RMIT)
4.15pm – Closing Remarks Day 1
Naomi Stead (RMIT), Lee Stickells (University of Sydney)
DAY TWO: ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE + WELLBEING
Thursday 9 May, 9am–5.30pm
Registration 9–9.30am
The second day delves into architectural practice, addressing issues such as workload management, service valuation, and the promotion of a thriving culture. The symposium will provide practical advice for practitioners of all sizes and sectors, considering the broader construction industry context and the role of peak bodies in driving change.
The event will also launch the Guides to Wellbeing in Practice, a set of research-informed guides that support action towards transformative change. These are a vital companion to the Parlour Guides to Equitable Practice, and the Parlour team has been integral to the writing and editing of these.
9.30am – Welcome
Angelina Maallini Pillai (ACA)
9.45am – Opening Keynote – New Knowledge about Wellbeing in Architectural Practice
Naomi Stead (RMIT), Byron Kinnaird (Monash University)
What have we learnt about the wellbeing of architectural practitioners? Drawing on the findings of the Wellbeing of Architects project, this session elucidates the research findings to highlight key issues facing architects and those in allied fields today.
Launch – Guides to Wellbeing in Architecture Practice
10.20am – Work Culture + Wellbeing
Chair: Justine Clark (Parlour), Tanya Awadallah (MHNDU), Darryl Suttie (DesignInc), Thihoa Gill (Grimshaw)
What measures can architecture practices take to support a creative, sustainable, healthy work culture? This panel explores positive strategies that address unhelpful patterns and norms within architecture work cultures. From supporting trust and openness in teams, to developing leadership that supports wellbeing, to supporting individuals in their own life balance, the panel will address what is happening now, and what more can be done.
[Morning tea 11am]
11.30am – Keynote – Value & Wellbeing in Architecture
Flora Samuel (University of Cambridge)
Introduced by Maryam Gusheh (Monash University)
What is the social value of architecture? In what ways is this often overlooked or invisible, and how are these questions of worth linked with wellbeing and conditions in the architecture profession more broadly? Flora Samuel is the author of Why Architects Matter (2019), and was lead on the Architects Council of Europe Value of Architecture Report, as well as the RIBA Social Value Toolkit. As an expert in social value, Flora will examine the downstream effects of under-valuation in architecture, including on wellbeing, and set forth a better path.
12.15pm – Keynote: Beyond the Blueprint, Becoming in architecture amidst constraints and consumption
Jonathan Robberts (Monash University)
Chaired by Julie Wolfram Cox (Monash University)
Jonathan Robberts’ PhD research, part of the Wellbeing of Architects research project, includes extended fieldwork embedded within a large Australian architecture practice. In seeking to understand this one practice, the research has sought wider insights into the profession as a whole – its aspirations, configuration and activities, and how concepts of ‘becoming’ might affect both professional identity and organisational models.
[Lunch 12.45pm]
1.45pm – Keynote: Systemic Risks in Australian Architecture
Dariel de Sousa ((Dart Legal and Consulting)
Chaired by Kirsten Orr (NSWARB)
Dariel De Sousa is a multi-disciplinary professional who focuses on regulation, risk, compliance, governance and performance. Her keynote will address a joint research project undertaken in 2022 for the Architects Registration Board of Victoria and the NSW Architects Registration Board. The project focused on the systemic level, to understand key risks facing architects across the entire sector, particularly those that could affect architects’ ability to comply with their professional standards obligations. Dariel will outline findings and implications for the profession.
2.30pm – Contracts & Procurement + Wellbeing
Chair: Tim Horton (L+E Court, NSW), Gabrielle Trainor AO (Infrastructure Australia), Emma Williamson (GAWA)
How can we mitigate the ‘downstream effects’ of construction industry contracting and procurement processes on wellbeing in architecture? Some of the most acute stresses in architecture practice emerge through the procurement process, including in the framing and administration of contracts and project delivery. Given that architects themselves often have limited agency in determining procurement methods, this panel will frame wellbeing within the construction industry more broadly – noting opportunities and paths towards improvement for all.
3.10pm – Policy & Legislation + Wellbeing
Chair: Natalie Galea (University of Melbourne), Kirsten Orr (NSWARB), Brian Clohessy (BVN), John Held (Russell & Yelland, ACA)
What are the possibilities for greater wellbeing presented by ‘top down’ instruments like legislation and policy? Recent changes in legislation around psychosocial safety have the potential to shake up work practices in both architecture and the wider construction industry. Meanwhile, many organisations are looking to mobilise policy at the sector-wide, industry-wide, or specific practice scales – with groups like the Construction Industry Culture Taskforce looking to foment systemic change for the better. This panel will examine what’s currently happening, and what could happen in future, to use policy and legislation as forces for good.
[afternoon tea 3.50pm]
4.20pm – The Profession + Wellbeing
Chair: Angelina Maallini Pillai (ACA), Cameron Bruhn (AIA), Tiffany Liew (Architecture AND/EMAGN), Sonia Sarangi (andever/ArchiTeam), Glenn Scott (Hassell/NSWARB)
What is the role for peak bodies, regulatory bodies, membership organisations and peer collectives in improving wellbeing in architecture? This panel will examine the possibilities that emerge when these groups come together with common purpose, towards greater wellbeing for all – from the level of the individual, to practice, to systemic and structural change across the whole architecture profession. What new alliances and initiatives are needed to effect lasting change?
5pm – Closing Remarks
Naomi Stead (RMIT)
Julie Wolfram Cox (Monash University)
Kieran Wong (The Fulcrum Agency)
Book now for the Wellbeing of Architects Symposium