CELEBRATING!

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community centre, to provide affordable work spaces for small creative enterprises as part of a commission by the City of Sydney. The heritage conversion of the nurses' quarters includes the addition of a new vaulted verandah structure that signals the courtyard as a welcoming public space, adjacent to a public green lawn, creating a human scale space that acts like a common for the surrounding medium-density residential development.

‘107 Green Square’ is managed by Josie Stomann. She supported our tight deadlines and connected us with social catering company Plate it Forward and chef Shaun Christie-David (it was delicious!).At the same time, the UNSW Design Futures Lab maker team (Nichola Jephcott, Richard Blackwell and Gabriel Undery) trimmed our panel system and provided advice on the rigging of our LED light installation in the stairwell.

Convening ARCHEX is a rewarding opportunity to work with passionate and dedicated students from our Bachelor of Architectural Studies and our Master of Architecture programmes. With 400 guests due to arrive at 5:30 pm on the day of the installation, the exhibition team arrived early in the morning to transform 107 Green Square into ARCHEX 2022 IRL.

Kudos goes out to our student team – yep that’s you, Unjelique, Tracey, Tailin, Peter, Jacob, Max, Ashrith, Chelsea, Ahine, Caleb, Jasmin, Lily, Yuchen, Sofia, Wayne, Milan, Su Thet, Louyao, Yazhisai and Milan for the way you tackled a challenging single

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day installation and worked together. Thanks also to Alvin Zhu, who captured all the ups and downs of the installation and interviewed students to record their thoughts and experiences for our documentary. And also to my family Nick and Izel), who pitched in to help me on the day.

The exhibition would not have come together without everyone’s cooperation and enthusiasm ok the day. The energy encapsulated the in-person collaboration our student body had missed over the previous years, and by dusk the crowd was celebrating! With the ideas of the next generation of architects on display in beautifully restored heritage building, accompanied by music, drinks and grazing tables, all were reminded of the joy such events bring.

The speeches kicked off with an Acknowledgement of Country by Jess Cook: “Warrama…warrama means welcome in Gadigal tongue” 107 Projects have an ongoing commitment to First Nations peoples and to recognising our interconnectedness with Country. As the profession explores new ways to integrate indigenous knowledge, it was a critical reminder about respectful practise. Jess also noted that “buildings without people are just empty spaces” and thanked the crowd and installation team for “activating every nook and cranny” and “giving this building its heartbeat”.

The keynote address was made by Alan Croker from Design 5 –Architects. A UNSW Graduate, Alan began his studies in 1969 and is now an esteemed

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professional, both in architecture and heritage. Alan reflected on the combination of “the extraordinary teachers” and his “own passion for what was being taught” that shaped the direction and focus of his career. Alan described the significant challenge of turning the sturdy brick nurses’ quarters, with its cellular structure, into an open and friendly creative community centre and events space.

It was the role of Program Director Paul Hogben to warmly congratulate our graduands (both present and overseas) for reaching the end of a long and intense period of study under difficult conditions. He also acknowledged the support from the parents, partners, families and friends who were part of their journey. We then heard from each of our graduating cohorts, beginning with John

Gamble, the convenor of the Bachelor of Architectural Studies final studio, who introduced our two esteemed Professors of Practice, Philip Thalis, of Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects and Rachel Neeson of Neeson Murcutt + Nellie.

Philip is a well-known Sydney advocate for the importance of public domain design, social housing and for sound, contextually responsive architecture. He was, in fact, one of my own teachers – and although at the time I did not fully appreciate the extent of what we were learning, I now recognise that sourcing maps and plans from the NSW State Library taught me the value of urban history and its entanglement with politics, culture and progress.

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Speaking of Barangaroo, Philip discussed the breadth of knowledge embedded in the practice of architecture: “soil mechanics, engineering, philosophy, anthropology, [architecture] addresses the needs of the population by selecting the forms and the spatial relationships of all future construction in ways that can be public…..we need to speak to connect with society, with the public, to show them through our work and through our advocacy the value of architecture.”

Then Rachel Neeson, a highly regarded architect, addressed the crowd. She spoke of the happiness and relief our cohort was feeling after completing the foundation of their architectural education. Rachel understands the importance of experience, having recently led the award- winning transformation of the Australian Museum in collaboration with Cox Architecture. She offered advice as they enter a transition: “a time to build upon these foundations through the unmediated experience of places, buildings and landscapes, connecting through real life felt experience like we have tonight in this fantastic building.”

UNSW is fortunate to have senior practitioners work with our graduating cohort in their final projects, and each stream creates connections between senior practitioners and the future of the profession around a mutual area of interest. Teaching at UNSW is a relational activity where knowledge is not just shared but exchanged, and Shaowen Wang, convenor of the Master of Architecture’s Graduation Major

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Design Studio, along with each of the Studio Stream leaders and tutors, offered their thoughts about the year just passed.

The High Performance Studio was led this year by two notable practitioners; Jonathan Evans, a registered architect, and Principal and Founder of Arbor. tect, and; DijanaTasevska, Associate Director, of CHROFI. Both Jonathan and Dijana bring knowledge and experience in the design and construction of large scale commercial buildings utilising pre-fabricated mass timber technology.

This year’s Housing Studio was run by a formidable team of practitioners from COX, one of Australia’s leading architectural practices. Led by Sydney Office Directors Joe Agius and

Ramin Jahromi, the studio was supported by Associate Director Felipe Miranda and Senior Associates Vicente Castro, Helen Kuo and Cristian Rojas. Joe is a UNSW graduate and a past President of the NSW Chapter of the AIA. Like Joe, Ramin Jahromi plays an active role in connecting COX’s Sydney studio with NSW tertiary institutions through the organisation of scholarships, tutoring and guest critic roles.

The Social Agency Studio was again led by UNSW Professor David Sanderson, the Inaugural Judith Neilson Chair in Architecture. Working with Mark Szczerbicki, a Registered Architect and founder of boutique practise MSDS, David brings a wealth of expertise from decades of work within the NonGovernment Organisation sector across policy, development and

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emergency programs. A key feature of the Social Agency Studio is the opportunity to work and connect with the non-profit sector, including 107 Projects, to encourage students to develop skills in community engagement and participatory practice.

The Urban Conditions Studio was run by UNSW staff members, Shaowen Wang and Rafaelle Pernice. Both Shaowen and Rafaelle are experienced architectural design educators who share a passion for urbanism and architecture with a focus on the impact of climate change on waterfront cities in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.

Shaowen reflected on the way the Studio Leaders “infused their briefs and teaching to encourage students to do their best…and broaden their minds” and that the synergy of the graduating cohort is the outcome of many contributions and investments; from staff, students, from Studio Leaders, from our guests and collaborating organisations and from our sponsors.

I couldn’t agree more.

Cristina Garduño Freeman Convenor ARCHEX 2022 IRL, School of Built Environment, UNSW Sydney