MPARNTWE: WHEN YOU COME TO ANOTHER COUNTRY - event wrap by Harrison Matthews
This was my first time in Alice Springs, and I’ll admit, I packed for the desert expecting heat, dust, and dry air. I completely forgot how bitterly cold the desert can get at night, and it caught me off guard. That contrast between what I thought I knew and what I found ended up shaping much of my experience.
This event was about more than just structures, in my opinion as an Aboriginal architecture student. It was about learning, listening, and being reminded of the duty we have while designing for our country. Here, architecture is about more than simply buildings, this event informed me; it's about identity, narrative, and survival.
MPARNTWE: WHEN YOU COME TO ANOTHER COUNTRY - event wrap by Ian Sercombe
Landscape was an important ingredient in this RAA event, which had us start and finish our journey immersed in it. The formal gathering began with a pre-dawn talk and walk up Tharrarletneme at the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens to understand the flora, meet the rock wallabies and euros and see the sunrise. The cool, clear morning very quickly had us connected to Country and set the tone for the coming days. On this land all time intersects.
MPARNTWE: WHEN YOU COME TO ANOTHER COUNTRY - event wrap by Andrea Nixon
Weeks after the Regional Architecture Association's Mparntwe event, I'm still contemplating what happened in Central Arrernte Country. Not only the sessions set in the spectacular landscape, but something harder to pin down, a shift in how I understand things can be or could be, when we step away from our usual assumptions and start working on the edges for creativity, discovery and insight.
VITAL: Questions of Resilience - event wrap by Cameron Anderson
So Rhiannon, the administrative powerhouse behind RAA, has kindly asked if I could provide an event wrap of “Vital- Questions of Resilience” held recently in Dungog.. To be fair she did ask me prior to the event if I could and I kindly obliged…. Even knowing full well I wouldn’t be taking a single note as I didn’t need the CPD points. Which brings me to my first point - RAA events are worth far more than CPD; the points are just a nice bonus.
VITAL: Questions of Resilience - event wrap by Natalie van der Merwe
VITAL left me with a renewed sense of belonging—to a network of like-minded professionals scattered across regional Australia, and to a profession that is accepting its broader responsibilities. The event challenged, inspired, and grounded me. Most importantly, it reminded me that resilience isn’t a static trait—it’s a commitment. A practice. Something we cultivate not just in buildings, but in relationships, ecosystems, and ideas.
Exploring Ideas in CONTEXT - Colour | Growth | Form - event wrap by Mark Sanders
Arriving as a new RAA member, after my flight from Melbourne (via Saigon earlier that day) at Assembly The People’s Pub provided an initially daunting experience. Finding a quiet spot for the bag that had been home for the previous 10 days, I was almost immediately offered a cold drink and so the introductions and conversations began.
Sydney Build 2025 Expo
As a partner of this year’s Sydney Build, the Regional Architecture Association is pleased to share the news below.
Sydney Build Expo Announces Official Support from the Premier of NSW and a Record Government Attendance!
Sydney Build is proud to have the official support of the Premier of NSW. Chris Minns MP invites the industry to attend the nation's largest construction, architecture, and infrastructure show on May 7-8.
Don’t miss key government announcements and updates from top speakers over the two days, including:
Revised Dates following Cyclone Alfred: Resilient Homes Expos
The Resilient Homes Expos will provide businesses with the opportunity to learn more about grants available for resilient building through the Resilient Homes Program including a new grant available to cover a managing consultant to coordinate /deliver high level feasibility assessment, detailed drawings and development approval for homeowners seeking home raising, rebuild or relocation.
Lymesmith Workshop ahead of CONTEXT - early bird discounts available until 18th February
GET READY for CONTEXT in Canberra with Lymesmith’s highly regarded CPD course for Architects and Spatial Designers: FOUNDATIONS OF ARCHITECTURAL COLOUR DESIGN
Date: March 19, 2025
Time: 1pm to 5pm
Venue: Civic Hub Quarter, Northbourne Ave, Civic, ACT
CPD: 3 Formal CPD Points
Limited to 14 people
RAA | Platinum Sponsor of Red Pen - University of Newcastle Master of Architecture Graduate Exhibition
Congratulations to the graduates! RAA is pleased to be backing the next generation; those who will join the movement towards a brighter, more sustainable future for built environments in the regions and their communities.
PERIPHERAL - around the edges of creativity - event wrap by Hannah Blumberg
For me, the main word I would use to describe the event was “refreshing”. It was a time to stop, remove my mind from checklists, controls, and to-do lists, and take stock of what we do as architects.
CENTRED - creating space for communities - event wrap by John de Manincor
Having been the convener on more than one occasion I can assure you it’s not an easy task, so even before this wrap up wraps up, I extend a huge thanks to the creative director Louisa Gee and the Regional Architecture Association (RAA) Committee for facilitating a warm, seamless and informative gathering where we learned a lot about community through many people’s “story”.
MiCRO - exploring the big ideas behind small spaces - event wrap by RAA secretary Sarah Aldridge
For those of us who have the pleasure to live on Bundjalung land in far northern NSW, it is quite the trip to get to Mudgee on Wiradjuri Country. You start to wilt by about Armidale and feel decidedly weary by Tamworth when you realise that you are still three and a half hours away. But, gosh it was worth it.
FULCRUM - University of Newcastle MoA Graduate Exhibition - Awards Presented by RAA
On 17th November RAA president Tim Lee attended Fulcrum, the exhibition and celebration for the graduating masters students from the University of Newcastle’s Architecture Faculty. The beautifully restored and repurposed Central Hall made a perfect backdrop for the event.
BEGINNINGS - First Peoples’ Architecture - event wrap by RAA president Tim Lee
BEGINNINGS was an exploration of First Nations culture and customs through a series of yarning circles and workshops, curated by Renee McGuinn and Wes Hindmarsh in association with Raymond Timbery, Uncle Steve and members of Gadhungal Marring, Dharrawal Traditional custodians.
BEGINNINGS - First Peoples’ Architecture - event wrap by delegate Ujjaval Lalwani
Architects, landscape architects, interior designers, object, and furniture designers, all got together for two and a half days and learned the songs and stories of the first nations people, their culture, and the land we all live on. While the stories inspired each and everyone of us, it also sparked conversations among us and contemplation in our minds.
Shining a light on the Sunshine Coast: LIGHT event wrap.
Over two and a half days, starting with art and photography workshops and a wonderful Welcome to Country, moving through sunrise yoga to ten varied and engaging speakers and ending with an expansive day of house tours – the RAA has well and truly made an impression on Queensland. And who could forget the food!
Resources on NCC Changes
a collection of resources put together following RAA’s recent online In Practice sessions on energy performance
Kinship forged in the bush: SITING event wrap.
After uniting dozens of regional architects, designers and their building industry colleagues, the RAA looks back on SITING as a formative springboard to galvanise a movement for working with allied disciplines in designing not just in, but for regional areas into the future.
TECHNICAL MEMBER FEATURE - AWS
AWS presents this project design by our Byron Bay members SPACEStudio in this month’s feature article describing how the use of its Vantage product assisted in achieving the architectural outcome for the project.