What does it mean to “reset” in the wake of a crisis – to return to “life as usual” in the face of changing social, economic and environmental climates?

The Architecture Symposium: Reset, curated by Jemima Retallack of Retallack Thompson and Aaron Peters of Vokes and Peters, will examine the residential work of architects and designers who question the idea of “usual” and challenge our perceptions of housing for the future.

Taking place at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on 28 July 2023, the one-day symposium features local and international speakers who have been invited to share “diverse and engaging stories about the home, reminding us, perhaps, of things forgotten, overlooked or misunderstood.”

“They will inspire us to reconsider the assumptions of the architect, the agency of the occupant, and the public role of the (supposedly) ‘private’ building,” the curators said.

Among the keynote speakers will be Marcelo Faiden of Adamo-Faiden (Buenos Aires, Argentina), whose radical apartment buildings feature unprogrammed space for maximum flexibility. The practice’s Once Building, in the Buenos Aires barrio of Núñez, even resists the label “apartment building,” with its six modular units designed to be used as either apartments or offices.

Faced with a COVID-era exodus to the suburbs, Faiden advocates for a renewed focus on the city.

“Through [the city’s] density, we can have an intelligent usage of the territory, of the planet and its resources,” Faiden said in a 2021 lecture. “I believe architecture plays a fundamental role in enriching the urban culture.”

Hailing from New Zealand, Spacecraft Architects directors Caroline Robertson and Tim Gittos will discuss projects like their recent Block Party, which offers a potential alternative to developer-driven projects by fostering communality in medium-density housing.

“With a developer-driven model, the cost of a given housing unit is the cost of development plus a profit margin,” Gittos told ArchitectureAU. “In this model, which is loosely cohousing, you get the housing at cost price – there’s no profit margin. Whatever that leaves you, in the way of change, you can spend on the housing itself and make it better or make improved amenity.”

From Australia, keynote speakers will include Chris Major and David Welsh of Welsh and Major and Nigel Bertram and Marika Neustupny of NMBW Architecture Studio.

Presenting case studies will be Zuzana Kovar, director of Zuzana and Nicholas; Kate Fitzgerald, director of W­­hispering Smith; and Andrew Power, who made a splash with his first project in Australia, a humble suburban take on the Palladian villa called House with a Guest Room.

Tickets for The Architecture Symposium: Reset are on sale now.

The Architecture Symposium: Reset is a Design Speaks program presented by Architecture Media, publisher of ArchitectureAU. It is supported by major partner Planned Cover; supporting partners Tasmanian Timber, Galvin Engineering, and Parkwood Doors; and hotel partner Ovolo Woolloomooloo.

Source: TourismAfrica2006