PROJECT 1_ Research
Listening to our place as architects amongst Country
Role: Co-researcher/listener
Collaborators:Miles Agius - BLArch(Hons)
Teachers & Mentors: Wareamah
Wianamatta
Goodmayes on Darkinjung Country
Alison Page (Tharawal and Yuin)
Matte Ager-McConnell (Wiradjuri)
Marni Reti (Palawa and Ngāti Wai)
Mackenzie Saddler (Wiradjuri)
Brooke Jackson
Project Type: Research / Methodology development
Project Description:This thesis investigates how Western-trained designers can bridge the divide between colonial frameworks and relational, Country-centred methodologies through unlearning, listening, and reciprocity. Using three case studies—Wareamah, Goodmayes Orchard, and Wianamatta—the work explores how architects and landscape architects can reposition themselves as listeners and translators of Country’s voices into spatial practice.
This body of work is a reflection of our shared journey over the past year. This project isn’t focused on final design outputs or polished drawings; rather our intention is to explore our journey of unlearning ingrained Western biases and asking what it means to centre Country in our practice through critical relationalism.
Key Contributions:
- Relational Methodologies: Developed a Position-Listen-Uncover framework and tools like layered drawing and counter-mapping to centre relationships over outputs in architectural processes.
- Case Studies:
- Wareamah (Cockatoo Island): A 250 page book which reflected upon our Introduction to relational and de-colonial methodologies to reposition design as an act of reciprocity with Country.
- Goodmayes Orchard - Darkinjung: Demonstrated the application of relational design principles to balance ecological care and community connection in a tangible project.
- Wianamatta (South Creek): Speculated on relational frameworks in an institutional context, highlighting challenges and adaptive strategies for Country-centred practice.
- Ethical Design Practice: Advocated for the integration of Indigenous knowledge systems, more-than-human relationships, and reciprocal engagement with Country.
Outcomes:
- Showcased how relational methodologies can guide sustainable and inclusive architectural practices.
- Highlighted the limitations of traditional architectural frameworks and the need for systemic shifts in education and practice to support Country-centred design.
- Proposed new tools and frameworks, including ICIP protections and a diasporic studio model, to prioritise relationships over rigid deliverables.
Tools and Methodology:
Relational research, counter-mapping, ICIP-informed design tools, and iterative reflection processes.
Relevance:
This thesis contributes to the ongoing dialogue on how architecture can shift from extractive, colonial practices to honouring Country and fostering meaningful relationships. By embracing Country-centred methodologies, the work reimagines design as a participatory act of care, reciprocity, and ecological stewardship.
Guided by our teachers and Wilson's Research is Ceremony (2008), which emphasises that “relationships are reality” and that “research (and by extension, architecture) is not just like a ceremony, it is a ceremony,” we understand that practice is not a linear process or a product to be outputted. Instead, it is an ongoing cycle where tools, processes, and protocols are purposefully considered to bring people together for collective, representation.
Rejecting the bottleneck of spatial landscape - capital A architecture - we believe our role is listeners of Country’s relationships and translators into the spatial landscape. Here, we use "Architects" to refer to all spatial design disciplines, we have unified our practice, rejecting the separation of the two fields.
This project exists between the Government Architects Connecting with Country Framework and realised projects supporting Country, focusing on our non-linear journey, discomfort, un-learning, relationship-building, as we develop our Country-centred practices. We share our work openly in this website form to support a growing community in this important work.
We walk through 3 of our projects from this year, reflecting on our emerging rituals in developing our methodology:
We extend a heartfelt acknowledgement to our guides of Wareamah, Goodmayes on Darkinjung Country, and Wianamatta. We are grateful for these relationships and teachings they have shared with us..
Wareamah introduced us to Country, de-colonial theories, and relationality, compelling us to slow down and listen deeply. In response to our listening, we developed methodologies to guide a more conscious practice.
Layered drawings are one of our favourite tools to use when listening to Country. Rather than being a static representation, these drawings honour Country’s presence. Each layer allows Country’s voice to resonate.
We recognised the importance of listening with respect and responsibility and therefore we must not to share knowledge that wasn’t ours to give. We adopted a redaction method—sharing the essence of knowledge without revealing specifics, allowing others to grasp its significance while safeguarding its depth and context. This approach shifted our view of knowledge itself, leading us to honour those who hold and share it. Instead of treating knowledge as static citations, we trace it back to the people, places, and shared moments that taught us. Knowledge, we learned, is more than information; it’s a gift, an exchange embedded in deep, communal relationships.
Goodmayes, with my lived relationships, allowed us to translate these methodologies into realised spatial outcomes, emphasising the value of being physically on Country and fostering ongoing care.
Goodmayes orchard is shown as Project 2_
Wianamatta guided by our developing methods, navigating entrenched institutional constraints, and preparing for similar challenges in practice, we looked to make space for the slow non linear listening to Country, in a large-scale project.
“It is a ceremony for improving your relationship with an idea. It takes place every day and has taken place throughout our history” (Wilson, p. 110, 2008)
Each project reflects a cycle within of our ongoing journey, while there stand individually, they are unified by our methods and values; Start and Stay with Country, Embrace relational justice, Safeguard cultural knowledge, show up for community, design in enough-ness and sustain beyond architecture.
“if research hasn’t changed you as a person, then you haven’t done it right” (p. 135).
When we asked Alison Page, a Thawawal and Yuin designer and friend, how do you hold space for diverse, sometimes conflicting knowledges within communities? She offered us a guiding principle: cultural values are constant. These values have become our compass, helping us anchor our own values and cultural insights in our positioning and lifelong practice.
Our Values
Start and Stay with CountryWe begin by thinking about the dynamic tangible and intangible interconnected cycles of relationships that are Country. We build our projects by walking Country, listening to learn how best to engage. Every phase of our work reflects this commitment to honouring and understanding Country’s layered ecosystems, knowledge, and needs.
Embrace Relational Justice
We strive for equity across human and more-than-human communities. Recognising everything as interconnected, we include the perspectives of all beings that make up Country - people, plants, animals, and the land itself. We examine the impacts of our work beyond the immediate project site, respecting and integrating diverse voices to promote a balanced and fair outcome. A deep relational understanding is required to understand tools and processes that are respectful of protocol.
Safeguard Cultural Knowledge
In the search for equality, we must recognise that Western systems continue to be unsafe and disconnected from Country and community. Therefore, cultural safety and reciprocity are foundational to our work. We are committed to respecting cultural knowledge and protocols, asking permission not just once, but continually committing to redaction, compensating Elders and cultural custodians fairly, and ensuring Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) is protected. This means valuing the time, stories, and wisdom shared with us as sacred, and centering this in every step of our process.
Show Up for Community
Community is at the core of our practice, and we value relationships that go beyond professional boundaries. We honour the time, input, and priorities of community and actively listen, recognising tension with project timelines, while searching to safely advocate for space and time. This value calls for mutual respect, patience, and action, ensuring we engage in ways that are meaningful and truly supportive. Most importantly, relationships are not project specific, therefore we value showing up for relationships outside of schedules. This looks like spending time listening to Country, balancing our working conditions to counteract complacency, and showing up continually for the relationships being built within our communities.
Design in Enough-ness
Guided by a sense of enough-ness, we commit to a design practice that respects limits and is grounded in the wellbeing of Country. We avoid overuse, specifying materials thoughtfully an reusing resources wherever possible. This mindful approach considers time and impact, valuing simplicity and ecological integrity over excess, and placing Country’s health at the forefront of all decisions.
Sustain Beyond Architecture
Our commitment to community and wellbeing goes beyond the architectural space, reaching into all areas of our lives. We value supporting relationships with family, peer groups, and the communities we live in, recognising that sustainability begins with self care and listening to our own needs. This includes making space to recharge, to listen within, and to nurture the connections in our personal lives. From caring for our own backyards, to engaging with our community and the Country we live within, we believe that a grounded, resilient practice requires both self-awareness and active participation in the communities that sustain us.