Moddex attends the Australian Architecture Conference

The team in attendance arrived at the Australian Museum early to paint the room orange with Moddex flair, even adding to the museum with a mini Moddex exhibition along the red carpet on entry to the event. Architects from across Australia were in attendance to join in on a night of reconnecting, networking and laughter. It was truly an event to remember.

Conference Day One: Master Classes – Practice? What Are We Practicing For?

Coffee was on Alspec for the first day of the Conference Master Classes, with the lineup full of fantastic panelists. Moddex’s own Elle Dickson, Head of Marketing, had the opportunity to facilitate two master classes over the two-day conference, the first of which being ‘Practice? What are we practicing for?’. The panelists included Rachael Bernstone of Sounds Like Design, Amelia Lee of Live Life Build, Rebecca Caldwell of Maytree Studios, and 2020 National Emerging Architect Award winner, Sarah Lenbar of Cooee Architecture. Four people who are shaping architecture by Facing Forward – a panel of do-ors, action takers, and perhaps you might say, disrupters.

There was a collective view that architects are not currently valued in today’s world. Architects often wear multiple hats, whilst also often left to fix design mistakes made builders, all whilst being paid less. Also, that perhaps architects are not confident in charging fees or offering a pricing model and structure to their clients, and communicating this. It has always been the outlook that architects shouldn’t market or ‘sell’ their skills.

Two imperative components of practice, delivery and impact, is communication and marketing. The reality however is that there is little education around business development, and communication is not a required field of study within their degrees. Rachael Bernstone, in particular, spoke about marketing and continued deeper into this theme and communication into day two’s panel session.

Conference Day Two: Master Classes – ‘Communicating Architecture’

Continuing from day one, the master class on day two provided insights and real applications into the gap of communication. Led by Catherine Townsend of Townsend + Associates, we were led into another panel style discussion including Jenny Edwards of Light House Architecture & Science, Patrick Kennedy of Kennedy Nolan, Dr Kirsty Voltz from QUT, Saneia Norton of Saneie Norton Design Communication. Further, the panel welcomed back Rachael Bernstone of Sounds Like Design from day one, who led discussion on the education gap of communication, and progress to including this in the National Standard of Competency for Architects (NSCA). There was a draft for consultation in December 2020:

‘PC13: Be able to implement relevant client management systems, marketing and business development.’

Unfortunately, this is yet to become recognized CPD and subsequently is somewhat a barrier to bridging this communication gap.

Watching the discussion unfold, it was interesting to see the dialogue exchange between architects and the public, or as they refer to us as “non architects” was eye opening. Likened to science – when you try to explain to non-scientists your work, Jenny Edwards re-told experiences through her journey of communication.

Key messages from the panelists were listed upfront; invest in communications, understand your audience, and find the hook. This set the tone for the skills lab which presented six communication scenarios; awards, conflict, pitch, clients, public and publish. The discussion wrapped up with an exercise running through a scenario and how you may communicate with a non-architect friend, family member or partner.

The Curtain Closing

As the curtain fell on the Australian Architecture Conference, it’s impossible to overlook the vibrant array of events that encapsulated the spirit and camaraderie in the architecture community. Most notably showcased during the Bondor Metecno Black & White Gala Dinner – this elegant event was a social highlight. The conference was more than a mere exchange of ideas, it was also a celebration of architectural brilliance. The National Awards evening was a fitting way to close out the two-day event – recognising the work and contributions in the field.