YAMBA, 13TH-15TH JUNE 2024.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATALIE McCOMAS, with harwood bridge & toumbaal plains photos by delegates

“What’s your story?” … A question that often arises when you meet someone for the first time, particularly when living in a regional community. John de Manincor of Possible Studio in the Byron hinterland reflects on the “stories” shared over the 3 days at CENTRED in Yamba.

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”.

I was embarrassingly late to the kickoff of the great walking tour led by Louisa… I’d caught up with a friend I’d met at a community pizza night en route and lost track of time – sorry Ms Gee, community connections mean a lot to me!!! Sorry Business meant the planned guide of the foreshore by a local elder was not possible, but our host Louisa did a cracking job stepping in at late notice filling us in on European history. Later at her charming office located in the “Old School House” Louisa told us the “story” of her career to date as (some of us) enjoyed a gin or two from the Yamba Distilling Co. She and I later joked that we seemed to only have one degree of separation between us when it comes to the architecture community which as we all know can be very small. Over dinner at the golf club some people told their “stories” to new acquaintances while others reconnected with friends made at previous RAA events.

On Friday morning attendees who arrived early enough to Yamba Surf Club spotted whales on their annual trek north. We were welcomed to this special place on Yagel Country by traditional owner Dianne Chapman.  Dianne gave us insights into the 19 year process of gaining Native Title and how the Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation became the first Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC) in NSW to win native title over parts of the sea. It was inspiring to hear about the planned projects for their community and others along the shores of the Clarence river.

Back inside with the gentle sound of the sea rolling in, the formal presentations began. We heard from Sonia van de Haar of Lymesmith, a colour theorist and muralist, based in Canberra who works across NSW. Sonia posited the idea that in many circles “colour is a threat to architecture” – that being the case for those that mingle in those circles might see her delightful work as threatening indeed. She went on to suggest that “white walls are evil!” Hearing how her work in the public domain for both private and institutional clients has triggered conversations amongst people in the community and, for the most part, those conversations have been positive ones.

Never have I watched a pod of dolphins frolic amongst the waves during morning tea at an architecture conference – such a delight! The dolphins were a hard act for Dan Etheridge, Director of Engagement at Living Lab Northern Rivers to follow. Working in Lismore I’ve been lucky enough to hear Dan’s “story” before. That said, I felt privileged to be part of the Lismore community as he spoke of the many events he and his team have facilitated around flood recovery and adaptation for the community where I live and work. More impressive is the advocacy and lobbying the Lab is doing for quality design outcomes for the Northern Rivers region generally.

As a Director of The Government Architect NSW team (the “GA”), Paulo Macchia is also a great advocate of quality design outcomes. Paulo presented a body of work by the “GA” and CHROFI focused on Gosford, a town which is transitioning from a sleepy bayside enclave and growing to become a satellite centre for Sydney. The presentation reinforced how successful outcomes require the confluence of politicians, bureaucrats and design experts. Paulo is a little of each of the latter, an archetype whose role we don’t usually celebrate. It was heartening to see that he and the GA team were awarded Leadership in Sustainability Prize in the AIA 2024 National Prizes. Paulo humbly omitted that accolade from his “story”.

After a delicious lunch thanks to Laneway Lunchbox Cafe (best dhal I’ve had in yonks!) the ever-humble Matt Eagle delighted us all with his body of work, peppered with fun facts about the Gold Coast where most of his projects are located; did you know the Gold Coast was the first place bikinis were legal in Australia? Matt cleverly talked through a series of themes that he and his small team regularly explore, generally emphasising one theme per project and cross-referencing others in the process.

For the final session, RAA secretary and Director of SPACEstudio (Byron Bay) Sarah Aldridge spoke of their role in working with landscape architects and urban designers McGregor Coxall on the Byron Bay Masterplan. SPACEstudio was the local architect and involved in the community engagement for the project. One of the key points in Sarah’s presentation is that regional projects must include local practices if for no other reason than their deep understanding of their community’s “story” - a point all in the audience would agree with. She also stressed the vital role a committed council plays in such projects, a fact often forgotten when dealing with the minutiae of our DA’s. “Do the easy stuff first” was a lesson Sarah and the team learned from the process.

The Masterplan identified three so-called easy public domain projects which have recently been completed by landscape architects Plummer and Smith from Murwillumbah. Dan Plummer’s opening line in presenting these projects was “I hate public speaking” – despite that he did a great job. The Rail Corridor Park, Railway Park & Playground, and the Byron Visitor Centre & Jonson Street Public Domain are three interconnected projects in the Byron CBD. Whilst each has its own “story”, two key points emerged from the presentation; refining by deletion and listening (and importantly interpreting) community concerns.

In the summary panel which included Sarah, Dan and Byron architect John McKay, they reflected on lessons learned from the Masterplan process. If any of you are like me, you may sometimes lament not being “on” a community project in your region. It was a delight to hear about John’s active role as one of 17 members of the Masterplan’s steering committee not as an architect per se but as a member of the community committed to seeing quality design projects realised – perhaps we can learn from this humility and give something to our communities through design outside of practice.

An event such as this has many key ingredients which include technical experts and a great conference dinner. Thanks to AWS, Nolans, Evoheat, Arcpanel and Stone Style who not only showed their wares but shared their personal stories over a drink and some excellent pizza at the Friday night social dinner at The Wobbly Chook.

A few brave souls ventured into the ocean for an early swim on Saturday morning, not I! Later we gathered to hear local artist Al Stark talk about his recently painted murals under the Harwood Bridge. The story of the art was fascinating but not as fascinating as the amusing tales about the people who park under the bridge on occasion. Many of us ventured South along a sketchy track to experience the Toumbaal House, winner of the Wilkinson Award for Residential Architecture (2003) designed by Fergus Scott Architects. Fergus generously travelled up from Sydney to greet us and gave an informal talk about the house which he designed for friends he’d made at university. The design ideas were interesting of course – it’s a great house, but the “back stories” like the (low) cost of building at the time and beating his old boss to win the Wilkinson drew some laughs from the crowd.

As the weekend drew to a close, it left me thinking about all the learning and laughing (and stories!) we had shared over the 3 days… key ingredients for a community – where do we fill that in on our CPD forms?!

We look forward to seeing you all on 19th September for our next event in the Blue Mountains.

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