ELEMENTS – The Full Review
Over three days in mid-November the Regional Architecture Association brought together over 50 delegates, fantastic local food and some serious inspiration in Moruya on the NSW South Coast for our ELEMENTS event.
Welcome to Country with Auntie Iris - Moruya Heads Beach
Building on the success of our event at Bundanon earlier in 2022, where a one-day seminar came with fringe benefits, ELEMENTS brought low-mileage insights to those who made the trip with all but one speaker being from the area. In addition, we supported many local businesses and community groups including the fantastic SAGE Project who hosted us for an outdoor pizza night using ingredients grown on site.
Beginning on Thursday afternoon at 'Punctuation Studio’, home to Vice President and Creative Director Marcus Piper, we gained a glimpse into the process he and TAKT | Studio For Architecture went through in designing and building the studio within a studio. Following this Marcus showed recent projects including his consulting on the layout of a local bicycle store, an elaborate garage door art project and an incredible bronze wall for a home in Neutral Bay in collaboration with Axolotl.
After nibbles and some fine wine from Rosby Wines, delegates headed to the Waterfront Hotel for a casual dinner with a generous bar tab from our Founding Technical Member, Arcpanel.
That was day one, or - in fact the first afternoon.
Studio Visit - Punctuation Studio Moruya
As delegates gathered for a full day of speakers on the Friday we were welcomed to Yuin Country by local icon, Aunty Iris. Holding a stick and a stone she not only reminded us of the land we were meeting on but the care we need to take with the tools we use.
The day continued at the Moruya Surf Life Saving Club with Councillor Alison Worthington, Deputy Mayor of the Eurobodalla Shire Council giving a summary of the housing challenges faced in the shire. The subsequent open forum, chaired by Tim Lee (RAA President) discussed how the RAA can be proactively involved in the early stages of regional planning which was warmly welcomed by the Deputy Mayor.
Landscape Architect Edwina Robinson of the Climate Factory then took the stage to share her experiences setting up Micro-Forests across Canberra, in her own home and at St John’s Anglican Church in Moruya.
Continuing the theme of working with the land, Jason Lam from DirtArt then walked through the process of designing and building some of the southern hemispheres most revered hiking and mountain bike trails. A masters in architecture and a love of mountain biking have combined to become his dream job.
Jason Lam - Moruya Heads Surf Club
The finale for Friday was a conversation with local builder, Pip Smith of Smith & Primmer – who has an educational background and family history in architecture. He spoke of the power of problem solving and the experience required to get it right and also his engagement with a recent project in Ethiopia. With a strong family connection to the nation, Smith shared stories of how funding the building of a guest house roof stimulated an entire community struggling during the lockdowns of recent times.
Prior to our fantastic lunch from local supplier the Gundarey Bakery, our Founding Technical Member Polytec gave us a glimpse into their astounding regional productional facility and what they are doing to make the world a better place. We also had the chance to celebrate our newest Technical Member Savage Design, the provider of the RAA branded brass pens gifted to our speakers.
So that was Friday and 4.5 CPD points, or so we thought.
Delegates then moved to the SAGE Community Garden on the outskirts of Moruya for a feast in and of the ELEMENTS. Whilst enjoying pizzas made from ingredients picked mere meters away we heard from retired architect-turned-artist Stuart Whitelaw about the evolution of SAGE and how the courtyard roof was financed by the growing and sale of garlic. As the evening wore on the more musical members provided entertainment, fuelled in part by our friends at Rosby Wines.
Edwina Robinson from The Climate Factory and Stuart Whitelaw + Sandra Makdessi from the Sage Committee at Sage Community Garden with our excellent RAA bags doubling as pizza makers aprons
Sage Community Garden Pizza Dinner + Drinks
As if that wasn’t enough fun for one event Saturday kicked off in the small village of Congo, just south of Moruya, with TAKT opening the gates to their partially built CLT home. With hardwood door frames freshly oiled and the CLT still naked of any seal it was a brave but worthwhile manoeuvre. While a time-lapse of the three-day instal looped in the background the team talked through their challenges in what can only be described as a personal project.
In contrast, the next stop was Glenn Murcutt’s Magney House, in neighbouring Bingie. Set in beautiful coastal National Park it was a rare treat to visit this icon of regional architecture. It is fair to say in the absence of the architect, the critique was free flowing.
Site Visit to Glen Murcutt’s Magney House
Wrapping it up in style for those headed North, Tziallas Architects welcomed us to their award winning My Malua house in Malua Bay for champagne cocktails and the most generous 'food on top of food’ platter ever seen. It was the perfect excuse to pause, enjoy the laid-back vibes of the beach house and reflect on the events of the past few days.
As the structured activities came to an end the gathering dissipated to go bush walking, swimming, mountain biking or to sample the fine dining of the area.
All in all we got together, enjoyed each others company and did what we do best – share architecture and design and celebrate the community we are in. All in 48 hours!
See you next year for more extraordinary adventures.
