Talking Architecture & Design

Architecture & Design
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Now celebrating its 8th year (Season 9), Talking Architecture & Design is Australia’s first B2B architecture podcast that regularly talks about a range of issues that affect Australia’s architects, building designers and built environment professionals.  Run by Australia’s most popular architecture magazine, Architecture & Design, the Talking Architecture & Design podcast gives a regular bite-sized dose of what is important and sometimes what is just plain old interesting to anyone and everyone in the business of building design.

  1. 14 HR AGO

    Episode 284: COX Executive Chair Patrick Ness and BLP Principal Mark Mitchell on designing the ‘People’s Hospital’ in Footscray

    In this episode of Talking Architecture & Design, host Clémence Carayol heads to Melbourne’s west to unpack one of Australia’s most ambitious health projects: the new Footscray Hospital.  More than a deep dive into a major piece of infrastructure, the conversation explores how architecture can reshape the experience of healthcare itself. The $1.5 billion hospital, designed by COX Architecture in collaboration with Billard Leece Partnership, is delivered by the Plenary Health consortium with Multiplex as builder, alongside the Victorian Government and Western Health.  Joining the podcast are COX Executive Chair Patrick Ness and BLP Principal Mark Mitchell, who reflect on the ideas behind what has become affectionately known as “the People’s Hospital”. Central to the discussion is the decision to conceive the hospital as a campus rather than a monolithic building. Five interconnected structures are organised around a village green, forming a civic heart that prioritises clarity, orientation and connection.  This landscape-led approach reframes the hospital as a place people might visit for a coffee or a walk, not only in moments of illness, reinforcing its role as social and civic infrastructure. Ness and Mitchell also discuss how human-centred design principles shaped everything from intuitive wayfinding and daylight-filled interiors to the careful management of scale in such a vast facility.  Access to nature, cultural inclusion informed by collaboration with First Nations Elders, and a strong emphasis on staff wellbeing emerge as critical drivers of the design. The episode also tackles future-facing challenges. Sustainability targets, including Green Star and WELL aspirations, influenced material choices and building performance, while lessons from COVID-19 informed flexibility and pandemic preparedness. As the Footscray Hospital opens, this episode positions it as a powerful benchmark for healthcare architecture: a place where clinical excellence, community identity and long-term resilience are designed to coexist.

    38 min

  2. 16 FEB

    Episode 283: Dr. Kavita Gonsalves & Brayden Goodwin from Populous on Beyond the Games: How circular design and sustainability are transforming sports infrastructure

    To help us unpack what it really means to build not just for a few weeks of sport, but for decades of community benefit, reuse, and resilience we spoke to two experts from design firm Populous: Dr. Kavita Gonsalves, Associate Principal - Sustainability Design Lead ‑ APAC, and Brayden Goodwin, Principal, Architect — Brisbane, on how circular design and sustainability are transforming sports infrastructure in Australia.

    43 min

  3. 9 FEB

    Episode 282: Talking about the unique design of Sydney's brand new Fish Market with BVN, 3XN GXN & ASPECT Studios

    Catherine Skinner, Principal, BVN, Audun Opdal, Senior Partner, 3XN, Louise Pearson, Studio Director, ASPECT Studios, and Miguel Serrao, Associate, ASPECT Studios, sat down with Talking Architecture and Design at the recent opening of the stunning Sydney Fish Markets, to talk about the highlights, surprises and challenges of working on such a large, iconic and complex public infrastructure project.

    18 min

  4. 2 FEB

    Episode 281: Shaping Melbourne’s cultural future with Director and CEO of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Katrina Sedgwick

    In this episode of Talking Architecture & Design, we’re joined by Katrina Sedgwick, the inaugural Director and CEO of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation (MAP Co), who is leading one of Australia’s most ambitious cultural transformations – a $1.7 billion revitalisation connecting Federation Square through to Southbank. Sedgwick shares what it’s like to build a new organisation while simultaneously delivering a project of national significance. Establishing MAP Co’s culture, partnerships, and long-term vision has gone hand in hand with reshaping one of Melbourne’s most important civic and artistic precincts. The redevelopment is deeply informed by the precinct’s rich history and layered cultural identity. Rather than starting from scratch, the transformation celebrates heritage, architecture, and Melbourne’s long-standing creative community, ensuring the precinct remains both respectful of its past and responsive to the future. At the heart of the project is Laak Boorndap, a new public garden designed as a place for gathering, reflection, and cultural expression. More than just a green space, it brings together nature, performance, and Indigenous storytelling to create a welcoming and meaningful environment for the city. Climate resilience is also central to the design, with landscaping, shade, and water-sensitive strategies helping prepare the precinct for Melbourne’s changing conditions. First Peoples principles guide planting, artistic collaborations, and the ongoing care for Country, ensuring Indigenous knowledge and culture are embedded throughout the space. Drawing on her leadership experience at major cultural institutions such as ACMI and the Adelaide Film Festival, Sedgwick brings a collaborative and community-focused approach to this complex project. Balancing the needs of artists, organisations, visitors, and the wider public is key to creating a precinct that truly belongs to everyone. With Federation Square now under MAP Co’s stewardship, the vision is for a connected cultural corridor where art, public life, and civic space come together. From major events to everyday moments of connection, the precinct is being shaped to inspire creativity and community for generations to come.

    49 min

  5. 26 JAN

    Episode 280: Suzanne Toumbourou, Australian Council of Recycling CEO, on why waste reduction is actually a revenue stream

    Suzanne Toumbourou, CEO of the Australian Council of Recycling, shares her insights and helps us understand on the challenges the enormous opportunities that recycling and circular thinking present for Australia’s built environment.  She also explains how architects, designers, builders and policymakers all have a critical role to play in shaping a more sustainable, resource-smart future.

    40 min

  6. 19 JAN

    Episode 279: 2025 Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Business Awards Lifetime Achievement Award winner Michael Rayner on urban design & his 'what else' philosophy

    Michael Rayner is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, co-founder of Blight Rayner Architecture and the 2025 recipient of the Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Business Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. This prestigious honour — presented only six times in the Awards’ two-decade history — recognises Michael’s remarkable four decades of design leadership, a career that has shaped Brisbane’s skyline, enriched Australia’s civic identity, and taken Australian design to international audiences. From the  Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney Exhibition Centre, Sydney Football Stadium, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, QPAC’s new Glasshouse Theatre to Sydney’s Barker College and a veritable smorgasbord of global high profile projects such as the National Maritime Museum of China, — Michael’s work has continually asked the same question: “What else?” In this episode, we’ll explore his philosophy, the evolution of Brisbane’s architectural identity, and what true city-shaping leadership looks like in an era of rapid growth and change.

    42 min

  7. 15/12/2025

    Episode 278: David Henderson from COX on how architects can make smarter & lower-carbon decisions without compromising on design

    An experienced architect and leader within COX’s sustainability team in Melbourne,  David Henderson is one of the creators of Product Aware, and in this final episode for 2025, David takes us on a deep dive into the sustainable materials maze and how architects can make smarter, lower-carbon decisions without needing to compromise on design embeds as well as explaining how regenerative design can be designed into all phases of projects from inception to delivery. This podcast is brought to you in association with Autex Acoustics, proud sponsors of our 2025 Sustainability series of podcasts.

    34 min

  8. 08/12/2025

    Episode 277: Nic Hughan from Hames Sharley on the design & delivery challenges of hospitals, schools, and community buildings

    Over a career spanning more than 28 years, Hames Sharley's Nic Hughan has gained extensive local and international experience in the planning, design, documentation, and delivery of large and complex projects, with a focus on hospitals, education, and community buildings. Having assumed the leadership role for several high-profile hospital and social infrastructure projects, as well as owning and running his own practice for 10 years, Hughan developed a strong focus toward project delivery and team management, as well as broader strategic and business development areas. In this episode, Hughan shares his thoughts, ideas, skills and experience he learned during his career that spanned not just Australia, but a number of countries around the world. This podcast is brought to you in association with Moddex, proud sponsors of our 2025 Commercial series of podcasts.

    51 min
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About

Now celebrating its 8th year (Season 9), Talking Architecture & Design is Australia’s first B2B architecture podcast that regularly talks about a range of issues that affect Australia’s architects, building designers and built environment professionals.  Run by Australia’s most popular architecture magazine, Architecture & Design, the Talking Architecture & Design podcast gives a regular bite-sized dose of what is important and sometimes what is just plain old interesting to anyone and everyone in the business of building design.

Information

  • Creator
    Architecture & Design
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    281
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Talking Architecture & Design
  • Show Website
    Talking Architecture & Design

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