Leading Australian architect Alec Tzannes to speak in Canberra

Alec Tzannes is one of Australia’s leading architects. He is this year’s recipient of the Australian Institute of Architects 2018 Gold Medal.

The Sydney-based architect has many achievements to his name, including most notably, the Federation Pavilion at Centennial Park, Cathy Freeman Park at Homebush and the Brewery Yard at Central Park in Chippendale.

Mr Tzannes is addressing the ACT Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects on Thursday as part of the 2018 Gold Medal Tour. He will be discussing the role of architecture in the community and themes influencing contemporary design and thinking.

“Architecture is an expressive medium. It also is central to delivering a more sustainable, liveable urban environment to secure Australia’s future from social and economic perspectives,” he says.

“Good design is far more valuable than is commonly understood, as the value proposition is intergenerational and hard to imagine with certainty in the creation process.

“A deeper discussion of what we design and why, and how we design, and for whom, is something I see as important as we face new challenges within the profession and in the world we can influence.”

Mr Tzannes believes architects and those who commission designs need to look at a whole-of-life span, rather than the economic short-term benefits of works.

“We underestimate the value of well-designed products and we do so for a number of reasons,” he says.

“We have a view that good design is in the eye of the beholder and it’s not measurable or something you can achieve in a rational, manageable and reliable way, I think that’s wrong,” he says.

“There’s new methodology that beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, good design is manageable, and I argue it exists and we would have a better outcome striving for it.”

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Speaking about Canberra, which Mr Tzannes describes as an “interesting city” and says he feels positive about its future, particularly the densification of the city centre. He warned, however,  “The stakes are high when you increase density.

“Density can be done well or poorly and doing it badly creates blight. You must drive high density around the concept of livability,” he says.

“Without a liveable heart and fundamentally sound public domain-led densification you have a greater risk of blights.”

Mr Tzannes, who is vegan, says he is at odds with the urban sprawl of Australian cities and believes a limit should be placed on more urban expansion.

“The model of developing new suburbs and expanding the footprint of the city to develop cheap land for housing is unsustainable,” he says.

“I feel the policy of spreading out and taking beautiful land in Australian cities, including Canberra, and plonking another linked city or town is environmentally poor.

“Our responsibility to other sentient beings is not often discussed, we have a duty of care to other habitats as well.”