Grants Assessment Panel Members Announced

Grants Assessment Panel Members Announced

2023 marks our fourth year of running our grants program. As the grants program reach and success has grown, so too has the need to add to the assessment membership with a wider range of design professionals who are independent of our Board.

We were overwhelmed by the quality of applicants who expressed interest in being part of this new era in our grants program.

The members were selected by our Board of Directors to represent a broad range of expert backgrounds, geographical locations and social diversity. All members will serve over the next two years and will be integral to the expansion and development of our grants program as it continues to grow and continues to impact architecture and design research in Australia.

It is with great pleasure the Alastair Swayn Foundation introduces the 2023-2024 Grants Assessment Panel members:

Cameron Bruhn
Cameron is the CEO of the Australian Institute of Architects and was formerly the Dean and Head of School at The University of Queensland’s School of Architecture. He was previously the editorial director of Architecture Media, where his role included the custodianship of the centenarian magazine Architecture Australia. He is a respected leader and communicator in Australia’s architecture community and an advocate for the value of the built environment in shaping communities, cities, and regions. Cameron completed his practice-based PhD at RMIT University, and holds a Bachelor of Design Studies and Bachelor of Architecture from The University of Queensland. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, and an Honorary Professor at The University of Queensland.

Philip Goad
Professor Philip Goad is internationally known for his research and is an authority on modern Australian architecture. Philip has worked extensively as an architect, conservation consultant, and curator. Philip is an expert on the life and work of Robin Boyd, and has held visiting scholar positions at Columbia University, Bartlett School of Architecture (London) and UCLA (Los Angeles).
Philip is a past editor of Fabrications, the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand, and is a contributing editor to Architecture Australia. Along with Professor Julie Willis, he is the editor of The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture.

Sandra Loschke
Sandra is an Associate Professor in Architecture at the University of Sydney and a chartered architect (RIBA, ARB No.066977F) with significant experience in large, international architectural practice in the U.K., Germany and Australia.
Her research focuses on the challenges of making building more sustainable and develops new architectural design paradigms that are environmentally, socially, and economically progressive. She leads interdisciplinary research projects with partners from industry, government and non-for profit organisations, linking architectural design & construction with engineering, urban planning and environmental science.

Gay Williamson
Gay Williamson has held senior design positions in Local, State and Commonwealth Governments and has interspersed these sessions of public service working in private practice and teaching Landscape Architecture at Canberra University. Gay’s last position was the Manager of Design Policy with the ACT Government’s Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate, where she led a team of architects, landscape architects, social scientists and environmental planers, all galvanized in the endeavour of making sustainable places.

With a professional base in Landscape Architecture, Gay is concerned that planning and design solutions are systemic, concentrating on the relationships between elements, natural social and cultural processes. The fourth dimension of time and the construct of inter-generational equity are also critical. Gay is passionate that plans are not set out as ‘blueprints’ but as frameworks that can guide decision making and respond to opportunities.

Currently, Gay is combining teaching at Canberra University with own opportunities to pursue her interest in planning and creating cities that enrich our environment, lives and our emotional well being.

Asha Tsimeris
Asha has over 14 years’ experience working in the Federal Government and university sector in human centred design, change management, cultural change and student development. She is currently Deputy Manager Student Engagement at the Australian National University. Prior to this, she completed a Bachelor of Design (Honours) at the University of Canberra, including an exchange to the European Institute of Design in Milan funded by an ACT Lions Club bursary.

Kate Doyle
Kate has been leading not-for-profit organisations and complex change projects across education,
regulation and standards setting for over thirty years; twenty of these years in the architecture
space. She has formerly held roles as Registrar of the Architects Registration Board of NSW, CEO of
the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia and non-exec Director of the Living Future Institute
of Australia.

Kate has a deep understanding of the broad professional, educational and regulatory field in which
architecture operates locally, regionally and internationally. She is committed to initiative that
support the growth and quality of architectural work in Australia, particularly how we articulate the
value of architecture to society and the environment.
Kate is recognised for her integrity, her support for colleagues and capacity to foster collaboration
across multiple stakeholders to deliver tangibly improved processes.

Edwina Jans
Edwina Jans is a co-founder and Creative Director of Canberra Modern, an award-winning events-based organisation founded to celebrate the extraordinary modernist spirit and design legacy of Canberra. She is an archaeologist, curator, museums and cultural heritage expert who has held executive roles in a range of national cultural institutions and government agencies, and specializes in communication and innovative engagement for heritage places and collections.

Edwina holds degrees in archaeology and museum studies and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Edwina is a Churchill Fellow and has been recognized for her work through numerous awards including from the Australian Institute of Architects, National Trust, Australian Museums and Galleries Association and the Australian Public Service. She is an International Member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and is currently on the Executive Committee for the ICOMOS General Assembly and Scientific Symposium to be held in Sydney in September 2023.

Graeme Dix
Graeme Dix has been a director of JPW, a multi-disciplinary design studio based in Sydney, for more than two decades, and has more than 30 years of professional experience across a diverse range of project typologies and scales, around Australia and internationally.
Graeme has specialist expertise in urban design, masterplanning, cultural and civic projects, commercial architecture, and the sensitive integration of heritage into the contemporary built environment.

Graeme is a member of the South Australian Design Review Panel, is an Architectural Practice Examiner in NSW, and has participated in a range of AIA committees, awards and competition juries in NSW and ACT.

Graeme commenced his architectural studies in Canberra and completed his first year of professional employment with Alastair Swayn, before moving to Melbourne to complete his degree at RMIT. Alastair’s capacity to quietly create a generous and collaborative environment in which to work and explore ideas has had a lasting impact on Graeme’s approach to his own practice and helping emerging members of the profession pursue their own careers and passions.
Graeme believes that innovation across the built environment must play an active role in defining futures that are sustainable, inclusive, and equitable for all.

Tiffany Liew
Tiffany is an Associate at Andrew Burns Architecture and National President of the Emerging Architects and Graduates Network (EmAGN). At Andrew Burns Architecture, she leads projects with a sustainability emphasis, working on improving places for people and the planet.
As National EmAGN President, Tiffany is a committed advocate for emerging architects, inclusive work practices, and sustainability in architecture. In this role, she oversees nine committees and approximately 120 committee members across the country, as part of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA).
Tiffany has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Dulux Study Tour Prize, Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship, Ruskin Rowe Prize for Architecture, Bluescope Lysaght Prize for Architectural Design, and Sunlord Perpetual Prize. She was also nominated for the NSW Architects Medallion and was awarded 2nd Prize for the 2016 ATW International Tapestry Design Prize for Architects.

Simon Rochowski
Simon is a director and co-founder of studioplusthree, an architectural practice working across cultural, civic and residential projects. The work of the studio has been recognised in awards programmes at national and international level, and has worked with some of the leading cultural institutions both in Australia and overseas. Simon is actively involved in the Australian architectural community, having been a juror for the NSW Architecture Awards, Best In Practice prize, and has been co-chair and member of several committees to support architectural practice and education. He has been a guest speaker on topics of art, design and architecture, has taught architectural design at UTS, and in 2021 was a recipient of the Dulux Study Tour Prize for his contribution to architectural practice, community and education.

Thank you to all our new Grants Assessment Panel members, we look forward to working with you over the next two years and welcome your contribution in strengthening our grants program.