Australian architects working on overseas projects are not given enough support or recognition, says a leading architectural firm.
Despite buoying the economy by bringing foreign dollars into Australia and resisting pressure from clients to move their studios overseas, many architects are not getting the help they need, Allan Stevens, director of Esquisse Design Studio, said.
“We have a great industry here, and that is a commodity that is well appreciated overseas. There should be more benefits and more support for that in the industry,” Stevens told Architecture & Design.
As well as grants from Austrade there should be tax breaks for Australian studios working on overseas projects, Stevens said.
The firm is currently working on the masterplan for Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, as well as a masterplan to develop the southern waterfront of Bahrain with PK Developments and a mixed-use masterplan for the Iskandar development in Malaysia.
However, when starting out on overseas projects, the firm felt cast adrift. There was not enough support when figuring out how to work off shore, fellow director Naomi Fry said. “We basically had to feel our way through it.”
This lack of support means that the profession in Australia is missing out on valuable opportunities.
“The Australian architectural community does not understand the opportunities or really appreciate the good work that is happening off shore,” Fry said. This is both a failing of the industry and universities, which do not put enough emphasis on the breadth of architectural practice, she said.
“As a nation, other than natural resources, our next great export is our intellectual knowledge. The internet and tele-conferencing mean that you can operate a business internationally from here. And a lot of other countries, such as China and India, are making a lot more of that opportunity than we do, when potentially we have more to offer.”
Architecture & Design is preparing a special showcase of the work that Australian architects are doing overseas. Have an interesting project? Or got a burning issue about working off shore? Email [email protected]
