Aboriginal design and landscape architecture studio Yerrabingin and architecture and urban design practice Tzannes have announced their co-location, marking a significant step towards fostering First Nations-led design in Australia.

Yerrabingin has co-located to Tzannes’ Sydney studio, bolstering the ongoing collaboration between Tzannes and Yerrabingin. 

For several years, the practices have worked together to integrate First Nations knowledge into the built environment.

Yerrabingin CEO Christian Hampson says the alignment of Yerrabingin and Tzannes’ values has resulted in rich and authentic design responses to date, which will be further enhanced by the co-location.

“I’ve had the great opportunity to collaborate and work with Tzannes in designing with Country on several important civic scale projects,” Hampson says.

“Together, we have designed for resilience, regeneration, honouring tacit knowledge and wisdom to realise innovation. This importantly shapes our connected role as custodians in design, the conversation of Country and our collective past, present and future within Country, with our future a shared goal to regenerate through design.”

Both practices will continue to deliver projects independently for their own clients. The co-location will enable the sharing of knowledge between the two practices, improved efficiency and a productive environment for ideas to flourish.

Tzannes Director Amy Dowse says the practice’s work is underpinned by a deep respect for Country and she’s thrilled to be working more closely with Yerrabingin.

“The architecture and design industry is changing. Our clients, our team and the public desire a deeper connection to Country,” she says.

“We’ve collaborated closely with our First Nations’ colleagues for some time now and see the value in working in an integrated way to further embed knowledge into the co-design process. We’re excited to continue to learn from Yerrabingin and strengthen our collaboration to integrate First Nations’ thinking, landscape architecture, architecture
and urban design more seamlessly.”

The co-location initiative aims to dismantle the silos which often characterise the design industry. 

By sharing space and knowledge, the two practices will offer seamless services to elevate design outcomes for their clients.