Sustainable residential architecture should educate and empower a home’s users but, first, it must be accountable: for its energy needs and contributions, and for its net financial cost.
Simon has always sought to stay ahead of the sustainability curve, and to prove the enduring value of investing in beautiful, small-footprint design. Simon rejects the minimalist, white box. He designs spaces that are warm, light-filled, and for living in.
Earlier in his career Simon worked for several respected Sydney practices, with one of his most notable roles including project architect for the multi-award-winning Clovelly House. This project, which included the world’s first vertical grey water treatment system, set Simon on a path for architectural experimentation.
In founding Anderson Architecture, Simon has pursued his passion for innovation in depth. Known for first testing new materials and design innovations on private projects, he draws on this knowledge when specifying energy-saving materials and building techniques for client projects.
Simon utilises passive and active temperature control techniques and measures performance with thermal modelling tools. With data in hand, he speaks with authority on the value of sustainable design, and arms clients with the information they need to minimise their everyday environmental impact.
The practice’s projects have been published regularly in Green Magazine and Sanctuary, and Simon was most recently invited by the Hong Kong Designers Association to be a guest judge at the November 2018 Global Design Awards.
“Only build what you have to,” is Ben’s architectural philosophy. He feels deeply his accountability as an architect, and knows resourcefulness is the key to design innovation.
Given twin passions for architecture and environmental science, Ben was drawn to Anderson Architecture for its strategic use of thermal modelling tools. In 2014, he was awarded the David Lindner Prize at the NSW Architecture Awards for his investigations into catastrophic bushfire events, exploring how community-led architecture might build neighbourhood resilience in the face of climate change.
With the dependability of an all-rounder, Ben helps guide the team’s work across all architectural stages.
Understanding client need and solving contextual problems is a particular strength he brings to the practice, which he applies to Anderson Architecture’s expanding focus on bushfire-resistent architecture.
Katherine knows too well architecture’s power to improve people’s lives, having once spent six months working on classroom and orphanage projects for an engineering ministry in East Africa. At Anderson Architecture, she joined another values-led team, where responding to client need and respecting the environment form tandem pursuits.
An empathic approach explains Katherine’s skill during the early sketch design phase. She listens closely to individual briefs and takes joy in imagining how a space will be inhabited.
Designing focal points and performance improvements that delight users and support wellbeing long after they have moved in is one of her particular strengths. Katherine explored this further at the University of Sydney, where she tutored in Architectural Technologies in 2017.
Growing up in the southern highlands and on the NSW south coast, Alexandra relished her access to the expansive Australian bush. At Anderson Architecture, she draws on these memories to maximise connection with nature through design, and to amplify a sense of spaciousness wherever possible. Architecture, for Alexandra, is an opportunity to improve wellbeing through a deft balancing act between the built and natural environments.
When she is not working at Anderson Architecture, Alexandra tutors design and construction subjects at her alma mater, the University of Technology, Sydney. Teaching has deepened her interest in architecture as therapy, and one day she hopes to pursue further study into how advances in design and planning can improve physical and psychological health.
For Manasi, there is something deeply satisfying about achieving that precise architectural balance between aesthetic appeal and the high ideals of environmental sustainability. With a specialisation in interiors, she pays strong attention to materials, knowing the multiplicity of benefits careful selection can bring. After all, choice of roof colour can impact a home’s thermal performance as much as its appearance.
The construction phase is a particular highlight for Manasi, when her meticulous quality control skills come to the fore, and she ensures cabinetry, floor finishes and bench heights are realised to exacting standards. Here, her earlier experience producing drawing sets for fabrication at an industrial design studio prepared her well for managing good supplier relationships during residential construction.
For Damien, buildings must first perform exceptionally, which explains his fascination with passive design principles and reliance on empirical evidence. With a background in environmental science, Damien feels at home with thermal modelling, and he considers carbon footprint measurement a fundamental component of best practice architecture.
Damien balances performance modelling, construction detailing and documentation with the management of Anderson Architecture’s IT systems. Despite a strong focus on technical performance, he ensures this is never pursued at the expense of captivating, contemporary design.
With Belgian heritage, Damien relishes international travel and speaks fluent French. For relaxation, he enjoys SCUBA diving and rock climbing, and once cycled solo across Italy for kicks.
