Dick Clarke

Principal & Building Designer, Envirotecture

Dick Clarke is principal of Envirotecture, with over 35 years’ experience focusing exclusively on ecologically sustainable and culturally appropriate buildings, as well as sustainable design in vehicles and vessels.

He is Director of Sustainability for Building Designers Australia (BDA) and is a member of the Association of Building Sustainability Assessors (ABSA) and the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC).

This is Clarke’s 13^th year on the panel and is the Jury Chair.

Jeremy Spencer

Director, Builder & Energy Rater, Positive Footprints Sustainable Design & Construction

For almost 20 years Jeremy has been a Registered Builder, Thermal Assessor and Director at design & build company Positive Footprints. Positive Footprints have won multiple awards for sustainability and worked to show that energy efficient sustainable design and high performance construction is a cost effective option and can be a mainstream reality. An educator and former GreenLiving lecturer, Jeremy is founding member of Builders Declare, and currently sits on the Design Matters Board, the Sustainability Hub, and the NatHERS Stakeholder Consultative Group.

Mahalath Halperin

Architect & Director, Mahalath Halperin Architects

Mahalath Halperin, FRAIA, is an architect and environmental consultant living and working in regional NSW.

As well as running an architectural practice since the 1990s, addressing everything from domestic renovations through to large commercial buildings, resorts and education facilities, she also conducts energy and environmental audits and assessments, and has always tried to tie the scientific with the aesthetic to achieve highly sustainable but liveable works where possible.

Mahalath has also developed and delivered courses on environmental and architectural issues, and is also a published author, including assorted children’s books, including one about her cat building a house.

Mahalath Halperin Architects won the Single Dwelling, New category for Drumkerin at Sustainability Awards 2018.

Meron Tierney

Associate & Architect, John Wardle Architects

Meron is an enthusiastic and engaging team leader. With experience extending across all project stages her recent focus has been on the delivery of the Ballarat Gov Hub, a contemporary office building with a primary structure of mass timber.

Meron is a senior leader of the JWA ‘Blue Dot’ research group. Dedicated to acting towards meaningful climate action by critiquing all projects, curated research, and investing in exploratory projects such as the New Normal ‘Solar Pavilion’ for 2021 Melbourne Design week.

Meron’s genuine interest in community, urbanisation and landscape reinforces her advocacy for sustainability in all aspects of her life.

Michael Faine

Architect, Faine Group Architects

Michael Faine has been a registered architect since 1980 and to date, has worked on a multitude of building types, designs, construction and procurement methods.

His diverse career led him to a teaching position at the University of Western Sydney in the Bachelor of Building/Construction Management degree, and saw him acting as the Head of School for a time.

After 17 years as an academic, and juror positions on both the Building Designers Association of Australia and the HIA Awards, Michael is attuned to analysing the work of builders and designers, and understanding the price in the work they are carrying out.

Nermine Zahran

Senior Architect & Sustainability Manager, Koichi Takada Architects

RAIA, GSAP, LEED AP BD+C

Nermine is a senior architect and sustainability manager at Koichi Takada Architects. She has worked in Australia and internationally on a number of large and small scale projects covering a wide range of architectural typologies. She brings to every new opportunity a contagious passion for sustainable design as well as a comprehensive understanding of industry best practices.

Nermine also believes that it is vital to continually learn – and to educate others in the industry and in the general public – about ways to minimise the impact of the built environment on the planet. Beyond her aim to positively influence materials selection, construction methods, and ongoing energy-efficient operations strategies, she also seeks to ensure that the buildings and spaces we create are human-centred and improve human health and well-being. She believes that every project, no matter how large or small, is an opportunity to make our communities, and ultimately our world, more liveable and resilient.

Sandra Furtado

Director, Furtado Sullivan

Sandra is the co-founder of Furtado Sullivan, an architecture studio based in Sydney. The practice enjoys the challenge of translating a project’s complexity into a design that works with its environment, combining large-scale efficiency and sophistication with a bespoke design approach.

In the past, she has been intrinsically involved in notable large-scale projects including 8 Chifley, Barangaroo Masterplan and International Towers, and One Circular Quay hotel in Circular Quay.

Sandra has an extraordinary ability to understand urban complexity. Through holistic design thinking, she seeks synergies with multidisciplinary practices, harnessing collective knowledge in order to achieve goals creatively and drive the sustainability agenda.

Suzanne Toumbourou

Executive Director, Australian Sustainable Built Environmental Council (ASBEC)

Suzanne Toumbourou is currently the Executive Director of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) and soon-to-be the CEO of the Australian Council on Recycling (ACOR), the leading national industry association for recycling and resource recovery in Australia. Her passion and expertise lie in communication, collaboration and an inclusive agenda for a sustainable Australia. Suzanne possesses key knowledge and insights of ecological environments that will be instrumental to accurately judging this year’s Sustainability Awards.

Brooke Lloyd

Director, COX Architecture

Brooke is an Interior Designer with a diverse body of work from restaurants and high-end residences to large scale workplaces. She has been instrumental in fostering a design focused culture within Cox that has created award winning projects and reinvigorated the interiors specialism with a progressive approach to design.

Shortly after graduating Brooke moved to London where she worked for over 10 years. Whilst at John McAslan + Partners, as Head of Interior Design, Brooke led large scale, complex projects such as the Kings Cross Station Redevelopment, Doha Cultural Forum and the Al Jazeera Network HQ in the Shard.

Brooke also worked as an Associate with the renowned Conran + Partners where she led the practices significant residential projects including the redevelopment of Blake Tower within the Barbican and multiple restaurant and bar projects in the City of London. It is this diverse mix of skills that underpins a unique approach to Brooke’s work. Now based in Sydney, Brooke is a Director and the practice’s Workplace Sector Leader.

David Kaunitz

Director & Co Founder, Kaunitz Yeung Architecture

Award-winning Australian architect David Kaunitz swapped an established career in London—where he worked as a senior architect on London’s 2012 Olympic Village—for a life in Australia and the Pacific, leading community development projects and post-disaster responses for governments and NGOs. His work has been recognised internationally where he has been invited to speak at global forums including the 2018 European Healthcare Design Conference, Hong Kong Institute of Architects.

The Director and co-founder of Kaunitz Yeung Architecture invests his time listening to a community and experiencing a culture before developing a design in order to place people at the heart of a building, while remaining sensitive to culture and the environment.

Nadine Samaha

Senior Principal Architect, Level-ak

Nadine is passionate about making a better world for the new generation. She is an advocate for sustainability in many ways. She is a principal architect at level architeckture>konstrukt focusing on pushing the boundaries in design, construction and sustainability. She is also a Leader in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED green associate), and a permaculturist. Nadine lectures Environmental Sustainable Design and is a research collaborator at RMIT. She Chair the AIA Sustainable Architecture Forum, a Councillor at AIA Victorian Chapter and a signatory of Australian Architects Declare. Her cultural-deep connections to people, nature and place drive her in all her roles of advocacy.

Paul Haar

Principal, Haarchitecture

Throughout his 40 year career, architect Paul Haar has been immersed in practice, education, advocacy and mentorship, informed by deep green principles of ecological science, operating inside small local economic and social systems. Our global climate, biodiversity and COVID emergencies now highlight the importance of this approach. Whether facilitating the revitalisation of self-help housing cultures in remote indigenous communities, driving landmark environmental outcomes for new housing estates, promoting the use of local farm-grown wood in construction, establishing community based land reafforestation projects, or in his more general architectural work, Paul has always been grounded in sustainability, by science, philosophy and design.

Peter Colquhoun

Artist, architect & TV presenter, Better Homes & Gardens

Artist / Architect and TV presenter Peter Colquhoun has extensive media credits across a range of genres. For the past 16 years he has been the resident architect on Australia’s number one life-style show ‘Better Homes and Gardens’. Across our screens Pete has hosted and presented a range of Lifestyle, Reality and Sports TV programs. He is creator and host of the acclaimed series on Australian coastal homes ‘Sandcastles’ and ‘Amazing Homes’ Australia , 7 Network.

Currently he is appearing in the third series of Habitus House of the year and filming ‘Australia by Design’. Pete is also a regular contributor to Australia’s leading design magazines including ‘Habitus’, ’Grand Designs’ and ‘Better homes and Gardens ‘ as well as author of ‘Sandcastles’.

As a qualified and practicing architect Peter was awarded a National Architectural commendation for his work on the design of North Bondi Surf Club. Other great passions include Art and Music. He has also appeared in local TV dramas and movies including Rake and House of Bond. Pete is a former professional life guard and surf ironman.

Talina Edwards

Principal, Talina Edwards Architecture

Talina Edwards is an emerging leader, known for her sustainable architecture and is a passionate advocate for building a better future. Talina has received many awards recognising her meaningful contributions to sustainability and her active roles in the Australian Passive House Association, Australian Architects Declare, and ArchiTeam Advocacy committee.

Her practice is based in Wadawurrung country (Ballarat) in regional Victoria. The core focus of the business is to create healthy, beautiful, functional, comfortable and sustainable architecture which combines building science and biophilic-design (our connection to nature).