2021 Ambassadors - Sustainability Awards - Building a better future through design excellence.

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).