They’re leaders in their respective fields. They’re from universities, industry associations and architecture firms, and they know what sustainable buildings look like. They are world-class industry experts and world-class judges, and will ensure that only the country’s most pioneering green projects have made the final cut.
Dr Arianna Brambilla is a senior lecturer at the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, the University of Sydney, and co-chair of the Building Efficiencies cluster within the smart sustainable building network (Sydney Nano). Her expertise lies at the merging borders of architecture, construction, building physics, and engineering, drawing upon the different disciplines to propose an innovative approach to design and construction. Her research offers a novel philosophical design approach in which buildings, new or renovated, are in balance with nature and become restores or regenerators for the environment instead of being consumers of resources.
David Coates lives and breathes sustainability and has been delivering beautiful buildings that perform to an exemplar level in both sustainability and practicality. David specialises mainly in urban designs, with over 25 years of experience working within the building industry.
After working in London in his early 20s for a number of years turning historical inner-city dwellings into state of the art establishments, David later returned to Australia and started his company Sustainable Building and Design.
David’s vision is all about efficiency of performance and reusing and up cycling. His projects achieve high end energy efficiency ratings in the NatHERs score system, and as well as energy efficiency, his projects regularly contain old building materials upcycled form their former dwellings. David and his team even built an entire sustainable development using no mains power from an off-grid onsite power station, described by Renew Magazine as an ‘industry first.’
Founding Director, Envirotecture
Australia
Dick Clarke, with 45 years of experience, is the principal of Envirotecture, specializing in sustainable and culturally appropriate buildings.
He has held significant roles in various sustainability organizations and authored key publications like the “Your Home” series.
Jeremy Spencer has been a registered builder and director at Positive Footprints for nearly 20 years. He is an advocate for sustainable design and construction and serves on multiple industry boards.
Sustainability Advisor
Frasers Property
Kate is a passionate advocate of high-performance, healthy and resilient buildings. With a background as an architect (ARBV) she has worked across multiple low-energy buildings including Certified Passive House projects such as the Monash Gillies Hall and several single residential homes utilising low carbon prefabricated construction systems. She is a certified Passive House Designer (PHI), Green Star Accredited Professional and Chairperson at the Australian Passive House Association. She holds the role as Sustainability Advisor at Frasers Property Australia, working across the development of the corporate sustainability strategy and project oversight in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, ensuring buildings and master planned communities integrate leading sustainability objectives and targets.
Architect & Director, Mahalath Halperin Architects
Mahalath Halperin, FRAIA, has managed her architectural practice since the 1990s, focusing on sustainable and liveable designs. She also conducts environmental audits and has authored various publications, including children’s books.
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.
Oliver has a stellar twenty-five year track record of sustainable design & construction, winning numerous awards.
His mission is to show the world that sustainable development works for people, industry, and the planet. To prove that people want healthy, comfortable homes that cost less to live in; and that it makes dollars and sense for developers to provide them – now and into the future.
His team delivered FERN, the first Passivhaus certified apartments in the southern hemisphere, as well as Australia’s first green-roofed terrace housesat 88 Angel St, Newtown.
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.
Co-Founder & Director, Gruen Architecture
Australia
Simone Schenkel, a certified Passive House designer, founded Gruen Eco Design. She is dedicated to creating energy-efficient homes that are both sustainable and comfortable, drawing on her architectural background from Germany.
Suzanne Toumbourou, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Council of Recycling.
Suzanne Toumbourou is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR).
Suzanne is an organisation leader with deep experience in public affairs, executive management, stakeholder relations, governance strategy of not-for-profits, with a strong reputation as a sustainability and circular economy subject matter expert. Prior to ACOR, Suzanne was the longstanding Executive Director of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, where she delivered impactful policy outcomes for building sustainability, including advancing the energy performance provisions in Australia’s Building Code and informing the priorities of the COAG Energy Council’s Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings.
Suzanne has broad experience encompassing Federal and State Governments, industry and non-profit organisations. She is passionate about leading positive change for people, industry and the environment.