Talking Architecture & Design

Known for his thoughtful, context-driven approach to design, acclaimed Australian architect Ed Lippmann, owner and founder of architectural practice, Lippmann Partnership, has a design portfolio that spans decades of civic buildings, cultural spaces, religious buildings, educational projects, and private residences that have helped define parts of Australia’s, as well as his own architectural identity. 
Ed Lippmann is a very busy man – he is also an author and in his new book, 40 Years of Architecture, he captures this extraordinary journey with surprising warmth and candour, offering insights not only into his many projects but also into the evolution of architecture in Australia over the past four decades.

Across more than three decades, UNSW Professor Deo Prasad has shaped the national and global conversation on low carbon living through research, education, policy leadership, and industry collaboration. 
From pioneering sustainability education in the southern hemisphere to leading Australia’s largest built-environment research collaboration through the CRC for Low Carbon Living, his impact spans academia, government, industry, and generations of practitioners worldwide.
He talks about his life's work so far, the value of teaching, the importance of building partnerships and how improving sustainability in the built environment is for the benefit of humanity as a whole.

In this episode of Talking Architecture & Design, host Clémence Carayol heads to Melbourne’s west to unpack one of Australia’s most ambitious health projects: the new Footscray Hospital. 
More than a deep dive into a major piece of infrastructure, the conversation explores how architecture can reshape the experience of healthcare itself.
The $1.5 billion hospital, designed by COX Architecture in collaboration with Billard Leece Partnership, is delivered by the Plenary Health consortium with Multiplex as builder, alongside the Victorian Government and Western Health. 
Joining the podcast are COX Executive Chair Patrick Ness and BLP Principal Mark Mitchell, who reflect on the ideas behind what has become affectionately known as “the People’s Hospital”.
Central to the discussion is the decision to conceive the hospital as a campus rather than a monolithic building. Five interconnected structures are organised around a village green, forming a civic heart that prioritises clarity, orientation and connection. 
This landscape-led approach reframes the hospital as a place people might visit for a coffee or a walk, not only in moments of illness, reinforcing its role as social and civic infrastructure.
Ness and Mitchell also discuss how human-centred design principles shaped everything from intuitive wayfinding and daylight-filled interiors to the careful management of scale in such a vast facility. 
Access to nature, cultural inclusion informed by collaboration with First Nations Elders, and a strong emphasis on staff wellbeing emerge as critical drivers of the design.
The episode also tackles future-facing challenges. Sustainability targets, including Green Star and WELL aspirations, influenced material choices and building performance, while lessons from COVID-19 informed flexibility and pandemic preparedness.
As the Footscray Hospital opens, this episode positions it as a powerful benchmark for healthcare architecture: a place where clinical excellence, community identity and long-term resilience are designed to coexist.

To help us unpack what it really means to build not just for a few weeks of sport, but for decades of community benefit, reuse, and resilience we spoke to two experts from design firm Populous: Dr. Kavita Gonsalves, Associate Principal - Sustainability Design Lead ‑ APAC, and Brayden Goodwin, Principal, Architect — Brisbane, on how circular design and sustainability are transforming sports infrastructure in Australia.

Catherine Skinner, Principal, BVN, Audun Opdal, Senior Partner, 3XN, Louise Pearson, Studio Director, ASPECT Studios, and Miguel Serrao, Associate, ASPECT Studios, sat down with Talking Architecture and Design at the recent opening of the stunning Sydney Fish Markets, to talk about the highlights, surprises and challenges of working on such a large, iconic and complex public infrastructure project.