Building Together: Public Architecture and the Future of Practice
Presented by Australian Institute of Architects’ Emerging Architects and Graduate Network (EmAGN)
From adaptive industrial reuse to workspaces embedded in the public realm, Collingwood’s identity lies in the overlap between work, culture and creativity. Studios extend beyond traditional office use to become informal galleries, exhibition venues and cultural platforms that spill into the street.
Join the Australian Institute of Architects Emerging Architects and Graduate Network (EmAGN) for a walking tour of studios, public spaces and shared creative environments in the heart of Collingwood. The event begins with a short introductory talk, followed by visits to a series of adaptive reuse projects within the precinct.
The tour will include:
- 47 Easey Street – a Collingwood landmark and cultural hub comprising creative tenants including BAR Studio
- Collingwood Yards – a mixed-use arts precinct designed by Fieldwork
- CY Venue – an adaptable event and performance venue designed by Sibling Architecture
The tour concludes with a panel discussion featuring architects and designers who have helped shape the area’s evolving culture of practice and creative exchange. The discussion will explore how these projects balance the restoration of existing built form with contemporary needs, as well as the role of temporary interventions and the evolving relationship between workspace and street.
Under the theme of Living Legacy, the tour traces Collingwood’s layered urban fabric to explore how adaptive reuse sustains a culture of experimentation, where warehouses, laneways and historic buildings are retrofitted to support new modes of practice and blur the boundary between workspace and the public realm.
Led by EmAGN, the event brings together architects and creative occupants to reflect on practice as a collective act: working with what exists, reshaping it for new forms of engagement and crafting environments that invite dialogue.
Participants
Felicity Beck | Co-founder, BAR Studio
Felicity Beck is the co-founder and managing partner of BAR Studio, an international design studio based in Melbourne/Naarm and Madrid, specialising in luxury hotels and resorts around the world. Felicity co-developed and curates the tenancies for 47 Easey Street, a Collingwood landmark and cultural hub that is home to BAR Studio’s headquarters and a diverse community of creative tenants.
Michael Strack | Associate, Sibling Architecture
Michael is an associate at Sibling Architecture with extensive commercial and public experience who enjoys developing projects with strong relationships to the city around them. He has worked in social housing, healthcare, public, heritage and commercial fields, in difficult sites and with complicated briefs.
Tim Brooks | Associate Director, Fieldwork
Tim Brooks is an Associate Director at Fieldwork with experience from concept design to handover, prioritising collaboration and design integrity. He co-leads Fieldstudies, the practice’s research committee exploring modern construction methods, adaptive reuse and sustainable materials. His work aims to create purposeful, inclusive spaces that encourage connection and engagement.
Zoe Rinkel | CEO, Collingwood Yards Arts Precinct
Zoe Rinkel is the CEO of Collingwood Yards Arts Precinct, a not-for-profit arts precinct. Zoe is a community engagement leader, arts education specialist, and creative producer. She has over 20 years' experience working with artists and companies across music, theatre, dance, circus and visual arts, to deliver projects encouraging participation and promoting positive social outcomes. Zoe designs meaningful initiatives with a focus on self-determined programming, diverse voices, physical, cognitive, and cultural accessibility, and creating lasting connections with the arts.