2022 Rothwell Residents for Architecture and Urban Design announced

The one-year appointments provide a unique opportunity for leading practitioners in architecture and urban design to explore and reflect on their practice through a program of research. Postgraduate students will also have the opportunity to learn directly from these experienced practitioners and gain a deeper insight into professional life.

Dr Michael Zanardo is a registered architect, urban designer, and director of Studio Zanardo, an independent and collaborative design consultancy working at the intersection of policy and built form and specialising in the design of housing, particularly social and affordable housing. Through the Rothwell Residency in Architecture, Michael proposes to further his PhD research into Sydney’s rich built history of affordable housing to reveal professional typological knowledge that can positively inform the design and amenity of new denser forms of housing today.

Callantha Brigham is an architect and urban design professional with over 20 years’ experience working in State and Local Government and is also the current NSW Vice President and a NSW Chapter Councillor of the Australian Institute of Architects. Her Rothwell Residency in Urban Design will consider principles of equity, diversity and democracy (Susan Fainstein’s concept of the ‘Just City’) and the role designers can play as advocates and agents of change.

The residency program is made possible by a major gift from alumni Garry and Susan Rothwell. The Rothwell Chair program includes the Rothwell Chair appointment, postdoctoral research appointments, research scholarships and a public program inviting distinguished architects to lead student-focussed activities and/or public lectures.

The program aims to support innovation in the areas of architectural design, urban design and urbanism, and heighten research capabilities to create built environments which improve people's quality of life.