June 9, 2025
Cultivating Circular Architects: Year 2 of Populous & QUT’s Circulate Studio Collaboration
From March to May 2025, Populous partnered with the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, along with biourbanism-led design firm McGregor Coxall, and Aboriginal design firm Blaklash to deliver the latest Circulate Studio for Master of Architecture students. This studio looked at the areas of waste elimination, materials circulation and nature regeneration and how construction materials could be reused, and designed for reuse, particularly in sport and entertainment projects such as stadia, arenas and other large venues.
The Populous-QUT Design Sprint really affirmed the interconnection between many design considerations and principles (Connection to Country, landscape, sustainability etc). It further reminded me of the value of sharing my work and getting feedback from multiple perspectives to strengthen the design output. I found for me, that it’s important to take a step back and be able to justify design choices to those who don't know anything about it.
The studio was designed by Professor Tim Schork (QUT), Nicholas Ruljancich (QUT), and Dr Kavita Gonsalves (Populous). The spatial brief was advised by Olympic legacy and event overlay experts Shaun Gallagher (Populous) and George Farrington (Populous). The studio involved a sustainable design workshop and three design sprints led by Populous mentors Shaun Gallagher, George Farrington, Dr Kavita Gonsalves, James Pearce, Taryn McQueen, Sarah Lansdell, Nick Fitzgerald, Alex Ward, and Dinesh Sraveanan, as well as Clare Mayberry from McGregor Coxall and Owen Café from Blaklash.
The way I will approach my designs in the future will be different – with a lot of initial considerations to the end result and being more conscious of waste reduction and reusing materials where possible.
The students began by documenting a series of existing buildings slated for demolition in Brisbane and developed a ‘Material Bank’, a repository of existing building materials and components. This material bank became the material repository for designing an Information and Exhibition Centre for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic & Paralympic Games. The brief required students to consider the building lifecycle, including disassembly, reuse, and end-of-life planning. Populous ran three design sprints where designers brought their expertise across several topics such as designing temporary structures, Olympic legacies, holistic sustainable design strategies, circular design and construction, low carbon materials, design for equity, spatial experiential design, and how to successfully deliver design presentations.
I will incorporate the adaptive methodologies, connection to site/Country, and human-centric design principles that I learn in this sprint in my architecture career. The sprint topics are crucial to understand and implement into new designs to shift current perspectives and form stronger communities.
Owen took the students through a session of “What is Country?”, how does one Design with Country and the importance of engagement with First Nations Communities in Australia. Clare elaborated on how tools such as mapping systems, community engagement, and climate datasets can enable designers to collaborate with nature and enhance biodiversity within the built environment.
Design for Purpose + Design is about telling a story + the three rules for presenting are the key lessons of this studio.
The sessions closed with an exhibition in May during Populous’ Sustainability Week at the Brisbane studios. A Master portfolio will be released documenting the student’s design proposals.
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