Interview On ABC Radio National

with Dick Clarke – BDANSW

 

Interviewed by Hamish Robertson – ABC

"The World Today" Segment

Wednesday, 5 July 2000

 

 

Introduction (John Highfield)

One very visible aspect of Australia’s booming economy over recent years has been the proliferation in our cities of residential complexes, luxury apartment hotels and shopping centres. If you thought that most of these were the work of architects then you’d be very wrong. In fact it’s been estimated that around 75% of all residential developments are the work of Building Designers. But they’re not at all happy with recent criticism of their work. NSW Premier, Bob Carr, led the charge. More recently we had suggestions on the World Today that these Building Designers are less committed environmentally and also esthetically. To hear their side, Hamish Robertson turned to specialist building designer, Dick Clarke.

 

CLARKE: "I think sustainability is the big issue that we should be addressing and I think that it is demonstrably clear when we look at the built environment that there is no difference between architects and non-architects when it comes to sustainability. I think that we can all find examples of buildings, good and bad, which fall into both camps. I’m passionate about sustainability. In 100 years time, we will be left with a heritage of our built environment which we are currently building and if that heritage is good then we will have gone some way towards rescuing our ecology from the kind of degradation its currently undergoing. If however our built environment is not improved then we will be left in a deeper mess than we are heading into now."

 

ROBERTSON: What specific measures can your profession take to ensure that that mess is not passed onto the next generation?

 

CLARKE: "Sustainability is a very complicated science and we don’t fully understand it. We are a long way down the track - I suppose the further we go, the further we realise we’ve got to go. However, the initial stages so far as the built environment go are energy efficiency of the building and the building envelope. Now energy efficiency is not the be all and end all of sustainability, it is but a small tile in the mosaic, however, it’s the first and easiest one to address and the Building Designers Association has gone a long way towards getting its members up to speed. I’d have to say that while some of our members are actually leading lights in the entire design industry there are many other members who are dragging the chain and I think that’s universally true of the entire design profession."

 

CLARKE: "An architect has a particular qualification which is recognised by the Architects Registration Board. A building designer may not have a qualification that is recognised by that Board, but by raw talent and sheer determination is able to practice as one who designs buildings. Within the broad field of building designers there is an association made up of those people which seeks to improve the professional standing of those people. And we have (that is the Building Designers Association) has embraced sustainability as one of its major platforms, the foundation in fact of its ongoing professional development."

 

Closing Remarks (John Highfield)

Dick Clarke is a Principal with Envirotecture Projects and the President of the Sydney branch of the Building Designers Association.