Decolonising Architecture

# Decolonising Architecture Australian architecture has a colonial problem. When Europeans arrived, they encountered a continent that Indigenous peoples had carefully managed for 65,000 years. They found permanent and semi-permanent structures across diverse climates.¹ Sophisticated land management through fire, water control, and cultivation.² Networks of pathways, gathering places, and seasonal camps forming complex settlement patterns. The colonisers ignored all of it. Terra Nullius — the legal fiction that Australia was "nobody's land" — justified dispossession. Indigenous-built environments were demolished. Indigenous architecture was erased from professional discourse. For generations, Australian architects have been trained in a tradition that pretends this knowledge never existed. Decolonising architecture means confronting this history and changing how we practice.³  _Fig. 3.1: "Small Embers of Change" - decolonising architecture requires acknowledging colonial histories and centring Indigenous leadership.⁴_ --- ## The Colonial Approach (And Why It's Still a Problem) Most architectural education and practice in Australia follows a colonial paradigm, whether we recognise it or not: | Characteristic | Colonial Paradigm | | -------------- | -------------------------------------- | | **Authority** | Designer as expert | | **Process** | Top-down, consultation after decisions | | **Knowledge** | Western technical knowledge privileged | | **Success** | Defined by client satisfaction, awards | | **Time** | Linear project with defined end | | **Place** | Generic solutions applied everywhere | ### This Approach Fails Indigenous Communities Projects designed without consulting Traditional Owners don't serve community needs. Western spatial concepts imposed on Indigenous communities cause harm. Sacred sites get ignored. Indigenous intellectual property goes unrecognised. "Engagement" becomes a box to tick, not a relationship to build. Architecture practiced this way continues colonisation by other means. --- ## The Alternative: Indigenous-Led Design Decolonising architecture means flipping the paradigm: Indigenous leadership, Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous decision-making at the centre.⁴  _Fig. 3.2: Linda Tuhiwai Smith's "Decolonizing Methodologies" — essential reading for understanding Indigenous approaches to research and design.³_ ### Three Levels of Engagement Not all "engagement" is equal. Know where you sit on this spectrum: **1. Consultation (Insufficient)** — You determine the approach, Indigenous peoples provide advice only, and decision-making stays with non-Indigenous parties. This doesn't meet NSCA 2021 requirements.⁵ **2. Collaboration (Better, but not enough)** — Authority is shared and partners work together. More equitable, but Indigenous voices can still be marginalised within shared structures. **3. Indigenous-Led Design (What to aim for)** — Indigenous peoples determine the approach. Non-Indigenous professionals support their leadership. Traditional Owners have final authority on their Country. This is required for any project on Country with Traditional Custodians. ### What Indigenous-Led Design Looks Like | Characteristic | Indigenous-Led Approach | | -------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | **Authority** | Traditional Owners and community lead | | **Process** | Bottom-up, community-driven | | **Knowledge** | Indigenous knowledge systems centred | | **Success** | Defined by community and Country outcomes | | **Time** | Ongoing relationships, not project endpoints | | **Place** | Specific, responsive to Country | --- ## Five Principles for Decolonising Your Practice ### 1. Acknowledge Colonial Histories Architecture has been complicit in colonisation. Your site has a history that predates the building code. Learn about the specific Country you're working on. Find out what was there before. What was destroyed or displaced? Support truth-telling.⁶ ### 2. Centre Indigenous Knowledge Indigenous knowledge is equally valid to Western technical knowledge. Full stop. Seek guidance from knowledge holders, not just books. Recognise that some knowledge is sacred and not yours to know. Create space for Indigenous ways of knowing in your design process. ### 3. Support Indigenous Leadership Don't just consult. Advocate for Indigenous-led projects. Recommend Indigenous architects and designers for projects on Country. Support Indigenous graduates and emerging practitioners. When processes exclude Indigenous leadership, challenge them. ### 4. Address Power Imbalances Who actually has authority in your design process? If it's not Indigenous partners, something's wrong. Ensure Indigenous partners have real decision-making power, not just advisory roles. Pay fairly for knowledge and time. Build long-term relationships, not transactions. ### 5. Design for Healing Architecture can help heal colonial wounds. Create spaces for cultural practice and transmission. Design with sensitivity to trauma. Support cultural continuity and revival. --- ## Common Excuses (And Why They Don't Hold Up) ### "We're building for everyone" Generic designs that ignore cultural specificity serve no one well. "Everyone" includes the Traditional Owners of the site. Design for them specifically. ### "Indigenous engagement is too expensive / too slow" Genuine engagement requires time and money. Build this into your budgets and timelines from the start, not as an afterthought. If you can't afford to do it properly, question whether you should do the project at all. ### "There's no one to consult" Indigenous peoples are still here. If you can't find Traditional Owners, you haven't looked hard enough. Use the AIATSIS Map. Contact Land Councils. Ask around. They're there. ### "I'm not qualified to engage" You don't need to be an expert. You need to be humble, willing to listen, and prepared to follow Indigenous leadership. The community are the experts on their Country. Your job is to support them. --- ## What Does This Look Like in Practice? ### In Your Project Process Engage Traditional Owners before design begins, not after. Allocate real budget for Indigenous engagement and allow time for relationship-building, not just consultation. Support Indigenous leadership in decision-making, and maintain relationships beyond project completion. ### In Your Design Outcomes Buildings should respond to specific Country, not generic contexts. Cultural knowledge should be embedded in spatial design, with materials and forms that reflect Indigenous values. Spaces should support ongoing cultural practice, and Indigenous contributions must be properly acknowledged. ### In Your Broader Practice Hire Indigenous staff and support Indigenous graduates. Develop a Reconciliation Action Plan.⁷ Procure from Indigenous businesses, advocate for better industry practices, and keep developing your own understanding.  _Fig. 3.3: University of Sydney's "Indigenising the Built Environment" series explores how architecture can support Indigenous self-determination._ --- ## References ¹ Memmott, P. (2007). _Gunyah, Goondie + Wurley: The Aboriginal Architecture of Australia_. University of Queensland Press. ² Gammage, B. (2011). _The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia_. Allen & Unwin. ³ Smith, L.T. (2021). _Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples_ (3rd ed.). Zed Books. ⁴ Thwaites, M. (2023). "Small Embers of Change – Decolonising Architecture." _The Local Project_. [https://thelocalproject.com.au/articles/decolonising-architecture-issue-10-commercial-feature-the-local-project/](https://thelocalproject.com.au/articles/decolonising-architecture-issue-10-commercial-feature-the-local-project/) ⁵ Architects Accreditation Council of Australia. (2021). _National Standard of Competency for Architects_. [https://aaca.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021-NSCA-Explanatory-Notes.pdf](https://aaca.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021-NSCA-Explanatory-Notes.pdf) ⁶ Yoorrook Justice Commission. _Truth-telling for Victoria_. [https://yoorrook.org.au/](https://yoorrook.org.au/) ⁷ Reconciliation Australia. _Reconciliation Action Plans_. [https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation-action-plans/](https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation-action-plans/) --- ## Next Steps Continue to **Chapter 4: Engagement & Collaboration** for practical frameworks you can use to work with communities throughout your projects.