Talking Architecture & Design

As demand for healthcare services rises and workforce shortages intensify, universities and health institutions are under growing pressure to educate more students, more effectively, and in environments that reflect the rapidly changing nature of healthcare itself.
A recent research whitepaper, Anatomy of Change: Rethinking Healthcare Learning Environments, explores how architecture, planning and design can help respond to these challenges — from co-locating education with hospitals and research facilities, to creating simulation-rich learning environments, and designing spaces that support collaboration, adaptability, and new models of care.
In this episode, we unpack what the future of healthcare education might look like — and what architects, universities and health providers need to start doing now.
To help with our unpacking we have with us, Leanne Guy Principal & Global Health Sector Leader of Hassell.
As Hassell’s Health Sector Lead, Leanne Guy brings strategic leadership and insight through a background in nursing and design with over 25 years of experience with public and private healthcare clients in Australia and the United Kingdom.
She’s worked on many complex developments, including the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and recently the New Mount Barker Hospital in South Australia. 
Her extensive portfolio and experience as a health care professional have deepened her understanding of the clinical and operational needs of complex health facilities – and that insight translates into innovative and highly efficient design solutions.

Breakout Creek / Purruna Pari Stage 3 recently took out both the Landscape & Urban category and Best of the Best at the 2025 Sustainability Awards. 
Delivered by TCL in collaboration with Green Adelaide, the City of Charles Sturt and the City of West Torrens, the project reimagines a once-degraded drainage channel as a thriving blue–green landscape.

Featuring over six kilometres of new walking trails, wetlands that improve water quality and habitat, and deep collaboration with the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation, the project shows how climate-positive infrastructure can be embedded into the fabric of a city.

We unpack the thinking behind the design, the engineering and ecological challenges involved, and what this project might mean for the future of urban waterways in Australia.

Senior Landscape Architect and Associate at Taylor Cullity Lethlean (TCL), Kar Gan, who specializes in landscape architecture and urban design describes the process and ideas behind this award-winning design.

In this episode, we’re joined by award-winning architect Sarah Lebner, Director of Cooee Architecture. 
Sarah recently took out the Hospitality & Tourism Award at the 2025 Sustainability Awards for her remarkable transformation of an old grain silo into The Silos Accommodation — a sustainable, off-grid farm stay that celebrates adaptive reuse, environmental performance, and regional experience.
In this interview, we talk about the challenges and opportunities behind that project, hear about her broader vision for sustainable design in Australia, and unpack what’s next for environmentally meaningful architecture.

Gabriel Solorzano Torres is the Executive Director of Commercial, Sustainability and Infrastructure at Melbourne Polytechnic. 
He brings deep strategic and operational experience in infrastructure and industry development — and is at the forefront of the new Future of Housing Construction Centre of Excellence, a national initiative aimed at scaling Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) skills and innovation across the sector.
In this episode, we unpack what MMC really means for architects and designers, how education and training need to evolve, and the role design thinking has in creating the homes Australia needs now.

Ingrid Bakker is a Principal architect, a board director for Hassell and a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects.
Craig Guthrie is a specialist in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design with over 25 years of experience
As Hassell Studio Principals Ingrid Bakker and Craig Guthrie talk about the legacy for Melbourne and how the newly-built Metro Tunnel uses design to increase the city’s liveability.