This issue of Architecture Australia marks an unusual stage in the magazine’s history. It is something that happens rarely – roughly on a five- to ten-year cycle, it seems – a change of editor.
In the last issue, Justine Clark signed off as editor of Architecture Australia. After eleven years working on the title, Justine has embarked on the next stage of her career. I know that she does this with equal parts excitement and trepidation. We wish her all the best for her future endeavours as an independent architectural writer, editor, critic and curator, and thank her for her significant contribution.
During her tenure, Justine made a substantial contribution to Australia’s architectural culture, and it is appropriate to record her involvement, at least in brief. Justine came to Architecture Media in 2000 with a Bachelor of Architecture from Auckland University and a Masters of Architecture from Victoria University of Wellington. She established her editorial credentials on Architecture Australia as assistant editor between 2000 and 2003, and became editor with the July 2003 issue. Through a total of 66 issues, 48 of them as editor, Justine worked with many contributors to chart the progress of architecture in Australia. She has supported the profession in many ways – not just through her voice in the magazine but also through participation in many parallel events such as conferences, international architectural festivals and educational activities. She also extended the reach of the magazine through initiatives such as AA Roundtable and the rebirth of AA Unbuilt. She was one of the longest serving editors of the title – a role she managed with intelligence, thoughtfulness, professionalism and wit.
Her final contribution to Architecture Australia was the commissioning of the special themed issue for May/June 2011. Housing is one of the architectural topics that Justine is personally and professionally passionate about. The September 2008 issue that she edited considered Indigenous housing and was awarded the 2009 national Bates Smart Award for Architecture in the Media. This issue looks at “Housing Futures.” In Justine’s thought-provoking introduction, she frames the series of essays, proposals and projects that follow, exploring the contribution of architects to new ways of living outside inner-urban environments.
With input from Justine, managing editor Peter Davies has taken this issue from idea to reality, and the following June issue will also be in his capable hands. However, by the time that issue reaches your desk, Architecture Australia will have a new editor –Timothy Moore.
Timothy joins our team toward the end of June. He has a broad background in architecture, creative writing, commerce and cultural studies, and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Melbourne. He has worked in architecture in Australia and in Europe. Most recently he has been based in Amsterdam as the managing editor of Archis/Volume (Volume is a quarterly magazine created by Archis, Rem Koolhaas’s OMA and Columbia University). He has managed a number of other projects, including an alternative guidebook on Tehran, an Architecture of Peace exhibition in Montreal and a book on the Middle East led by Rem Koolhaas. We look forward to what he will bring to Architecture Australia.
