I wanted to become an architect from a young age.

When I was about seven or eight my mother took me into the city. The ICI building was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was the first ever glass building – I was completely entranced by it. I asked my mum how things like that happened. She told me they were created by architects. So at that point, I knew I wanted to be an architect. Architecture is not about the money. It is hard work and competitive, but worth it in the end. You have a unique opportunity to make a contribution to society and the environment.

Ivo Krivanek and I started our practice, Caulfield & Krivanek Architects, in 1978. As with most young architects, we started with house renovations and smaller projects but we got a break in 1979. We were commissioned to design the Paul Bram jewellery store building on Swanston Street in Melbourne. We were happy with the project’s result, and it received great public feedback – making for a very happy client. It still looks really good today.
From that time, the practice grew and was rebadged as CK Designworks. It was awarded many prestigious commissions in Australia and throughout the world. Parallel to the architectural practice, Ivo and I also started Archicentre in 1978 which grew to become Australia’s foremost building advisory service involving up to 1,000 AIA members at its peak.

In recent years, apart from the large overseas commissions, several projects have given me great personal pleasure.

The award-winning Yarrbat Retirement Village was conceived as a prototype project to develop vibrant seniors’ communities. It exceeded its expectations both socially and commercially, with many residents claiming that the community environment had dramatically improved their quality of life and possibly even their life expectancy.

Although projects like the Paul Bram jewellery store and some of my more impressive buildings furthered my career and branding, the most personally rewarding venture was a small $250,000 renovation project that I did in 2013. It was for the family of ten year old blind cancer victim, Tyler Fishlock, in conjunction with channel Nine’s ‘A Current Affair’ program. It was built in only six days, and is testament to the skills that architects can provide in the small domestic construction market. This project dramatically changed that family’s life, providing a comfortable and secure environment for Tyler. Being able to come back to do a tiny renovation is the most rewarding part of my career.

Perhaps my greatest feeling of satisfaction comes from creating something that has helped others.

What started off as my architecture thesis project, and would later become Archicentre, has to date directly helped over 500,000 Australians buy, renovate, build or maintain their homes. It has also provided verbal advice through seminars, home shows and telephone enquiries to over one million more. Approximately 2,000 institute members participated over the 31 years that I ran Archicentre and I feel very proud every time I see project boards on major projects for architectural companies which commenced their own journeys by undertaking house inspections and renovation reports. Archicentre also achieved the remarkable result of making a profit and paying a dividend to the AIA for almost 31 consecutive years, which must be some sort of commercial record.

The lessons I’ve learnt over my career, largely relate to Archicentre. It has been amazing experience overall. I learnt that you can make inroads and create more work for architects, and improve urban design in the process. In terms of my practice, we started in Ivo’s living room and grew it to what it is today. These days I act as a consultant to the architectural side of the business, but in a complete turn around, Ivo and I recently registered our original practice name of Caulfield Krivanek Architects again. It already has some significant commissions, so watch this space.

One of my other proud achievements was becoming national president of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. We established some great marketing initiatives for the profession and  travelling on behalf of Australian architects with the Institute has been rewarding and exciting.

One of the many heritage projects I’ve been involved with over my career was my own house in Camberwell.

It won numerous awards at the time, but the personal challenge is what I found so rewarding. It was situated on a street with a classic Californian bungalow style. We designed a modern version. Our brief was that if you had the same design as when they were built and applied it to today’s materials and capabilities, how would it turn out? It was our way to respect the heritage of the area, and of the street in particular. Now it is filled with ‘McMansions’, so obviously it has changed. But we created something really special at the time.

The building industry in Victoria has become very efficient – which can have adverse effects.

The cost of house improvements in terms of people’s wages is becoming cheaper and cheaper – but this means many people want more and more. There are enough people that respect size and don’t want the size for the sake of size. This is one of the reasons that we will see more a diverse range of places with great use of space in Victoria into the future. They will be even more energy efficient than we are seeing currently and much more individually tailored for better interpersonal living relationships and enhance the ability for people to live together better as a family unit.

In terms of sustainability, this is ingrained in architecture and building standards now – we are all trained that way. However, what will happen more often is more practical ideas will come into the markets. We are starting to see LED lights used everywhere for example. New building materials always dictate architectural practice. With efficiency continually increasing, the industry will continue to evolve on these matters.

I think the dream projects for me involve city planning, like what I’m currently doing – it is a vital part of the city. Our work in China for example involves raw design work – the fabric of the city. I find it enjoyable to work on city planning and iconic buildings that fit into the existing framework. This work keeps me inspired to keep striving for better design outcomes.