Support for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice has been furthered by the creation of Architects for the Voice, which includes members from Greenaway Architects, Lyons, The Fulcrum Agency and Kennedy Nolan coming together in the lead up to the October 14 referendum.

Following the release of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for “the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution and a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making and truth-telling about our history.”

Greenaway Architects and Indigenous Architecture and Design Australia (IADA) Member Jefa Greenaway believes the time is now to make proper systemic change that will influence the country’s built environment.

“The time is now to be on the right side of history,” he says.

“This is a nation building opportunity. It is time for architects and the design profession to step up.”

Greenaway’s late father Bert Groves was instrumental in the 1967 referendum, which saw Indigenous Australians given the right to vote. He says that a no vote would “undoubtedly set back the reconciliation agenda for an entire generation.”

“I can’t even fathom what it signals and what it says about Australia, internationally. We would become a laughingstock.”

Lyons Director Carey Lyon echoes Greenaway sentiments, believing that the yes vote is the most practical way for design professionals to acknowledge the influence of First Nations peoples within future projects.

“You cannot pretend that this isn’t the most important public debate to be had in Australia for many, many decades,” he says.

“Notwithstanding 65,000 years of culture, there has been 250 years of settler society in which a voice has not been adequately recognised. In the end, it is a very simple proposition to be heard.

“First Nations people will describe their environment with the powerful word ‘Country’ and that’s a gift to designers. We need to be prepared to accept that gift through the Uluru Statement and work out what to do with it, not deny it.”

The Fulcrum Agency Co-Founder Emma Williamson says a no vote would be a dramatic blow for the wider Australian public.

“The danger is it feels like a rejection and makes me feel like I will be living in a country that is racist. I feel really uncomfortable about that,” she says.

“I don’t think it reflects the view of the majority of young people, and they are our future.”

Architecture firm Kennedy Nolan’s founding director, Rachel Nolan sees the Voice as a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

“Australia has the oldest continuous culture in the world – this is an extraordinary fact,” she says.

“I feel so lucky that we are being offered an opportunity to walk and work together and have this Voice embedded in our Constitution.”

Architects and designers are invited to show their support for a ‘Yes’ vote by following Architects for the Voice (@architectsforthevoice) on Instagram, and sharing their ‘why’ using the hashtag #architectsforthevoice on their social media platforms.

Image L-R: Jefa Greenaway, Carey Lyon, Emma Williamson, Rachel Nolan.

Branko Miletic

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