Jefa Greenaway on Designing for Country: Embedding Indigenous culture into built form

Designing for Country means advocating for designs that respect and reflect the stories and needs of the land and its traditional owners, explains Founding Director of Greenaway Architects, Wailwan/Kamilaroi man Jefa Greenaway.

“There are certain aspects when we think about Country, and it's not just the landscape, per se, it speaks to kinship, it speaks to language, it speaks to place, it speaks to story and narrative,” he says.

He says when Designing for Country, it is essential to have dialogue with traditional owners, elders and knowledge keepers. It is about putting the landscape first and doing no harm.

“ Throughout history, we've scarred Country, we've burned Country, we've desecrated Country, we've poisoned Country. So we want to do the exact opposite of that.”

“It's only taking what you need, as opposed to an extractive approach where you bulldoze every tree that you can to clear the way to build something”.

He says when engaging with a community it needs to be a truly collaborative model rather than a top down approach where you consult with a predetermined mindset.

“So this is where true engagement is separated from tokenistic engagement, which is really a tick-the-box, compliance-driven sort of mindset where you've already decided what you're going to do”. 

Jefa is currently working on a tertiary hub project in North-East Arnhem Land for the Yothu Yindi Foundation. He says the design process is rooted in deep consultation with traditional knowledge holders.

“What we've been doing for the best part of close to 12 months now is engaging with them; going up onto Country, walking Country, having conversations, working closely with the community of origin and the knowledge holders who seek to tell particular stories through that process”.

Another of Jefa’s projects that illustrates Designing for Country is the UTS National First Nations College Ultimo, which aims to echo the colours and textures of the land and empower First Nations enterprises through its supply chain.

“So the interior design, the look and feel, the textures, the tactility is informed by Country,” he says.
“We think about it not only in the context of the material choices, we think about the opportunities to empower Indigenous enterprise as part of the supply chain and the procurement strategy.”

Jefa believes there are misconceptions about the cost of going through the engagement process with traditional land owners. He flips the narrative, explaining that cultural narratives can inspire compelling designs without necessarily increasing expenses.

“I've been involved in some very large projects where we sought to embed culture as the starting point. And what it's done is enriched the project. It's galvanised the entire design team.”

He is pleased to see the positive shift in the industry towards embracing cultural engagement, like the NSW Government’s Connecting with Country framework.

“People realise the benefit of doing that, and consequently, it's now being asked for, it's being included in design briefs, for instance. It's actually being called out explicitly as a requirement for projects of particular scale, particularly public projects.”

“I think we've come to a point where we're starting to mature our thinking. So gone are the days of hanging a dot painting in a foyer and thinking you're covering off on the cultural component of a project.”

“What we are seeking to do now is embed Indigenous design thinking into the project's DNA, so that it becomes much more integrated and holistic”. 

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