Jury

INTERNATIONALLY RESPECTED design professionals were represented on the eight-member Jury which will assess both stages of the Gold Coast Cultural Precinct Design Competition.

Led by Chair, Griffith University’s foundation head of Architecture, Professor Gordon Holden, the Jury also included a diverse array of design professionals, including international, national and local architects, a landscape architect and arts sector leaders.

Acclaimed New York City-based architect, academic and author, Michael Sorkin, brought a wealth of international experience to the Jury table, and ensuring the Gold Coast community’s needs remain front and centre was Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, for Stage One judging, and Gold Coast Deputy Mayor, Councillor Donna Gates, for Stage two.

The Jury’s professional mix reflected the multidisciplinary teams expected to compete for the contract to deliver a landmark cultural precinct for the Gold Coast.

Professor Gordon Holden (Chair)

Gordon is Foundation Head of Architecture at Griffith University where he focuses educational projects that engage with Gold Coast city. He was previously Dean of Architecture and Design at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (2002-2009) and Head of Architecture at Queensland University of Technology (1992-2001).

Gordon is the Immediate Past President of the international body, the Commonwealth Association of Architects, and the 2011 recipient of the Australian Institute of Architects National Award for Excellence in Education. He has served on many and various National and State committees of the Australian Institute of Architects.

Gordon is well experienced in judging architectural and urban design competitions and awards as well as assessing major cultural project designs. He has also maintained an interest and commitment to the Gold Coast, having chaired the inaugural Urban Design Awards in 1998 and participated in subsequent judging panels, the organising committees for the City of Gold Coast’s International Urban Design Conferences, and Council’s ‘Public Art Reference Group’.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate

Tom was elected Mayor of the Gold Coast in April 2012. He has qualifications in civil engineering from the University of New South Wales.

He started his career in the construction industry and moved into the tourism and hospitality industry. Tom has served as CEO of his family-owned business, which includes the Islander Resort Hotel in Surfers Paradise and the Sanctuary Resort in Malaysia, for almost 20 years.

Tom has been an active member of the Gold Coast business community, serving as a Director for a variety of business associations and organisations, including Gold Coast Rugby and the Gold Coast Turf Club, and as Director and Regional Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland. Tom is a Life Member of the Surfers Paradise/Broadbeach Chamber of Commerce.

Gold Coast Deputy Mayor Councillor Donna Gates

Donna is Deputy Mayor and Council representative for the Gold Coast’s most northerly division and one of the city’s fastest growing areas.
Donna had a successful career in radio administration in Melbourne, including a position as Publicity and Promotions Manager for a leading commercial station and honed her business skills in family real estate and hospitality businesses.
Relocating to the Gold Coast she worked in local government for 12 years before her election to Council more than six years ago. She is Deputy Chair of the Commonwealth Games and Major Projects Committee, a member of the City Planning, Engineering Services, and Economic Development and Tourism Committees and is one of five councillors on the 2015 Planning Scheme Sub-Committee, responsible for the introduction and implementation of a new Town Plan for the City.

Professor Michael Sorkin

Michael is Principal of the Michael Sorkin Studio, a global design practice working at all scales with a special interest in the city and green architecture, President and founder of Terreform, a non-profit institute dedicated to research into the forms and practices of just and sustainable urbanism, President of the American Institute for Urban Design, and Distinguished Professor of Architecture and Director of the Graduate Program in Urban Design at The City College of New York. He is the author or editor of more than 15 books on architecture and urbanism.

Michael is familiar with Queensland, having previously visited as keynote speaker to the Gold Coast’s inaugural 2007 International Urban Design Conference and State Library of Queensland’s 2009 Nielsen Design Lecture.

Professor Geoffrey London

Geoffrey is the Victorian Government Architect, having previously been the inaugural Western Australian Government Architect.

He has served on and acted as chair of many architectural design award and competition juries. In his role as Victorian Government Architect London advises the government on key architectural projects and is an advocate for high quality architecture across the state.

He is also the Winthrop Professor of Architecture at The University of Western Australia. He is a past Dean and Head of School at UWA, and Professorial Fellow at The University of Melbourne. He was the President of the Western Australian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects and is a Life Fellow of the Institute. He is a past member of the Australian Research Council's College of Experts and has acted as a consultant on numerous architectural and urban design projects.

Greg Forgan-Smith

Greg is an architect whose interests lie in urban design and the need to set the early framework to allow good design to emerge as a necessary outcome. He was president of the RAIA Gold Coast Region for five years and instrumental in establishing the Council's Urban Design Advisory Board and has been active on that Board since 1995 serving as Chairman and Deputy Chair. Greg’s Gold Coast architectural practice works on projects locally and internationally.

Professor Helen Armstrong

Helen is Emeritus Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Queensland University of Technology and an Associate of the Institute for Culture and Society, University of Western Sydney. She is also an academic board member of the Centre for Sub-tropical Design, Queensland University of Technology.

Helen established the Cultural Landscape Research Unit whose aim was to define and document the cultural environments of Australia. During 1997-1999 Helen led a major research program with the Environmental Protection Agency, Contested Terrains: Investigating Queensland's Cultural Landscapes, incorporating a case study of the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim as one ofAustralia’s significant iconic landscapes.

Helen has since maintained a keen interest in the cultural landscape of the Gold Coast, running numerous design studios on urban sites and the wider environs.

Destry Puia

Destry is the General Manager of The Arts Centre Gold Coast. He has been instrumental in its reinvigoration in recent years through the delivery of diversified programming, fostering of partnerships with Australia’s leading arts companies, and creating professional development opportunities for local artists.

Destry has worked in every facet of the performing arts for a variety of organisations including independent theatre boards, metropolitan arts organisations, touring companies and regional councils. He has served on numerous state and national arts boards including the Northern Australian Regional Performing Arts Centres Association, the Helpmann Awards Panel, the Australian Performing Arts Centres Association, the Performing Arts Touring Alliance, Ausdance Queensland and the Arts Industry Council of Victoria.

John Kotzas

John is the Chief Executive of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) at Brisbane’s South Bank. QPAC is a leading presenter in the Asia Pacific and an internationally renowned performing arts destination. He is an arts leader of international standing. John joined QPAC in 1989, undertaking various creative and directing roles both for QPAC and a number of significant national celebrations. In 1996 he was the Managing Director of the inaugural Brisbane Festival. At QPAC he initiated the STAGE X Festival and led establishment of the Out of the Box Festival, one of the few arts events in the world that is focused on children eight years and under.

From 2003 John served as QPAC’s Artistic Director and was instrumental in QPAC’s recent successes as an investor in large scale musicals including The Phantom of the Opera and Chicago. As Chief Executive, John has strengthened QPAC’s international profile and secured the annual, exclusive presentation of some of the world’s greatest performing arts companies.

John is currently Vice President of Live Performance Australia and has held positions with state and national arts companies, serving on numerous state and national boards. In 2012 he was awarded a Doctor of the University by Queensland University of Technology for distinguished service to the arts.

Gold Coast Cultural Precinct