// About

A PATTERN LANGUAGE

Some families pass down recipes. Mine passed down patterns.

My father was a patternmaker - a highly skilled craft that created precise timber moulds used in the foundry sand-casting process. Each pattern was unique, made with patience and exactitude, built to produce something that would outlast the making of it.

I grew up in his pattern shop, surrounded by the smell of timber shavings and the quiet concentration of someone doing difficult work well.

"I didn't realise until much later that I had become a patternmaker too."

Nearly 25 years of architectural practice later, I still work the same way: from first principles, by hand, with an obsessive attention to what a place is actually asking for. In an industry that went fully digital two decades ago, I remain committed to hand drawing and hand drafting - not out of nostalgia, but because I believe the act of drawing by hand is still the most direct connection between an idea and a building.

Patternshop* is named for that inheritance. It is a practice built on the same timeless principles my father lived by: care, precision, and invention. No two projects are alike - and none should be.

// The work

The practice spans residential, commercial, hospitality, and civic and cultural architecture across NSW, QLD, and Tasmania. Based in the Northern Rivers and working regularly in Newcastle, we bring the same care and rigour to a considered family home as to a large-scale cultural institution.

For the past six + years I have been the lead architect on the M|Arts precinct in Murwillumbah, NNSW - a celebrated civic and cultural institution in private ownership, and home to the adjacent heritage-listed Regent Theatre. It is one of the most rewarding and complex projects of my career, combining architectural precision with deep community purpose.

Hospitality and interior design form a significant and growing part of the practice - from café and restaurant fitouts to hotel and venue interiors. I have a particular interest in the use of natural materials and finishes in high-end hospitality settings, including clay renders and earthen wall treatments, which remain rare in Australian interiors.

I also work as a project manager on commercial projects, bringing the same rigour and clarity to delivery that I apply to design. The practice is deliberately cross-disciplinary - working with engineers, artists, makers, and community groups - because the best buildings are never made in isolation.

Sustainability is not a feature I add to projects. It is the foundation every project is designed from. I have extensive experience with earthen construction, green roof design, and passive environmental systems, and I bring this thinking to projects at every scale and budget.

I am supported by a small team of Registered Architects who bring the same care and rigour to every project. You will always deal directly with me.

// Beyond the practice

Architecture has always been, for me, inseparable from community. For the past five years, since 2021, I have served as President of the Murwillumbah & District Business Chamber, a role that has taken my placemaking work well beyond design and into the practical, political, and financial realities of how places actually change.

In that role I, with my team, have successfully secured multiple NSW Government grants - including the Community Improvement District (CID) Pilot Project Grant, the Regional Nighttime Economy (R-NTE) Grant, and CID Seed Funding Grant - commissioning artists, community groups, and designers to deliver street murals, festivals, wayfinding, and public realm improvements across the Murwillumbah CBD. This is placemaking at its most applied: not a concept, but a process of persistent negotiation, creative commissioning, and on-ground delivery.

"After the 2022 floods, I lobbied local and state government for upgraded flood infrastructure for our CBD. Four years later, those pumps are being installed."

That lobbying work - sustained over years, through bureaucratic resistance and political cycles - resulted in funded infrastructure that will materially reduce flood impact on Murwillumbah's business community in every future event. It is one of the things I am most proud of in my career, and it has nothing to do with architecture in the conventional sense. It has everything to do with what architecture is actually for.

// Recognition

NSW Government Community Service Award, 2022

Awarded for lobbying and advocacy on behalf of the Murwillumbah business community following the 2022 floods.

Business NSW Business Awards — Regional Winner, Northern NSW

Murwillumbah & District Business Chamber, recognised for outstanding contribution to the regional business community.

President, Murwillumbah Business Chamber — 5 years

Securing government placemaking grants and driving CBD renewal across the Northern Rivers.

Lead Architect — M|Arts Cultural Precinct & Regent Theatre, Murwillumbah — 6 years

Lead architect on one of the Northern Rivers' most celebrated civic and cultural institutions, including the adjacent heritage-listed Regent Theatre.

// Working together

Architecture is a long process, and the relationship between architect and client is its most important ingredient. I work with a small number of projects at any time so I can give each one the attention it deserves. You will deal directly with me - not a graduate architect or a project manager - throughout the life of your project.

My commitment is to make this process transparent, collaborative, and genuinely enjoyable. I want you to feel in control, well-informed, and confident that your project is in good hands from the first conversation to the final handover.

NSW Registered Architect #9478  ·  QLD Registered Architect #5632  ·  TAS Registered Architect #1421 Nearly 25 years professional experience

// Services

Feasibility study

Understand what's possible on your site before you commit.

Concept design

The big idea - developed by hand, tested against place.

Design development

Refining the design into a buildable, costed proposal.

Construction documentation

Precise drawings and specifications for council and builder.

Contract administration

On-site oversight ensuring the design is built as intended.

Interior design & hospitality fitouts

From café and restaurant interiors to hotel and venue fitouts — materials, finishes, and spatial detail resolved as a whole. Particular expertise in natural and earthen finishes for high-end hospitality settings.

Placemaking & community design

Public realm design, government grant strategy, artist commissioning, and community engagement — from brief to delivery.

Project management

Commercial project delivery with architectural rigour.

Masterplanning

Strategic land use and precinct planning - from site analysis to concept masterplan.