The City Architects

While Australia has three tiers of Government - Federal, State and Local - the "Government Architect" has been long understood as a State-level position. In NSW, where this role has been in place for more than 200 years, the role has evolved designing building to designing strategies related to the governance of design in the built environment. However, while there is currently no equivalent role at a Federal level, there is an emerging interest in the Local Government sector in the role of City Architect. As the last lecture for UTS Masters of Architecture subject “The Profession” for 2026, we thought to examine the City Architect role. The nature of Local Government is that each City Architect position is designed by their respective Council. This difference between Councils makes for a fascinating constellation of City Architects who, while sharing a title, have a significantly different history, focus and remit. To shed light on the importance of this role and the different ways in which it currently operates in NSW, we have invited the three City Architects beyond the City of Sydney to each make a short presentation on their work and then to discuss in conversation their common areas, differences and possibilities for further evolution." Speakers Bill Tsakalos, Blacktown City Architect Jeremy Giacomini, Ryde City Architect Rory Toomey, Inner West City Architect . . .and in conversation with tutors from The Profession, including Jacqueline Bokor, Emily Flanagan and Andrea Lam.