ANNA

O’GORMAN

• EMERGING PRACTICE •

Architect Anna O’Gorman’s modest

and quiet determination is starting

to translate into an intelligent and

rigorous suite of projects.

Words by Katelin Butler

Photography by

Christopher Frederick Jones

A

rchitect Anna O’Gorman has always
been interested in making things –
and being resourceful while doing so.
She strongly believes that “something
beautiful can be made from everyday
materials.” For the Design and Architecture
Practice Research Exhibition in July 2017,
organized by Bond and RMIT Universities,
Anna designed and made a paper necklace
from hand-cut section drawings of her
recently completed Northshore Pavilion.
This artefact aptly portrays her design

believes that there is much to be learnt about

architecture through the ways in which

natural elements form and grow.

Collaboration is important to Anna,

in terms of working with architects as well

as other skilled tradespeople who help her

design ideas come to life. Her first built

residential project as a sole practitioner

was the Beaumont Apartment interior

renovation, a collaboration with Anna’s

mother, highly esteemed architect Brit

Andresen. “We worked quite intensely

together on how we would make the layout

work and what finishes to use. We pretty

much sat side-by-side for three weeks over

a Christmas period to figure it all out,”

explains Anna. The renovation is all about

the joinery insert into the existing apartment

shell. “The joinery was the thing we had

to get right, as that’s what you interact

with day-to-day.” Cabinetmaker William

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thinking, where she achieves poetic

expression through “exploration of the

capacity of materials and the connection

between buildings and their spaces.”

The necklace is delicate and layered, also

pointing to the subtlety in Anna’s work.

The influences on Anna’s evolving design

approach are multifaceted. Anna grew up in

Brisbane in a family of architects, giving her

the opportunity to engage in architectural

culture from a young age. She has worked

in a number of influential Brisbane-based

practices, both during her architectural

studies and after graduation, including

Donovan Hill Architects, Richard Kirk

Architect, Shane Thompson Architects and

Kieron Gait Architects. She has also taught

design at the University of Queensland,

which has allowed her to test and explore

new ways of design and research ideas.

Anna relishes time spent in nature and