OFFICE

BUILT ENVIRONMENT Vol. 2 A gathering of books, art, and talks. Friday, 29th May (Opening + Book Launch): 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Saturday, 30th May (Book Fair & Talks): 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Expanding upon last year’s event, BUILT ENVIRONMENT Vol. 2 returns to celebrate a diverse range of practices that engage with our surroundings through multidisciplinary approaches. Curated by @thresholdprojects in collaboration with @___office , the event brings together a curated group of publishers, graphic designers, architects, landscape architects, and artists. Each contributor was invited to present work that explores, references, or responds to the spaces we inhabit, both constructed and natural, expressed through text, printed matter, and books. Running alongside the book fair is a series of curated panel discussions. These sessions will track the typical progression of a project: from conceptualisation and production to the printing and distribution of work across various mediums. Come down buy some books, hear from interesting people and support independent makers. @threefivefivethree Panel Discussion Saturday 30th May Panel 1 – CONCEPTUALISING + DEVELOPING (11am – 11:45am) Adam Cruickshank @adammcruickshank Paul Mylecharane @p_mylecharane Kate Finning @kfarchitect Panel 2 – PRODUCTION + PRINTING (1pm – 1:45pm) Bridget Chappell @hextape.wav Uriah Gray @u____p Zenobia Ahmed @zenobiaahmed Panel 3 – DISSEMINATING + DISTRIBUTION (3pm – 3:45pm) Odessa Mykytowycz @fiendbookshop Mat Ward @bookshop_by_uro Adrian Hardingham @booksatmanic Flyer design by @jhneumann

We need your help. In the heart of the Australian desert, a multinational corporation has been granted the largest groundwater licence in the nation’s history—for free. Fortune Agribusiness intends to extract 40 billion litres of water every year for the next 30 years to fuel industrial agriculture on Singleton Station. This massive water grab threatens to devastate Kaytetye Country and the community of Ali Curung. The proposed project, Rain Makers, will unite local Indigenous knowledge with global research expertise. Using advanced geospatial analysis and digital modelling, the project will map and visualise the true cultural and environmental cost of this water extraction. While interdisciplinary forensic and spatial research practices are well established in Europe, Australia lacks comparable Indigenous-led capacity in these methods. Rain Makers builds that capacity locally, creating credible, community-controlled evidence that can support environmental justice and resistance to irresponsible water extraction and fossil fuel projects. This vital work will give the Ali Curung community further evidence they need to tell their story, challenge extractive industries, and fight government approvals that ignore First Nations sovereignty. This project is a collaboration between: Arlpwe Art & Culture Centre OFFICE LIMINAL (University of Bologna) Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC) Running Water Community Press To donate please follow the link in our bio.

We need your help. In the heart of the Australian desert, a multinational corporation has been granted the largest groundwater licence in the nation’s history—for free. Fortune Agribusiness intends to extract 40 billion litres of water every year for the next 30 years to fuel industrial agriculture on Singleton Station. This massive water grab threatens to devastate Kaytetye Country and the community of Ali Curung. The proposed project, Rain Makers, will unite local Indigenous knowledge with global research expertise. Using advanced geospatial analysis and digital modelling, the project will map and visualise the true cultural and environmental cost of this water extraction. While interdisciplinary forensic and spatial research practices are well established in Europe, Australia lacks comparable Indigenous-led capacity in these methods. Rain Makers builds that capacity locally, creating credible, community-controlled evidence that can support environmental justice and resistance to irresponsible water extraction and fossil fuel projects. This vital work will give the Ali Curung community further evidence they need to tell their story, challenge extractive industries, and fight government approvals that ignore First Nations sovereignty. This project is a collaboration between: Arlpwe Art & Culture Centre OFFICE LIMINAL (University of Bologna) Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC) Running Water Community Press To donate please follow the link in our bio.

aqua nullius: First Nations Water Rights in Australia is our eighth publication and comes at a time when Aboriginal communities across the country are facing escalating water insecurity. The book brings together more than 20 interviews, structured around four key themes: storytelling, water injustice, First Nations water management, and overturning aqua nullius. This publication continues our investigation into the privatisation of so-called “public” space, the systemic injustices experienced by vulnerable communities, and the complexities of colonisation and its ongoing legacy. For pre-orders please follow the link in the bio. aqua nullius: First Nations Water Rights in Australia Published – OFFICE, 2026 Editor - Miriam McGarry, Jack Mitchell, OFFICE Copy Editor - Tom Muratore Design - Samson Ossedryver Retain, Repair, Reinvest: Ascot Vale Estate Published – OFFICE, 2025 Editor – Miriam McGarry, Tom Muratore, OFFICE Copy Editor - Miriam McGarry Design - Samson Ossedryver Papulu-ku Nyinjjiki (seeing houses) Published – OFFICE, 2023 Editor – OFFICE, Simon Quilty Copy Editor - Miriam McGarry Design - Samson Ossedryver The Politics of Public Space: Volume Five Published – OFFICE, 2023 Editor – OFFICE, Tom Muratore Copy Editor - Miriam McGarry Design - Jake Bonin and Kim Mumm Hansen The Politics of Public Space: Volume Four Published – OFFICE, 2021 Editor – OFFICE, Tom Muratore Copy Editor - Miriam McGarry Design – Tal Levin The Politics of Public Space: Volume Three Published – OFFICE, 2020 Editor – OFFICE, Tom Muratore Copy Editor - Miriam McGarry Design – Tal Levin The Politics of Public Space: Volume Two Published – OFFICE, 2020 Editor – OFFICE, Tom Muratore Copy Editor - Miriam McGarry Design – Tal Levin The Politics of Public Space: Volume One Published – OFFICE, 2020 Editor – OFFICE, Tom Muratore Copy Editor - Miriam McGarry Design – Tal Levin

Limited Edition Artwork with Pre-Orders of aqua nullius. Within the publication, artist and Tennant Creek Brio member Joseph Williams Jungarayi created a series of illustrations depicting different types of “water” as described in Warumungu language and culture. His illustration of rain has been overlaid on a photograph by Andrew Quilty, taken on Warumungu land looking out across Jurnkkurakurr. As a thank-you to those who pre-order a copy of the book, each purchase will include a limited-edition small print of the artwork. Image: Norman Frank Jupurrula’s family just outside Tennant Creek Photo: @andrewquilty Illustration: @yugi657 Graphic Designer: @samsonossedryver_studio Dimensions: 120mm x 190mm Stock: 720gsm Stephen Gesso White

We are excited to announce the release of our newest publication - aqua nullius: First Nations Water Rights in Australia To support the production of this publication we are opening pre-orders with the release date scheduled for April 2026. (link in bio) aqua nullius First Nations Water Rights in Australia This book focuses on the concept of aqua nullius, the attempted application of the falsehood of terra nullius to water. The book highlights the voices of First Nations people interviewed from across Australia about their cultural relationships to water. “This book is a body of water. In these pages lies a collection of words, printed on to paper, pooling together here like the confluence of a river. Each stream of vibration carrying meaning, from thoughts, to sounds, to shapes, arriving through their respective Country and the bodies, hearts, blood and mind of each custodian. Each speaker has held this knowledge in relationship to kin and community for thousands and thousands of years in an unbroken stream.” Jack Mitchell (editor) This is a publication of over 20 interviews structured around four key themes: storytelling, water injustice, First Nations water management, and overturning aqua nullius. Contributors include: Alex Bond, Colleen Raven Strangways, Dave Wandin, David Collard, Erin O’Donnell, Hozaus Claire, Jack Mitchell, Jim Everett, Joseph Williams Jungarayi, Josie Douglas, Kazan Brown, Maureen O’Keefe, Melissa Kennedy, Norman Frank Jupurrurla, Oliver Costello, Sophia Pearce, Sue Jackson, Tony Birch, Troy McDonald, Noel Nannup, Virginia Marshall. Published by OFFICE Dimensions: 230mm x 300mm Page Count: 222 ISBN: 978-0-6487702-7-5 Editors: Miriam McGarry @mimmcgarry Jack Mitchell @huktooey OFFICE Copy Editor: Tom Muratore Design: Samson Ossedryver @samsonossedryver_studio Supporters: @creative.australia , @creative_vic , @cityofyarra

We are excited to announce the release of our newest publication - aqua nullius: First Nations Water Rights in Australia To support the production of this publication we are opening pre-orders with the release date scheduled for April 2026. (link in bio) aqua nullius First Nations Water Rights in Australia This book focuses on the concept of aqua nullius, the attempted application of the falsehood of terra nullius to water. The book highlights the voices of First Nations people interviewed from across Australia about their cultural relationships to water. “This book is a body of water. In these pages lies a collection of words, printed on to paper, pooling together here like the confluence of a river. Each stream of vibration carrying meaning, from thoughts, to sounds, to shapes, arriving through their respective Country and the bodies, hearts, blood and mind of each custodian. Each speaker has held this knowledge in relationship to kin and community for thousands and thousands of years in an unbroken stream.” Jack Mitchell (editor) This is a publication of over 20 interviews structured around four key themes: storytelling, water injustice, First Nations water management, and overturning aqua nullius. Contributors include: Alex Bond, Colleen Raven Strangways, Dave Wandin, David Collard, Erin O’Donnell, Hozaus Claire, Jack Mitchell, Jim Everett, Joseph Williams Jungarayi, Josie Douglas, Kazan Brown, Maureen O’Keefe, Melissa Kennedy, Norman Frank Jupurrurla, Oliver Costello, Sophia Pearce, Sue Jackson, Tony Birch, Troy McDonald, Noel Nannup, Virginia Marshall. Published by OFFICE Dimensions: 230mm x 300mm Page Count: 222 ISBN: 978-0-6487702-7-5 Editors: Miriam McGarry @mimmcgarry Jack Mitchell @huktooey OFFICE Copy Editor: Tom Muratore Design: Samson Ossedryver @samsonossedryver_studio Supporters: This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through @creative.australia , its principal arts investment and advisory body. aqua nullius is supported by the Victorian Government through @creative_vic This project has been supported by @cityofyarra Arts and Culture Annual Grants

At the beginning of 2025, OFFICE took over the lease from our friends @homie.com.au of a 1028m² brick warehouse in Collingwood. Owned by a developer, the lease is short-term, making any significant building upgrades costly. As such, we’ve leaned into the rawness of the building and the DIY reality of being a small practice. While it was never our intention to run studio spaces, the warehouse is one of the last few remaining buildings of its kind in the area, providing discounted rent to other creatives. It is currently home to fashion labels, graphic designers, architects, a photographer, and a record label. Across two floors, the building includes full-time studio spaces, a retail shopfront, hot desks, a bookable photography area, a public gallery, and our workshop. All fitted-out with make-shift walls, ikea furniture and a few coats of paint. @yaseera.jpg has beautifully documented the organised chaos through a snapshot of the spaces within 35–53 Emma Street, Collingwood @noskin.co @bug.skin @candiceforyou @cohort.records @joeyclough.work @benhoskingphotographer @hughgoadarchitect @threefivefivethree

OFFICE have had the great privilege in assisting @wilya_janta and Warumungu Elders develop Right Way Housing Guidelines: A new model for remote housing. These guidelines have been created to ensure Aboriginal families and communities have a strong voice in how homes are designed, built, and lived in. They provide practical guidance from the very beginning of a project so that new homes reflect how people actually live, how they rest, gather, care for one another, and maintain culture, joy, and identity. Developed by Warumungu Elders with input from other First Nations Elders from remote communities, these guidelines are not intended to be prescriptive or applied universally. They show how one community would like to see future homes designed and built. The guidelines are a living document, and feedback from other remote Aboriginal communities is welcomed. The document is currently structured around 7 key principles: Community Led Culturally Appropriate Design for Environment and Climate Design for Health Build the Right Way Designed to Be Maintained Ongoing Evaluation and Learning These guidelines are for everyone involved in remote Aboriginal housing from; community members, Elders, families, and young people; Aboriginal Housing Organisations and Aboriginal design experts; government, funders, architects, engineers, builders, and service providers. They are for those committed to working respectfully alongside community, creating shared language, clear roles, and strong partnerships. Collaborators Norman Frank Jupurrurla, Serena Morton Napanangka, Linda Turner Napanangka, Patricia Frank Narrurlu, Diane Stokes Nampin, Jimmy Frank Jupurrurla, Alfred Rickson, Joseph Williams Jungurayi, Simon Quilty, Veronica Matthews, Paul Memmott, Troppo, Aboriginal Housing NT (AHNT), National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association (NATSIHA), Andrew Quilty. The guidelines are available on our website, under the resources tab.

Barak Beacon Estate, 1:100 A physical model of our RRR proposal for the retrofit and new public housing extension at Barak Beacon Estate. The estate was demolished in 2023, despite no refurbishment studies being released publicly, with the state government failing to provide any evidence which supported their approach of renewal. The model was produced as part of the Retrofit exhibition, curated by the Retrofit Lab and held at @msdsocial 📸 @benhoskingphotographer

OFFICE are proud to support Building Action Now (B.A.N) Building Action Now is a built environment alliance for housing action. We call on the Victorian Government to immediately halt the reckless demolition of 44 public housing towers. The government is demolishing public housing during Australia’s worst housing crisis without releasing condition reports, feasibility studies or cost-benefit analysis, and without adequately considering the alternative of retrofit which could save up to $1.5 billion. We cannot endorse demolition based on unsubstantiated claims. If you work within the built environment, follow @__b.a.n and sign the open letter.

Currently under construction, Explain Home 1 is the first @wilya_janta home designed by Serena Morton Napanangka and Norman Frank Jupurrurla. It is shaped by Warumungu cultural protocols, environmental conditions, and the logistical constraints of remote construction. Deep verandahs support outdoor living, extended family gatherings, and avoidance practices. Bedrooms are oriented east–west in line with Warumungu sleeping traditions, with separate living spaces for different kinship groups. Multiple internal and external bathrooms provide privacy and flexibility, while universal access enables Elders to age on Country. Climatic design features include breezeways, cross-ventilation, and orientation to capture cooling winds. Internal mudbrick tiles, made from anthill and spinifex, provide thermal mass within a lightweight construction system. Explain Home 1 offers a new model for Aboriginal housing. Housing that is culturally grounded, environmentally responsive, and adaptable, demonstrating how design can promote Culture while delivering affordable and scalable housing. It is the first of many more. With support from OFFICE @troppo.architects Paul Memmott, @csirogram @originalpower_ @reeceplumbing @outbackboarder @mclm_building @shape_aus @oldfourlegs