finding ínfinity

Bacchus Marsh, July 1970. Mark Strizic spends a day at the Baker House with a 35mm camera, working through four strips of film — 21 frames in total. The negatives now sit in the State Library Victoria’s Strizic collection. Strizic was born in Berlin in 1928, son of Croatian architect Zdenko Strizic. The family fled to Zagreb in 1934 after Hitler’s rise, and after the war Strizic fled again — this time from Communist Yugoslavia. He arrived in Melbourne in April 1950, clerked for the Victorian Railways, studied physics at RMIT, and bought his first camera from a pharmacy. By 1957 he had abandoned physics for photography. His signature style emerged early: contre-jour shooting, low side-lighting, high-contrast silhouettes. In 1958, through architecture lecturer David Saunders, Strizic met Robin Boyd. Boyd’s firm Grounds, Romberg and Boyd became a major client. Boyd designed the Baker House in 1965 for the Baker family: a low pyramidal roof extending out to cover an encircling verandah, resting on twelve stone cylinders that hold water tanks, tool sheds, and a cubby hole. The curved walls between them shelter cars, a workshop, and a play area. The July 1970 shoot was for Living in Australia, Boyd’s design philosophy laid out against the suburban “ugliness” he had criticised a decade earlier. Strizic photographed and designed the book. He shot Boyd’s architecture the way he always did: on the diagonal, letting beams and picture windows carry the eye through the frame. He later called it “the nicest project I ever had.” Boyd died in October 1971, a year after the book’s release. Strizic became the first photographer acquired by the National Gallery of Australia in 1973, taught photography through the late ’70s and early ’80s, and became a full-time artist in 1984. He died in December 2012, the last of a generation of European émigré photographers who brought modernism to Australian photography. Link in bio to join the waitlist for upcoming experiences at the house in Long Forest. 📷 Mark Strizic, July 1970 — Baker House by Robin Boyd, Bacchus Marsh #RobinBoyd #MarkStrizic #BakerHouse #australianmodernism

Excited to be hosting our dear friend Kate Dundas for another round of Radio Normal live from @sanders_place Kate Dundas is the Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Network Australia (UNGCNA), @unglobalcompactnetworkau the Australian Local Network of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact. As Executive Director, Kate leads a team of experts across the fields of business and human rights, environment and climate change, anti-bribery and corruption and sustainable development. Date: Thursday 21st of May, 2026 Location: Sanders Place, 11-15 Albert Street, Richmond 3121 Time: 12:15PM arrival for a 12:30PM start. Secure your spot! *Ticket fee will go directly to some light refreshments Ticket link here: /radio-normal-live-from-sanders-place-4r8fpe56/tickets

Balam Balam Place by Kennedy Nolan, Openwork and Finding Infinity shortlisted in seven categories for the Victorian Architecture Awards @kennedy_nolan @_openwork @finding_infinity @balambalamplace @merri_bekcitycouncil @timrobdondow @jordanrowe.info @mccorkell_constructions 📷 slide 2 & 4 @peterbbennetts

What happens when a group of students masterplan their own campus to become completely self sufficient? Here’s some photos from the day out at Long Forest working it out together with RMIT and Monash @monasharchitecture @rmitarchitecture @_openwork @nmbw_architecture_studio @yyerdua

UPDATE - We’ve been busily tracking Wilam Ngarrang’s performance to see how the retrofit is holding up in real life. Based on one year’s measured data of the heating and cooling demands, Wilam Ngarrang sits comfortably within EnerPHit and is performing in line with Passive House. Just to be 100% clear, we did not and will not be seeking a rating or certification. Just sharing the projects performance in comparison to an industry accepted benchmark. We chose not to focus on targeting a rating, but rather to implement all of the most cost effective and practical solutions. It’s not perfectly airtight for example, but it’s much much better than it was! Flick through for more info on the energy performance and the materials we used. #trippleimpactinvesting @kennedy_nolan @finding_infinity @wildernessbuildingco @resinproperty #retrofit #highperformanceretrofit #wilamngarrangretrofit #hastaggingmyassoff

Wilam Ngarrang Appartments - what we set out to achieve. We’ll post the measured performance of Wilam Ngarrang soon. If we retrofit every building in Greater Melbourne with only profitable initiatives it would save the city over $8 billion every year and pay for itself in about 7 years #trippleimpactinvesting @kennedy_nolan @finding_infinity @wildernessbuildingco @resinproperty 📷 @evegwilson

The storm before the calm Wilam Ngarrang Appartments - before the retrofit… We’ll post more about the transformation soon #trippleimpactinvesting @kennedy_nolan @wildernessbuildingco @resinproperty #didimisssomeone 📷 @nataliejurrjens

Great work Dex 🙌 Dexter Wong is an Environmental Designer (He/They) at Finding Infinity. He studied architecture at Monash University and the University of Western Australia (UWA). His graduation dissertation at UWA examined and uncovered eight historical queer spaces in Perth, Western Australia, under the guidance of Craig McCormack and Dr Kate Hislop. He was invited to present the research at the inaugural Perth Design Week. Dexter works at Finding Infinity as an environmental designer, alongside the rest of the team at Sanders Place, Richmond. He works on projects that strive to make cities self-sustaining. He is also part of The Flaming Collective (TFC), a queer research collective made up of Sebastian Robinson, Matthew McGivern, and Grace Webster. The collective has presented at the National Australian Architecture Conference and Perth Design Week 2024. Outside of Finding Infinity, Dexter is an avid musician who plays oboe, cor anglais and piano in multiple community orchestras and bands, most notably the Melbourne Rainbow band.

Balam Balam @balambalamplace The third project completed as part of @a_new_normal_melbourne We set out to deliver a physical example of a net zero code. A building that doesn’t just target rating systems, but pushes the environmental and financial threshold. To help progress the industry. Did we achieve that? Let us know what you think. We certainly hope so. We’re not claiming it’s perfect, but maybe it’s better than perfect. It ambitious, it’s real, and it feels great. It certainly demonstrates what is possible. It also shows we have much more to do. Let us take you through what we set out to achieve. And what we have found after a year of operational data. Our approach was to integrate technology and solutions in culture. To help accelerate the future we want to see. Net Energy (ie demand and solar combined) - we predicted it would use 70% less than BAU and it’s using 79% less - better than planned Energy Demand (ie demand only) - we predicted it would consume 45% less than BAU, it’s using 67% less - better than planned This is equivalent to 40% less energy consumption than a 6 Star NABERs office building of the same size. One of the highest ratings possible. It is also using 40% less per m2 than a significant passivhaus building in Melbourne. Some key facts - - 35% of the building is naturally ventilated - The site has a 94kW solar PV system - Estimated 30-50% reduction in water consumption through rainwater collection and efficient fixtures and fittings - still awaiting bills to confirm - Composting of all organic waste on-site, and allowance for separation and reuse of waste streams where possible - Embodied carbon / materials - dematerialisation (no ceilings, minimal finishes, Durrapanel where possible), retention of existing structures, fit out strategy of all repurposed furniture - The project achieved a 23% reduction in embodied carbon vs the Australian average per square metre. If you haven’t already, go check it out, it’s a special place. @kennedy_nolan @_openwork @merri_bekcitycouncil @siteworks_ @greenshootconsulting @mccorkell_constructions @timrobdondow @jordanrowe.info Photos @peterbbennetts

The 2026 Australian Urban Design Awards has named Balam Balam Place as a winner in the 2026 Built Outcomes category. We are honoured with this acknowledgement and proud to be part of an extraordinary team - @kennedy_nolan @_openwork @siteworks__ !!re_email!!_jordanrowe.info @timrobdondow @greenshootconsulting and many more under the fearless sponsorship of @merri_bekcitycouncil and built by @mccorkell_constructions and @westlandcommercial Katheine Sundermann, chair of the stellar Steering Committee for the Australian Urban Design Awards said that “This year’s winners reflect a gentler approach to urban transformation: projects rooted in Indigenous and community leadership, ecological landscapes, and the creation of places for people to gather ... These projects reinforce a simple idea: urban transformation works best when it involves diverse people, responds to the specifics of place, and improves places over time.” Very pleased to be in the company of other Built Outcomes recipients @jcbarchitects #siteoffice and @hillthalisaup 📷 @peterbbennetts

Receiving good ones. Helping good people make good ones. Helping suspect people make good ones. Creating good ones. 🤙 *terms and conditions apply

A university campus is a city. A small city. But a city. A place for progress, innovation, education. The ultimate prototype for transforming cities. A place to test and learn. To culturally connect. The next generation. From concept to implementation. Imagine every university across the country showing rather than telling. Teaching by implementing. To enable the students to accelerate and create the transformation. We’re starting with three. This semester. RMIT. Monash. University of Melbourne. A studio to transform your campus. Poetry is the brief. Encrypting technology and solutions in culture to allow people to decipher it for themselves. Let’s get on with it. See you there. 04 03 5:30PM Kick off RMIT 04 03 - Design Hub 100.3.001 Ross Harding @finding_infinity Nigel Bertram @monashada Mark Jacques @rmitarchitecture Martin Musiatowicz @msdsocial 01 MONASH 11 03 5:00PM Monash University - Room TBC NMBW @nmbw_architecture_studio Baracco + Wright @baraccowrightarchitects Kennedy Nolan @kennedy_nolan Wardle @wardle.studio Fender Katsalidis @fenderkatsalidis Fieldwork @fieldwork_architects Clare Cousins @clarecousins Brew Koch @architect_brewkoch Edition Office @editionoffice 02 RMIT 18 03 5:00PM RMIT University - Room TBC Greenshoot @greenshootconsulting Foolscap @foolscapstudio MUIR @muirarchitecture Openwork @_openwork NMBW & Esther Stewart @esther_stewart Andy Fergus @andy_fergus & more to be announced 03 UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE 26 03 5:00PM University of Melbourne - Room TBC Kerstin Thompson Architects @more_kta Openwork @_openwork Josh Riesel @joshriesel Breathe @breathearchitecture NH Architecture @nharchitecture Six degrees @sixdegreesarchitects Hassell @hassell_studio Kosloff @kosloffarchitecture & more to be announced This series is open to all RMIT, Monash and University of Melbourne students as well as to the general public, love to see you there!