Three months in, Parlour Annexe coordinator Lauren Jeans provides a comprehensive update, showcasing the development, activities and future plans for our four initial Annexe groups, and flagging other potential areas of focus for future groups.

In the Parlour spirit, the intention of the Annexe was to give the Parlour community a place to belong, to meet people with shared interests, and to harness and do good with collective knowledge. It’s been three months since the Parlour Annexe officially launched, and it’s been a privilege to watch each of the groups come together and flourish as we hoped they would.

The beauty of the Annexe is its variety. I’ll provide an update on each of our active groups below.

Regenerative Designers were one of our earliest groups, championed by Anna Lindstad. It started as an intimate group of like-minded women from Anna’s ESD community, based in Melbourne. The group’s initial goals were to promote and advocate for the incredible work happening in the sustainability field, provide mentoring opportunities for younger women, and provide tailored networking opportunities.

Regenerative Designers have recently held their third formal online meeting, with nearly 40 members from across Australia. They are currently planning their first face to face meeting, which will include a tour around Newport Lakes, Melbourne, led by Dominque Hes in mid-May. The group has plans to run speed-dating mentoring nights in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, and are using this group to support and get involved in existing groups and attend relevant events in the community.

Eddie Page reached out to Parlour back in September 2024, keen to create a community for neurodiverse people working in the architecture profession. This was perfect timing, as we were getting ready to launch the Annexe, and felt this was an important and relevant topic to have as one of our first groups.

The Neuro-Atypical Architects Network (NAAN) is now holding monthly meetings and the group has more than 30 members from across the country. Each member has their own personal reasons for being a part of this group, and through open and honest chats and sharing of lived experiences, they’ve created a safe and supportive space for people to come together. The group is still finetuning their goals. More to come.

Lauren Rollison and Jenna Holder are both registered architects, who have recently moved into project management roles. When Parlour launched the Annex, they reached out to set up a supportive Annexe group for Architects in Allied Fields – to host networking events and to share experiences of the transition. For Lauren and Jenna, it was important to keep the group local so that the quarterly catch-ups could be in person.

Architects in Allied Fields (SA) held their first in-person meeting three weeks ago, with 12 people attending. It was a relaxed catch-up over a couple of drinks, and it was immediately clear how meaningful and reassuring it was for the group to connect with others on a similar career path. Early aims are to host relevant CPD events, share lived experiences and knowledge (with the potential of feeding this back to practising architects), and create a local community for networking and catch-ups.

Parlour has also heard from a NSW design manager, who is interested in setting up a similar group in her state. Please reach out to Lauren Jeans at annexe@parlour.org.au if you’d like to join the SA or NSW group, or if you have interest in setting up an Architects in Allied Fields group in your state or territory.

Joshua Potter is the co-chair of the NSW Gender Equity Taskforce (GET) and the founder of the Accessibility Taskforce, which is part of the Parlour Annexe. Joshua has prepared an extensive proposal for the Accessibility Taskforce, outlining objectives, proposed actions and initiatives, anticipated outcomes, structure of the group, and next steps. Some of the key goals of the Accessibility Taskforce are to interrogate the current barriers in the architectural career pathway for those with disabilities; to provide practical tools to assist with inclusive design; and to foster awareness and empowerment by removing the stigma around invisible disabilities.

Joshua prepared an opinion piece to kickstart the group, which was published on the Parlour website, and has since been re-published by Architecture AU, and the Deafness Forum Australia newsletter.

The Accessibility Taskforce is now a nationwide group with 30 members, who catch up monthly. The group’s key goal is to champion change. They are currently in the ‘understanding phase’ – researching the current accessibility landscape, identifying gaps, and ensuring taskforce actions are guided by lived experience. Due to the popularity of the group, and the extensive action list, the group has created sub-groups to focus specific interests and outcomes. The Taskforce’s ‘Rant Group’ is essentially a support channel to share lived experiences with people who understand.

Impressions and takeaways

I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the enthusiasm and drive from all involved, especially the group conveners. They’ve each taken a topic they care deeply about and put it out into the world to do good – and their enthusiasm is palpable. Each group has their own style and their own way of doing things. There’s no right or wrong way. The conveners and members are embracing the flexibility and making the groups their own.

I could not believe the response we received after introducing each of the groups on social media – our Parlour community delivered! It’s been joyous to watch people unite over shared interests. An extra special thank you to those who shared their story with us as part of your expression of interest to join a group. We feel lucky to be connected to so many amazing, passionate people, and for you to be involved with Parlour Annexe.

Each of the groups are forging their own path, but ultimately they are uniting people with shared experiences. It’s been very special to witness the connections made, and the vulnerability and openness of the discussions. Each of the groups are personal passion projects, which, in my opinion, is where the magic happens.  

Building networks

From our ‘soft launch’ of four initial groups, we have seen these quickly grow to having over 100 people from all over Australia (and beyond!) involved with the Parlour Annexe. We are ever-evolving, and we can’t wait to introduce more groups in the near future.

So far, we’ve received interest on the following topics for potential Parlour Annexe groups –

  • Organising a Leadership Program for Women
  • Social Value Group
  • Architects in Allied Fields (NSW)
  • Furniture Making
  • First Nations knowledge
  • Immigration community
  • Creating public spaces with leftover spaces (Melbourne)

If you’d like to get involved in any of the groups, or have an idea for a group, we would love to hear from you. Please reach out to annexe@parlour.org.au and we will put you in touch with like-minded people!

We are looking forward to seeing where else the Annexe takes us!