Alison Scotland is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC), a national forum of peak bodies in the Australian built environment, focused on achieving sustainable, productive, and resilient buildings, infrastructure, communities, and cities. She drives a powerful collaboration agenda with industry, government and not-for-profit leaders to develop national policy and technical solutions that enhance the built environment.

Philip Thalis is a founding principal of Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects.

Philip actively promotes the culture of architecture and city making beyond the profession, combining practice with public lectures, teaching, research, and architectural criticism. Since 2007 he has been a Professor of Practice in Architecture at UNSW and has lectured extensively at many Australian universities, with a particular research focus on the history of Sydney’s architecture and urban housing, and the architecture of the city more broadly. His book Public Sydney; Drawing the City (co-authored with Peter John Cantrill) examined successive transformation of the city’s public places and major public buildings.

From 2016 to 2021, Philip served as a Councillor of the City of Sydney as part of the Clover Moore Independent Team. During this period he advanced a progressive agenda for public transport, cycling and pedestrian amenity in the city, and he promoted public and affordable housing. With Councillor Jess Scully, he launched the City’s Alternative Affordable Housing Demonstration project. As a member of the Central Sydney Planning Committee, he advocated strongly for design quality in significant developments and strategic policies. He continues to represent the Lord Mayor of Sydney on the Anzac Memorial Trust.

Professional appointments include AIA representative on the Heritage Council of NSW, joining the Urban Design Advisory Council, and serving for nine years as Trustee of the Historic Houses Trust of NSW. He has been recognised by his colleagues in the Institute of Architects, receiving the AIA President’s award (jointly with Peter John Cantrill) in 2009, and his elevation to a Life Fellow of the Institute in 2019.

Philip has supported community campaigns to protect the equity, diversity and architecture of the city, working with groups to save the Walsh Bay and Woolloomooloo wharves and to oppose the sale of the Bridge Street sandstone grouping, the eviction of public housing tenants and sale of public housing in Millers Point, and the failings of the development-led approach to city making more generally. He contributes to public debate through interviews on Sydney radio, written contributions to local news media, and also engages with a diverse audience on social media to promote architecture and the public interest in Sydney.

Caroline Pidcock is an architect and advocate for regenerative design, renowned for her commitment to integrating biodiversity into the built environment. As Director of PIDCOCK, she has led innovative projects that prioritize ecological restoration and biophilic design. A spokesperson for Architects Declare Australia, Pidcock emphasizes the urgency of addressing climate change and biodiversity loss through sustainable architecture. Her leadership roles include Chair of 1 Million Women and involvement with various design review panels, reflecting her dedication to community and environmental advocacy. Recognized as a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, Pidcock’s work exemplifies how thoughtful design can foster a harmonious relationship between urban development and the natural world.