Speakers

Shannon Battisson is an architect with a great passion for people and place. She was the 2022/23 National President for the Australian Institute of Architects, and is a highly contributing member of the profession in Australia, and beyond. She is an experienced public advocate for the benefit of good design, and an accomplished public speaker. Shannon is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and an honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

Shannon is Chair of the Institute’s charitable Foundation and the Australian Construction Industry Forum. Shannon is director of Canberra based practice, studio.sdb: architecture & consulting.

As a leader, Shannon believes in the strength of our collective diversity of voice, experience, and stories. She hopes to inspire others to step up to the challenges of both culture and climate through the celebration of our stories and an embracing of our shared human vulnerability.

As an architect, Shannon has developed a strong ethos of people centric design over 20 years of practice. Having studied at the University of New South Wales, and lived abroad, Shannon consciously settled in Canberra to establish her original practice, The Mill, with business partner Sarah Welsh. After 15 years of running the award winning multi disciplinary practice, Shannon made the decision to open a company, studio.sdb, to allow her to test new models of working in a modern age. With her team, she is dedicated to working towards a world where all people have access to the essential elements of home (safety, comfort, and retreat) whilst ensuring all the spaces we live and work in are climate responsive, affordable and joyful spaces to be in.