The Tasmanian Chapter has had a busy start to the year, and it is hard to believe that it is now March.

In February, Chapter Council held its handover meeting. We welcomed Felix Blackman, Guy Edwards and Martin Stephenson, along with Georgina Kemp, who is the incoming EmAGN co-chair. They join existing and continuing chapter councillors, Andrew Williamson, Cath Hall, Gaetano Palmese, Hugh Maguire, Jono Buist, Kate Shepherd (EmAGN co-chair) and Natasha Mackinnon (SONA rep), along with Shamus Mulcahy, in the immediate past president role. We have sadly said goodbye to Jason Licht, Lucy Burke-Smith, Michael Loubser, Pippa Jensen, Will Harkness, Chris Shurman (EmAGN co-chair) and Karyn Bogus (SONA rep for virtual students). I thank these people for their contributions over the years, and look forward to working with the current Chapter Council.

It was pleasing to see such a high standard of work entered in this year’s Tasmanian Architecture Awards on the presentation to the jury day. I acknowledge that presenting to your peers can be a daunting task (this is particularly true for me), and I congratulate everyone who presented. I would also like to thank the jurors for their time and considered questions throughout. The day is about sharing the work that has taken place in the state, and also provides an opportunity for an informal catch up – thank you to those who assisted in ensuring we were well fed at the BBQ!

The award entries will be exhibited in Hobart, with a launch event scheduled for Thursday 5 June, and then in Launceston, with the launch event on Friday 4 July, prior to the awards presentation event, which will also be held in Launceston, on Saturday 5 July. Mark these dates in your calendar as we hope to see you all there.

Chapter representatives have attended a number of Government roundtable meetings already this year, and representatives will be attending the City of Hobart’s developer forum on Thursday 19 March. The meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss issues relating to development approvals in Hobart. We are seeking input from members to take to this meeting, and if you have issues that you would like raised, please let me know, or contact the Institute prior to the meeting.

The Institute has also responded to a number of submission this year, including the Clarence City Heart Plan, and the proposed changes relating to prescribed maintenance under the Building Act 2016. Thank you to members who assisted with these submissions. Currently, the chapter is working on a response to the Southern Tasmania Regional Land Use Strategy – Urban Growth Boundary proposed update (due Friday 14 March), the Tasmanian Government contract review (due Friday 21 March), the Review of the Department of Treasury and Finance Prequalification Scheme (due Monday 31 March – stay tuned as there is a plan to hold a Practice Forum to discuss this) and CBOS’ Draft Directors Guidelines – Livable Housing Access Requirements (due Wednesday 9 April). If you would like more information on any of these submissions, or would like to assist, please contact Fiona at the Tas Chapter. All past Institute submissions can be found on the Institute’s submission library.

The last few weeks has seen a number of events, including the Architects Recipe: 1970s AV Jennings, part of the Open House Hobart program which was postponed from last year; Japanese traditional Temple Building with Yuji Kanesada; EmAGN’s The Temporality of Being: Closing Night & Full Moon; a site visit to The Tasmanian House 3 by Jiri Lev Architecture; the Findlay Project’s Cooporative Housing Developments talk with Emily Taylor and Claire Austin; the first of the Learning From One Another | Conversations Through Architecture | First House talks, where we heard from Poppy Taylor, David Travalia and Garry Forward; the Emerging Architect Prize Tour with Jennifer McMaster and local winner, Keith Westbrook; and last, but not least, the Findlay Project’s International Women’s Day Breakfast, where we heard from members of the Antarctic Women’s Network who spoke to the theme of ‘women’s perspectives of Antarctic space – the built and natural environment’. Many people have been involved in the delivery of all these events, and I thank you all for your efforts in enabling an inclusive and vibrant chapter.