Net Positive Architect: A Micro-Firm's Experience

Background

Office of Regional Architecture is an accredited architectural practice offering a full range of architectural and planning services to our clients in regional Western Australia.

The practice, based in the heart of the Wheatbelt at Brookton has completed a variety of building and planning projects across the Wheatbelt, Great Southern and South West regions over the past decade.

Their specialisations include:

• Retail, Cafés, Galleries & Offices

• Planning Applications & Negotiation

• Landscape Architecture Projects

• Community & Not for Profit Projects

• Heritage Projects

The firm has just completed the Net Positive Program a novel sustainability program initiating sustainability in SME architect practices and is implementing the learning from within the program.

Tuan NGO, Senior Architect and Sustainability Lead at ORA

Interview with Tuan Ngo senior architect and sustainability lead for ORA

o What motivated the firm to adopt the Net Positive Program?

I have real passion about sustainability, early on as a student which has now been carried on into my profession. Across the firm, there are similar beliefs about sustainability too. I try to live my life as sustainably as I can, teach my children about sustainability – I believe it is the responsibility of an architect to see the impact of what the profession can bring, bad and good – I believe that climate change and human impacts on a global scale is undeniable and it would be irresponsible as an architect not to do something about it.

o What does sustainability mean in the profession?

The difficulty with the architect sector is that we are a jack of all trades, we do too many things and this means sustainability often gets neglected. A lot of times architects claim to be sustainable but often it doesn’t translate into the numbers if you look at the performance of the building itself. As a response to sustainability strategy we have developed via the program, we have conducted embodied carbon research and we now have a real understanding of the process. We can see by the numbers what is emissions intensive and what is not. Numbers don’t lie and we need to do more of this data-driven assessments across the profession.

o How has the sustainability program impacted the organisation?

It hasn’t changed how we operate as yet (we have just finished the program) but we certainly now are beginning to think about sustainability and carbon specifically and how to reduce it. We certainly now have a good understanding of our carbon. Transport of course is one of our big emissions sources. But the big thing is it has forced us to do things and think about things we have not done before, like embodied carbon calculations. And now that we done some of these investigations ourself it opens the door to conversations that can be had, given that we now have the data. Before, when I advised a client who wanted to build a house with double brick cavities about reconsidering the build with stud walls and insulation, claddings and linings, previously when they would ask why, just sayings its more sustainable means little. Now, I have access to the data to support that claim. Compared side by side, the numbers speak loudly.

o How has the sustainability program impacted policy in the organisation?

As a small practice we don’t run policy heavily. It not like a big organisation where policy is closely monitored and adapted. We have policy but it is more done via organic discussions on a project-by-project basis. Now, sustainability comes into those discussions more. Sustainability has become one of the priorities amongst other considerations. Sustainability is now much higher up on the agenda. It also plays out much more significantly in the conversation we are having with our clients.

And when we start talk numbers size matters. It will be easier to talk to size. We’re a rural practice and for some reason farmers love big properties. The spend a lot of time looking at their landscapes I guess and a small house doesn’t seem to sit comfortably in their mind, even though they live with 2 and 3 people in the house. It’s hard to talk about size as they have a lot of emotion when it comes to their homes. But now we have a second set of numbers and hopefully that will help us to talk more realistically about size.

o How has the sustainability program impacted staff culture in the organisation?

The Program made people think differently about everything we do. We certainly talk more about sustainability in the office, day-to-day habits and reflect on all the things we do. It changes the conversation in the office and now it’s easier to talk sustainability as a fabric of our business culture.

For further information about getting your firm involved in the Net Positive Certification Program in 2025 contact us at info@practicecapital.com.au