A Happy Equilibrium – Austin Maynard Architects

The exuberance and resolve expressed through the work of Austin Maynard Architects reflects Co-Directors Mark Austin and Andrew Maynard to a tee. When combined, the pair’s contrary dispositions and skill sets create an undeniable force, resulting in a portfolio that’s fun and witty but always informed.

Andrew started his own practice in 2002 after returning from a stint in London. The first few years involved various jobs around Melbourne and a lot of paper architecture or “thought experiments”. Demand grew, and with it came the realisation that the practice would move forward in a more significant way with a co-director. “What I’d learned by that point was that we’re all intrigued by this idea of the individual genius – that’s really popular and easy for people to digest,” Andrew says. “But the reality is that architecture is so complex, and the idea of the single master architect is long gone.” A passing comment to a journalist – who also happened to be Mark’s wife – resulted in an introduction. “The timing of meeting Andrew was perfect,” Mark says. “I needed to do something new, and I had this knowledge of building and architecture learnt from a previous employer that I wanted to use.” The pair hit it off, and Mark joined the practice in 2007, before becoming a director in 2009.

“We’re not trying to cash in,” Andrew states. “We’re trying to enjoy one third of our day working, another third playing, and another third sleeping. It’s pretty simple.”

Cultivating a positive working culture and encouraging realistic outcomes is vital to their approach – in 2012 Andrew famously penned an essay highlighting the “unhealthy, unsustainable and exploitative” working conditions in the architecture industry. A decade later, it’s pleasing to see his views on the topic have shaped a fair and balanced workplace where autonomy and trust go hand in hand. “The best thing about that essay is that it brought the most remarkable people to us,” he says. “For the wrong people, it’s intimidating, but for the right people, it means they come in here and do their best eight hours without draining their souls.” As Mark says, this culture must come from the top, and they have no qualms in setting the right example. “We’re not trying to cash in,” Andrew states. “We’re trying to enjoy one third of our day working, another third playing, and another third sleeping. It’s pretty simple.”

After some 12 years of professional partnership, Mark and Andrew’s dynamic is one of effortless dependability. There is an easy synergy between them, the type that only exists after years of shared experiences. They recognise and value each other’s contrasting personalities and aptitudes – where Andrew is energetic and whimsical, Mark is balanced and realistic – and they are both refreshingly complimentary of the other’s nuances. As Andrew says, “Mark is very steady and patient, which allows me not to break that youthful streak of being volatile. It actually sort of protects that.” He adds that Mark’s ability to see an idea’s potential, and find a way to make it cost-effective and time efficient, is instrumental. On the flip side, Mark sees indelible value in Andrew’s palpable optimism, saying he “can express an idea to a client and get them so excited, so from that point forward, the process is much smoother because our clients are as invested in the ideas as we are.”

“Even though we work for private clients most of the time, wherever we can get those social moments going and benefit the community, we go for it. And, more often than not, our clients will engage with it, which I love,” Andrew says.

Considering the practice’s affinity for the eclectic, this shared ability to convey concepts with both spirit and purpose is essential. As they both say, building trust with their clients is a big factor. “Things can get very tired very quickly, particularly when emotions and money get involved, so we’re very conscious of that,” Mark says. Widely recognised for zany ideas, an often-bold use of colour and endlessly playful elements, their approach is in fact defined by the fundamentals of architecture and design. “With a lot of new clients, you can see they’re actually surprised with how straightforward – almost boring – the first discussions are,” Andrew says. “Our work can be challenging, unique and playful, but we start with the basics.” An environmental and social awareness is built into each project from the very beginning, with an acute understanding of community also sitting at the very core – be that in the private or multi-residential sphere.

“We talk a lot about passive surveillance and kids spilling out on the street – and about reclaiming streets as important public spaces,” Andrew says. With Union House, for example, the architects removed the existing two-metre-high brick wall that dislocated the front yard from the street, replacing it with a little concrete bench. “Our clients love sending us photos of people inhabiting the bench, kids playing on it or nonnas that’ve stopped for a rest halfway up the street.” He adds, “even though we work for private clients most of the time, wherever we can get those social moments going and benefit the community, we go for it. And, more often than not, our clients will engage with it, which I love.”

“Things can get very tired very quickly, particularly when emotions and money get involved, so we’re very conscious of that,” Mark says.

The idea of interaction and engagement through the built form was at the very heart of Austin Maynard Architects’s first multi-residential project, Terrace House in Brunswick, completed in 2021. As project architect and developer, it was the practice’s most significant undertaking yet. “It took a really long time, which was probably due to our naivety around being developers, but we had a large community of people – the residents and investors – who we carried through the process, and they helped us navigate it all,” Mark reflects. While inherently different to a single dwelling, Terrace House is imbued with the very same guiding principles, bringing emotion and community to the forefront of a sustainable, highly liveable, and design-led building. Mark and Andrew’s appetite for a diversity of projects alongside their recent experience as developers will ensure a varied portfolio; they’re about to complete their second multi-residential project, ParkLife, as part of Nightingale Village. Whether working in the multi-residential sector or in their first love, private commissions, Mark and Andrew are clear on what the practice’s offering is and how they want to move forward.

As the gap between the expected outcomes of multi and single residential design narrows in response to Australia’s slow yet inexorable shift towards increased urban density, Austin Maynard Architects’s approach seems of the moment. Considering Mark and Andrew’s ability to work fluidly across the two typologies and bring to bear the value of their experience to each, it would seem they’ve found their way into the best of both worlds.