Tony Styant-Browne
Director - Workshop Architecture
www.workshoparch.com.au

Tony is a well-established name within architecture circles in Melbourne. He has recently merged his practice with James Staughton’s to form Workshop Architecture, a multi-award-winning practice which enjoys a reputation for innovative and contemporary design across a broad range of public and private sector clients, scales and building types.

Why Architecture?
My dad was an architect, so, having observed his frustration, anxiety and serial penury, there was no way I was going to follow him into that profession. Faced with having to choose a university course after leaving high school, I chose architecture because it was the broadest course offered – liberal arts, engineering/science and art/design. Certainly I had no intention of practicing and spent most of my undergraduate years immersed in student theatre. Towards the end of my course, something unexpected occurred: I fell in love with architecture and have remained fixated ever since.

What was your first job?
Draftsman on the Princes Gate site (Gas & Fuel towers, now Fed Square) for Civil and Civic in the summer of 64/65.

Who or what inspires you?
Literature, music, the visual arts, my family, Clive James and Bob Dylan.

Favourite place on Earth?
My kitchen.

Top 3 buildings worldwide?
1/ Pantheon.
2/ Kimball Art Museum.
3/ Tail O’the Pup, West Hollywood.

Best project you ever worked on?
1984 Louisiana World Exposition
- New Orleans, Louisiana

Project you wish you’d worked on?
MLTW’s Sea Ranch Condominium #1
- Northern California

Biggest change in Architecture over your career?
Computer aided design.   

A sentence to sum up your view of ESD?
ESD is a given now and should be seen as a design opportunity integrated into the conceptual process along with all the other myriad factors which shape design.

Best advice you have ever received?
Charles Moore once told me that there’s no money or social prestige in architecture, so you’d better have fun making it.

Advice you would give to young Architects?
I’d pass Moore’s advice on.

How do you unwind?
Bike riding, swimming, reading, the arts, spending time with my family at our beach house.

In your opinion, has the “great Australian building” been designed yet?
Yes, there are many. Public buildings include the National Museum of Australia by ARM, the High Court building by Madigan Torzillo Edwards and Roy Grounds’ NGV.
Residential buildings include Roy Grounds’ Ramsay house, Mt Eliza and his Melbourne apartment buildings of the 30’s (Quamby, Clendon, Clendon Corner and Moonbria).

What do you love about your job?
The conceptual design process, writing about architecture.