Women in design

Michelle Zhu

A Shanghai-based landscape architect who has been with Hassell for over 15 years, Michelle has worked on many significant public realm and city-shaping projects across China.

Media June 27, 2023

How will AI and designers work together into the future?

Hassell Principal Ingrid Bakker recently joined CO-architecture’s panel on the Future of Work. Together seven passionate architects and designers addressed the rise of AI and the industry’s ongoing transformation. Discover the key insights in InDesign’s wrap.

Media May 31, 2023

Hassell appoints first female Managing Director

Australia’s own Liz Westgarth to oversee Hassell’s worldwide operation as Managing Director from 1 July 2023. Westgarth says she is delighted to assume her new role in the coming weeks. ​“I’m looking forward to taking on the role of Managing Director at a moment where there’s a real opportunity to build on our current success and momentum,” she says. ​“We’re working in a fast-moving global context where big issues – social inequality, climate change, urbanisation and digitisation – are presenting new challenges and opportunities for design.” Read the article in Architecture & Design.

Media May 31, 2023

Offices need to flex up and down, says new Hassell boss Liz Westgarth

Offices will increasingly locate collaborative workspaces on key floors to give employers the ability to cluster staff together when only a few people are in the office as well as to spread them out when more come in, architecture firm Hassell’s new managing director Liz Westgarth says. ​“We’re looking at designs for clients that allow them to flex across multiple floors,” Ms Westgarth said. ​“When they have [more] people who want to come into the workplace, they can spread out, and when there are fewer people in the office they go through a booking system that allows them to co-locate together and have that energy and the ​‘bump’ factor.” Read the full article in the Australian Financial Review. Image: Peter Rae.

News April 12, 2023

Alison Potter joins our Melbourne studio

Welcome to Alison Potter who joins as a Principal in our Melbourne studio. Alison’s passion for world-class, environmentally responsive architectural and urban design outcomes spans the public and private sectors, with extensive work across arts and culture, education, tourism, and city-shaping projects.

News May 30, 2023

Liz Westgarth appointed as Hassell’s new Managing Director

As Hassell’s first female Managing Director, Liz represents a generational shift in leadership, with the ability to take Hassell into its next phase of evolution while driving meaningful impact across the business.

Conversation

Twelve triumphs to mark International Women’s Day

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2023, we’re shining a light on some of the many talented women at Hassell who go beyond creating ​‘places people love’ to shape a better future for all of us. Meet 12 bright stars from across the Hassell firmament.

News December 01, 2022

Liz Westgarth wins Business Woman of the Year

Congratulations to Liz Westgarth, Principal, Board Director and Head of Design based in our Sydney studio, for taking home the Business Woman of the Year Award at this year’s NSW National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Awards for Excellence.

PODCAST

Standing up for regeneration, Country — and each other

With the built environment contributing to around 40% of global emissions, our industry has a pivotal role to play in limiting the impacts of climate change. Hear the motivations, failures, successes, and ideas from leaders creating change.

Podcast

The Neurodiversity Workspace on The Invisible Gift podcast

Host Andrew Kitley joines Principal Domino Risch to talk about neurodivergent workplaces and the future of working. Listen to the podcast

PODCAST

Designing for safety & inclusion in our cities

Hassell partnered with Monash University’s XYX Lab to gather data and a better understanding of the design elements that shape women’s perceptions of safety.

PODCAST

“Beautiful, organic, rapid”:
healing at Herston Biofabrication Institute

Given the right space, resources and design, the team at Herston Biofabrication Institute in Brisbane, Australia become more agile and, says Mathilde Desselle, General Manager of the Institute, ​“more multidisciplinary than ever before”.

News March 08, 2022

IWD 2022 @ Hassell

To mark International Women’s Day 2022, we’ve gathered stories we’re proud to be part of and the people behind them, including the many talented women at Hassell who are creating a better future for all of us.

Conversation

Nothing about us without us: Cross River Rail’s legacy of inclusive design

Across both the client and design side, a focused, committed team has collaborated to make Cross River Rail a model in truly accessible transport.

PODCAST

‘One big, unsafe bottleneck.’ Redesigning Emergency Departments for safety and flow

We brought together health delivery experts to discuss ways of solving the crisis in our Emergency Departments.