Designing For Nature event

Designing For Nature



Join us for an afternoon conversation exploring how landscape shapes the way we build, design and live, with Michael Nowlan, architect and Head of Design at The Sociable Weaver, Marnie Hawson, former environmental scientist turned Certified B Corp photographer and founder of Wild Houses and The Biodiversity Toolkit, and Leyla Bulmer, exhibiting artist and co-owner of ILM Interiors.

Moderated by Hannah Nowlan, artist, curator and founder of Lander—Se during our VEIL Solo Exhibition by Leyla Bulmer. Event in collaboration with The Sociable Weaver and Small Giants.

The panel discussion sits alongside VEIL, a solo exhibition of atmospheric paintings by Irish-Australian artist Leyla Bulmer. The work sits in the misty threshold between sea and sky. VEIL is expansive in scale and asks to be looked at slowly, continuing Lander—Se's ongoing study of the Australian landscape and the spirit it carries.

Our panel discussion, Designing for Nature, carries that same question into architecture and the built world: how a site's history and conditions shape what gets made on it, and what it means to design with land rather than against it. Three vantage points on the same terrain, from regenerative design at a global scale, to a single house on a single block, to a home built with wildlife in mind.

Date: Friday, November 6th
Time: 1 - 3pm
Location: Lander—Se: 585 Dunns Creek Rd, Red Hill, Victoria

Tickets include catered grazing, light refreshments and a glass of wine by Kerri Greens.

Bookings are essential as spaces are limited.

Please note: Amanda Sturgeon is no longer able to join us at this event but will be speaking at our next panel conversation in March 2027.

Meet your speakers:

Marnie Hawson

Marnie Hawson spent a decade as an environmental scientist before becoming a photographer of sustainable architecture, green infrastructure and regenerative landscapes. She is Australia's only Certified B Corp photographer, and a member of 1% for the Planet and Climate Neutral. Marnie is the founder of Wild Houses, a one-to-one nest box pledge for built environment businesses, and The Biodiversity Toolkit, which turns Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design principles into something a designer can specify and put in a tender.

Michael Nowland

Michael Nowlan is Head of Design at The Sociable Weaver and brings more than ten years of experience in architecture and construction. He is a Certified Passive House Designer and completes a Life Cycle Assessment on every project using eTool, measuring a home's environmental impact across its whole life. His design approach takes its cues from natural patterns and starts with listening closely to clients, so each home fits how they live now and how that will change. His aim is homes with a zero environmental footprint.

Leyla Bulmer

Leyla Bulmer is an Irish Australian artist working on Boon Wurrung and Bunurong Country on the Mornington Peninsula. Living between Ireland and Australia has shaped her interest in belonging and the ties between people, place and the more-than-human. She paints with ink poured and layered over canvas, letting the material soak and move beyond her control, so each work becomes an imagined landscape held by the body. Leyla is also the co-owner of ILM Interiors building and designing architectural joinery for considered spaces.

We’d love to see you there.

Questions?

Please email events@smallgiants.com.au if you would like any additional information.