Is architecture complicit in withdrawal, or merely reflecting it?

What do the fence and the villa tell us about how we divide, possess, and retreat from the world?

This panel debate explores two architectural typologies that continue to shape, and fragment, our built environment: the fence and the villa.

The Fence, evolved from the wall, is not simply a barrier: it is a declaration, a spatial instrument of control, exclusion, and proprietorship. It draws lines not only across land but through communities, turning shared terrain into contested territory. Behind its claim to order lies a long history of dispossession and enclosure.

The Villa, meanwhile, has been romanticised across architectural history, from Palladio’s classical geometries to the glazed purity of the Farnsworth House. But beneath the ideal lies a spatial logic of withdrawal. The villa domesticates the landscape while placing the individual at its centre. It distils a worldview in which privilege and detachment are built into form.

Together, these elements converge in suburban typologies that perpetuate isolation: fenced-in dwellings that reduce place to replication, erasing ecological and cultural complexity in favour of a privately curated sameness.

Following a series of sold-out events, this one-night-only Brisbane edition continues the conversation sparked by Richard Francis-Jones' book Truth and Lies in Architecture. The panel brings together some of Brisbane’s leading architects, designers, and academics for a thought-provoking evening on architecture, ideology, and consequence.

🎓 Earn 1 formal CPD point

Speakers

Richard Francis-Jones - Design Director at fjcstudio

Zuzana Kovar - Co-director of ZUZANA&NICHOLAS

Dirk Yates - Director of Speculative Architecture

Chris Saines CNZM (MC)– Director, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA)

Erin McDonald - Associate Director at Blaklash

Details

Date: Thursday, 11 September 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Event Type: In-Person Only

Location: Cinema A - GOMA Brisbane - Stanley Pl, South Brisbane QLD 4101

Agenda

5:30 PM - Doors Open, canapes and refreshments at the grand GOMA Foyer

6:00 PM - Welcoming Remarks by the RAIA QLD President, Caroline Stalker, guest address by RAIA Executive Director Dr. Anna Svensdotter and ThinkBrick Group CEO, Cathy Inglis

6:15 PM - Presentations by Speakers, followed by Panel Discussion

8:00 PM - Drinks, canapés and networking to finish

About the Speakers

Richard Francis-Jones is a highly awarded and leading contemporary Australian architect. Richard is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and in 2012 was invested as an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Richard received his architectural education at the University of Sydney (where he was awarded the University Medal in Architecture) and Columbia University in New York, through an ITT Fellowship. He has led a distinguished architectural career, designing many highly-awarded buildings and winning several international architectural competitions. He is Design Director and the nominated architect of fjcstudio, a highly acclaimed practice noted for its commitment to the public domain.

Zuzana Kovar is a registered architect and co-director of zuzana&nicholas architects which she established with Nicholas Skepper in 2013. The practice engages in commissioned architectural work, architectural competitions, writing, exhibition work and teaching. This multi-modal approach allows the practice to explore and test architectural ideas in numerous contexts and at various scales. The practice has been published and awarded for its residential work. Zuzana holds a PhD from the RMIT School of Architecture and Design, which was published as a monograph in 2017. Her research focuses on the relations within and between bodies and spaces drawing on the fields of architecture, philosophy, art and film. She has presented her research both nationally and internationally, and regularly exhibits her creative research. She is an adjunct lecturer at Griffith University.

Dirk Yates participates in architecture and visual arts communities, having formal training in both disciplines, through the design of public buildings, exhibitions, talks, commentary, guest lectures, representation on institutional boards, and mentoring. Dirk’s interest is in developing projects that promote critical reflection for participants in a given social and cultural context. Focusing audiences’ attention on how they see, reflect, and interact with each other and their environment is the basis for his practice. Dirk leads the collaborative design studio Speculative Architecture and is currently working on the design of schools and exhibitions. Previously Dirk was a co-director of the artist-run initiative The Farm (2002-2004) and co-editor of monthly art journal Local Art (2003-2004).

Chris Saines has been a director, collection manager, educator and curator at leading Australian and New Zealand galleries for more than 40 years. Director of QAGOMA since 2013, he has overseen exhibitions by Robert MacPherson, Gerhard Richter, Sally Gabori, Gordon Bennett and Judy Watson, and led 2021’s ‘European Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’. In this time, he has guided the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art through its eighth, ninth and tenth editions, and led the acquisition of major works by James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson. He is currently a member of the Brisbane Economic Development Agency’s Better Brisbane Alliance

Erin McDonald is a leading voice in cultural design and interior architecture, known for her commitment to embedding First Nations perspectives in the built environment. As Associate Director at Blaklash, she works across sectors to deliver projects that are grounded in Country, collaborating with Traditional Custodians, clients, architects, and developers to ensure cultural integrity is central to the design process. A proud Aboriginal woman, Erin brings lived experience and strategic insight to her roles on influential boards and panels, including as a member of the Queensland Urban Design and Places Panel (QUDaPP) and as Chair of Indigenous Architecture and Design Australia (IADA). Her leadership drives systemic change, creating space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners and shaping a more inclusive and representative design future. Erin’s expertise bridges community, industry, and government, making her a powerful advocate for design that honours place, people, and culture.

What can you expect? Watch a snippet of our past event at Sydney:

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