Hayball is delighted to announce the appointment of Fiona Young as Co-Studio Director at its Sydney office to support the company’s rapid growth in NSW across a number of sectors.
Joining David Tordoff in the leadership role, the pair will lead Hayball’s Sydney team as it takes on a number of public and private education projects in NSW, in addition to residential and urban design projects in the pipeline.
Fiona brings with her a wealth of experience working across a range of learning environments, from education projects in Dublin and Australia, to exhibition and gallery spaces where public learning was at the forefront of design.
Managing director, Tom Jordan, said that Fiona has a rare ability to integrate design methodology from differing industry sectors within an individual project – and this has helped her carve a remarkable niche in architecture, making her a valuable addition to Hayball.
“We have a keen interest in developing dynamic and integrated solutions to design briefs that not only blur the boundaries of traditional typologies, but pioneer new ones. Fiona’s ground-breaking experience across multiple sectors and focus on research will contribute a great deal to Hayball’s design expertise, and to the development of our team internally, too.”
In line with Hayball’s research-led and evidence based design ethos, Fiona’s keen interest in learning environments has driven her to conduct research at the highest level. Currently a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, Fiona is researching pedagogy and learning space design to create dynamic environments that engage learners of today and tomorrow. She has also previously held a board position on the NSW chapter of Learning Environments Australasia (formerly CEFPI).
“Joining Hayball at such a critical time of growth for the Sydney office is incredibly exhilarating,” Fiona said. “Hayball is known for being at the forefront of innovative education spaces not just in Australia but globally – the company’s recent win at the World Architecture Festival in Berlin is testament to this,” said Fiona.
In addition to overseeing education design in the Sydney studio, mentoring the team across all disciplines will also be a key priority for Fiona. “It’s something I thrive on and truly believe helps to support the development of the team, the success of our projects and ultimately, the outcomes of the learners, residents or broader community who inhabit them.”