JESS LEE
Fender Katsalidis
SAY IT LOUD - Naarm Melbourne Exhibitor
MELBOURNE/AUSTRALIA Designer
Who or what inspires you professionally?
People with purpose and passion – and human ingenuity in the progress of the built environment.
JESS LEE
Bio:
Led by her boundless passion for architecture, Jess has become a highly regarded principal at Fender Katsalidis. Since her early days with the practice, she has always displayed a penchant for planning and design development. Today, she has blossomed into the quintessential modern architect and is constantly striving to bring architecture back to the notion of it being human centric, particular within the seniors living sector.
How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?
When I was 7 and tasked to fill out a career choice table and ‘architect’ came first. It was easy to convince myself it was the right choice when I visited an architect’s studio and saw scale rulers and mind-blowing quantities of colour pencils.
What do you do?
I solve problems and try to make the world a better place every day.
What excites you in the work you do?
I get to solve problems and make the world a better place. But I also get to do this with a bunch of talented people, which makes the journey far more enjoyable.
Who or what inspires you professionally?
People with purpose and passion – and human ingenuity in the progress of the built environment.
What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
Celebrating 17 years straight working at a fantastic firm and still finding plenty of reasons to love the work I do.
Featured Project Name:
The Grace Albert Park Lake
Featured Project Location:
South Melbourne
Featured Project Completion Date:
31/10/2019
Role in Featured Project:
Associate Director
Featured Project Description:
The Grace Albert Park Lake is a luxury, high-rise retirement development and Stage One of the larger Albert Retirement Living Community from Australian Unity. The high-rise design and inner-city location is a departure from the typical broad acre and gated retirement communities. An infrastructure of ageing with accessible design and adaptive functionality accounts for residents' specific needs with additional safety and security embedded across all universal design features.
Photography Credit:
Willem-Dirk du Toit
Featured Project Name:
Melbourne City Mission Frontyard
Featured Project Location:
Melbourne
Featured Project Completion Date:
30/05/2019
Role in Featured Project:
Melbourne City Mission Frontyard
Featured Project Description:
Melbourne City Mission is an early intervention and crisis centre for at-risk youth. The secure space provides short-to-medium term accommodation with on-site support services, making it a first of its kind. The home-like feel of the youth refuge promotes safety, wellbeing and healing in an environment built for both young people and staff. The trauma-informed design exists as something to be felt, with open, welcoming spaces to manage anxieties, elevate mood and heighten a sense of calm.
