2026 I-SEED Award Winner
Government Architect Connecting with Country Framework
A statewide planning framework centering Aboriginal knowledge systems
Description
Connecting with Country is a framework to care for Country when designing built environments. It embraces the Aboriginal philosophy that ‘if we care for Country, Country will care for us.’
As we face the urgent challenges of climate change and environmental degradation, we are now recognizing the importance of creating better places that support our health and wellbeing, while minimizing our impact on the planet.
First Nations peoples around the world, including the Aboriginal people of New South Wales (NSW), have long understood the importance of living in balance with the natural world, and have developed practices and knowledge to support this.
The Connecting with Country framework, launched by the Government Architect NSW (GANSW) within the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) in 2023, is a comprehensive guide that provides practical ways to navigate changes and new directions in planning policy, particularly those related to Aboriginal culture and heritage. It offers insights into place-led design approaches that embrace and celebrate Aboriginal culture, protect sacred sites, and foster a stronger connection between our built environment and the people who inhabit it.
The Aboriginal concept of Country includes living and non-living entities within the landscape both seen and un-seen. It is a deeply spiritual connection to earth, water, sky, and spirit, as well as people, animals, plants, and the oral histories that connect them.
The Framework provides guidance on all phases of a project, and is critical in the re-imagining of how we engage with Country and cultural landscapes.
Stakeholders
Aboriginal communities; Local government; Government agencies; Design and planning industry; Developers, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
Design Team
Government Architect New South Wales: Abbie Galvin, Olivia Hyde, Paulo Macchia, Angus Bell, Barnaby Bennett, Elizabeth Bowra, Ben Campbell, Liam Ce, Rowanne Couch, Rose Davies, Rebecca Donney, Gail Fletcher, Jeremy Giacomini, Victoria Hamilton, Gabriela Heesh, Jillian Hopkins, Emma Kirkman, Dillon Kombumerri, Claire Krelle, Brindha Kugan, Sarah Lawlor, Carol Marra, Brooke Mathews, Meliza Morales Hoyos, Grace Mortlock, Guy Pinkerton, Lucy Rimmer, Barbara Schaffer, Diana Snape, Chris Taylor, Rory Toomey, Darlene van de Breggen, Grace Wolstencroft; Research and cultural advice: Dr Daniel Hromrek, Alison Page, Paul Memmott; Research and community engagement: Balarinji, Cox Inall Ridgeway: Research, cultural advice and community engagement: Linda Kennedy: Cultural advice and community perspectives: DEA Aboriginal staff through Aboriginal Network executive and members, Aboriginal Strategy and Outcomes team; Other key consultants: Aileen Sage Architects, Hassell, Tyrrell Studio; Illustration: Felix Saw; Design: Christie Fearns; Photography: Simon Wood
Jury Summary
The Government Architect Connecting with Country Framework is a contribution to planning and design across New South Wales, shifting practice from human-centered development toward a Country-centered approach grounded in Aboriginal knowledge. Developed with Aboriginal advisors, Traditional Custodians, organizations, land councils, government agencies, and design professionals, it guides project phases while promoting cultural heritage protection, care for sacred sites, environmental responsibility, cultural identity, and Aboriginal participation. The framework recognizes Country as encompassing living and nonliving entities, earth, water, sky, spirit, oral histories, and visible and unseen landscapes. Its statewide reach influences policy, procurement, employment, public health, cultural intellectual property, practice, capacity development, and long-term stewardship. It aligns with I-SEED principles through its emphasis on Aboriginal leadership, shared decision-making, representation, and cultural continuity.
Detailed Juror Comments
- The project is effective in its Country-centered design philosophy, commitment to cultural heritage protection, environmental responsibility, and proposed approaches for Aboriginal participation and capacity development. A key limitation in my assessment is the gap between the project’s ambitious, culturally grounded framework and the evidence provided to show community-led implementation, independently verified benefits, and measurable outcomes. My confidence in this assessment is high when evaluating the submitted materials against the stated criteria and moderate when considering actual community impact, as the submission does not provide enough verified outcome data or visuals to confirm how the framework has performed in practice.
- The Connecting with Country framework represents a critical shift by government, guiding new directions in planning policy, especially related to Aboriginal culture and heritage; place-led design approaches that embrace and celebrate Aboriginal culture, protect sacred sites, and foster a stronger connection between built environment and the people who inhabit it. In spending time with Aboriginal Architect, Kevin O’Brien, he shared about their concept of Country, very similar to my experience, includes living and non-living entities within the landscape both seen and un-seen, a spiritual connection to earth, water, sky, and spirit, as well as people, animals, plants, and the oral histories that connect them.
- The Framework provides guidance on all phases of a project, and is critical in the re-imagining of how we engage with Country and cultural landscapes. Very exciting for these changes, understanding, worldview!
- This application read as a settler-led participatory framework still grounded in a colonial logic that centers the legitimacy and control over Indigenous lives. This framing risks reducing Indigenous participation to tokenism within preexisting colonial structures yet again…, reinforcing state power while obscuring the deeper questions of land, sovereignty, and Indigenous-led decision-making.
- The Connecting with Country Framework is a significant Indigenous-led contribution to planning and design practice that seeks to shift the built environment from a human-centered approach toward a Country-centered approach grounded in Aboriginal knowledge systems. Developed through extensive engagement with Aboriginal advisors, Traditional Custodians, Aboriginal organizations, land councils, government agencies, and design professionals, the framework provides practical guidance for embedding Aboriginal cultural values, heritage protection, shared decision-making, and care for Country within planning and development processes across New South Wales. A major strength of the submission is its potential scale of impact. Rather than affecting a single community or site, the framework establishes mechanisms that can influence public projects, policy decisions, procurement, employment, cultural heritage protection, and design practice across an entire state. The emphasis on cultural intellectual property, Aboriginal leadership, shared decision-making, and long-term stewardship aligns strongly with Indigenous-SEED principles. My primary reservation is that the submission is fundamentally a guidance document rather than a demonstrated community project with measurable outcomes. While it clearly establishes pathways for community participation and sovereignty, the application provides less evidence of direct implementation and verified benefits to specific Indigenous communities than many top-ranked submissions. Nevertheless, its systemic influence and Indigenous-led framework make it a powerful and highly relevant contribution.
- Great and centers aboriginal knowledges, this is very strong protocol but I think I am lost in the application that is tangible.
- Strengths: Community Ground is located in Senegal. It entails the redesign of a secondary school. The project began as an international design competition but delays turned into a community driven project. The meetings were held under the community space of a traditional baobab tree. The effort was coordinated by the ACTS Design group involving numerous local stakeholders. School is recognized as the center of the community’s culture. Project uses an Indigenous planning framework utilizing the relationships between people, culture and place. Community participation is part of the design process. Involved more than 100 residents. Building was conceptualized through shared decisions and building relationships. Project built local capacity. Landscape became a living classroom. Seems like a really common-sense approach. Weaknesses: None. Would have liked to see more examples of how local knowledge informed the design.
- Planning policy based in aboriginal values and desire to foster connection to built environment with communities. Advocate for aboriginal communities to be visible in decision making. Reframing of sustainable practices and healthy environments. Intent to give support to aboriginal communities have a connection to cultural identity and representation through the built environment. Goal would be to identify aboriginal consultants and training of communities’ technical and spacial design skills.