Award of Merit:

CO-architecture for CO-architecture & Australian Architecture Job Board

We are a for-purpose organisation. Every day we see more and more professionals joining our network at COarchitecture + AAJB (Australian Architecture Jobs Board), and it's a humbling experience to see users finding value in the opportunities that we foster through our platform. Our collaboration is tied to the success of our industry and it's professionals, which motivates us to ensure we create and provide as much value and support as possible.

We founded CO-architecture and AAJB off the philosophy that shared knowledge between an industry drives stronger business outcomes for each organisation involved. We strive to actualise this through our platform utilising technology to connect the design industry, allowing businesses to access shared resources both locally and regionally.

Our business model reflects our mission; We believe in the power of a flexible workforce - which not only refers to temporary talent, contingent labour, contractors, or freelancers – but also includes an understanding of flexible careers. It is important to us that we support all professionals. We see careers as something that shifts and evolves based on personal circumstances and needs, and unfortunately, the industry as a whole fails to recognise this. Time and time again our workforce continue to engage in undervalued and underpaid work for employment conditions that don't support people in their day to day lives. It's our mission to empower our workforce!

It’s important to us that we continue to grow with industry side by side. Reaching out to industry practices, professionals, education institutes and member organizations and hearing their voices and concerns. Transparency is essential and we hope we can be that voice and channel for everyone, no matter if they are full-time, part-time, contract, temporary, local, remote, graduate, working parent, or director - CO-architecture will be there to join and support the industry.

We are extremely excited to be collaborating with Luke Hallaways, Founder of Australian Architecture Job Board, by merging our two communities into one platform, as our past, present, and future are all about connecting people. COAAJB will launch in May 2022. 

As advocates and active participants in Australian architecture and design, we seek to open up opportunities and broaden definitions of what a design career might be. The large amount of data generated through the platform is not only supporting people but providing a unique opportunity as an industry monitor and pulse check to help support research and conversations around: 

• Equal opportunity by seeing areas of under-representation.

• Access to remote or regional design/work.

• Graduate programs to bridge gaps in practical experience.

About the Project

Kevin Mitchem, Wade Smith and Luke Hallaways decided the industry's approach to employment needed to be redesigned after witnessing the pitfalls of the project-driven architecture and design profession firsthand. Drawing inspiration from para-design disciplines such as marketing and UX/UI marketplaces, Messrs Mitchem and Smith began laying the groundwork for CO-architecture in late 2020, as their answer to providing a sustainable solution for managing the design industry's fluctuating resource requirements. Meanwhile starting in 2018 founder Luke Hallaways began building AAJB (Australian Architecture Job Board), Australia's largest design communication channel for employment, with a social following of over 500K people. Recognizing the power of aggregating a network around sustainable employment opportunities, CO-architecture and AAJB are now exclusive collaborators, combining two communities with one platform. 

Connected by a shared vision, the 3 founders have bootstrapped their ideas to life, creating a combined community platform that now connects thousands of design professionals to place, to each other, and to sustainable employment opportunities. 

The platform is constantly evolving, with user feedback driving the development and co-design of new tools and features on a monthly basis. The founders have focussed every inch of the platform around what a designer needs. While simple network features such as creating a user profile, uploading folios, and communicating with clients and employers may appear inconsequential, they have a significant social impact on attitudes towards work and employment in the design industries. 

The platform is vital in enriching the communication and accessibility of information and employment opportunities within Australian design disciplines. 

• Because the recruitment industry lacks transparency and affordability, the platform uses AI to automate traditional recruitment services and instantly connect suitable candidates and employers, making it more affordable and accessible.

• Because the industry is comprised primarily of small businesses or independents, global job boards or marketplaces fail to cater for niche disciplines. So, by leveraging technology to build a network, the platform successfully aggregates thousands of designers in one location, representing 30 different role types and over 6000 skills.

• Because the platform is digital, it not only helps people find alternative work by eliminating physical geographic boundaries, but the large amount of data generated also provides a unique opportunity to serve as an industry monitor and pulse check.

The integration of the two platforms has been seamless, as both platforms began with similar goals. All three founders saw a need to address the industry's recruitment challenges, & given the importance of collaboration in our industries, it's fitting that this platform was founded on the sharing of knowledge and expertise.

Category: Interact

Designers and Project Team:
Kevin Mitchem, CO-founder at CO-architecture
Wade Smith, CO-founder at CO-architecture

In collaboration with:
Luke Hallaways
Founder at Australian Architecture Job Board