Why ‘Understanding Country’ matters in architecture
Many architects believe great design is never just about the building, it’s also about place. Not just the physical setting, but the deeper layers: the stories, history, and significance of the land beneath our feet.
All registered architects in NSW have been required to complete learning about “Understanding and Respecting Country” as part of our ongoing professional learning for the past few years. It is now not compulsory but it challenges us to look beyond zoning codes and site dimensions, and really consider the spirit of the land we’re designing on.
So what does ‘Understanding Country’ actually mean?
In essence, it’s about recognising that every site, whether suburban backyard or coastal bushland, is part of Country: living, layered, and full of meaning. For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal people have had a reciprocal relationship with Country, treating it not as a resource to extract from, but a relative to care for.
In architectural terms, this mindset encourages us to design with more intention. It might inform how we approach site orientation, water flow, landscaping or materials. It might influence how we engage with the community or plan for a long-term legacy. Sometimes, it might even shift the design direction altogether.
The design process through the lens of Country
When Country is central to design thinking, the process itself transforms. It begins not with a sketch or a style, but with observation and inquiry. What is this place trying to tell us? What stories live here? What is the relationship between this land and its natural systems: its waterways, its vegetation, its light?
This might show in practical decisions: how a building sits within its topography, how it opens to the sky or shelters from prevailing winds, how it manages water or uses local materials. But it also informs more abstract layers like how the design honours time, memory, and continuity.
Often, designing with Country involves working alongside cultural custodians to explore the meaning of the place. This might shape how public and private spaces are organised, or how certain features such as thresholds, pathways, or gathering spaces are conceived. It may lead to preserving significant trees, aligning views to sacred sites, or embedding artwork that reflects cultural narratives.
The process doesn’t follow a straight line. It often means slowing down and talking things through, listening carefully, and coming back to ideas more than once. Not everything comes from drawings or documents; sometimes the most important insights come through stories, conversations, or time spent on site. Rather than placing a design on the land, it’s more about letting it grow out of the place.
Designing with Country is often a quieter kind of architecture. It’s less about how something looks, and more about the relationship with the place. It makes room for complexity and recognises that Country is always there, even if we don’t always see it.
by Ruth Newman