Fairley Batch
Architect
Fairley Batch, Director of Architecture, Breathe. Photo: Kate Longley
Interview by Peter Salhani | photography Peter Clarke, Kate Longley, Katherine Lu, Tom Ross
As Director of Architecture at Breathe, a carbon neutral architecture practice in Melbourne, Fairley Batch is proud to be part of the change-making team behind socially conscious projects like Nightingale 1*, and the importance placed on family at Breathe.
what do you do?
I’m Director of Architecture at Breathe; I’ve been with Breathe for ten years now. Breathe’s founding director Jeremy [McLeod], was my tutor at university. We’ve come a long way as a practice. Our work has become more influential in the architecture sphere, particularly in terms of sustainability.
do clients come to you expecting big things in SUSTAINABILITY?
Most do. Some really strive to be better at sustainability, while others seek us because it helps with their branding. Cultural change can take time.
Nightingale 1 by Breathe in Brunswick (Victoria). Photo: Peter Clarke
What's been your role in Nightingale Housing?
I was Project Architect on Nightingale 1*, which was the precursor to the Nightingale Housing* model. The Commons was its prototype, but with Nightingale 1*, we took it a step further as architect and developer. We thought the solution to housing affordability was taking the development side of things into our own hands, which was unknown territory for us. It was also the first project of that scale that I had worked on.
“You need the grit to be ruthless when it’s needed.”
A game-changer moment?
Yes, it’s definitely a pivotal moment in my career. Even then it seemed the potential for the model was incredible. There was also a lot of pressure on us to get it right. You need the grit to be ruthless when it’s needed. We’re pretty proud of delivering an amazing, award-winning project that a lot of people had eyes on, especially given it became the precursor to the Nightingale Housing* model.
Nightingale 1 by Breathe in Brunswick (Victoria). Photo: Tom Ross
Your relationship to risk?
We’re risk takers as a business. We wouldn’t have started Nightingale 1* if we weren’t. Having said that, I like to dot my I’s and cross my T’s. So I think of it as calculated risk. On a personal level, we bought our family home in the early days of the [Covid] pandemic, when there was so much uncertainty. Some would say that’s pretty risky.
Nightingale 1 by Breathe in Brunswick (Victoria). Photo: Tom Ross
“success can actually come after a time of failure.”
How do you measure success?
I’ve come to think that success can actually come after a time of failure, because it encourages you to step back, think about why you failed, and how you could do better. That can force you to be more strategic in how you move forward and innovate.
TOUGHEST lesson you've learnt?
You have to step away from the trees to see the forest. As an architect, everything tends to come together in the detail of a building. Small mistakes can be opportunities to make something even better. That’s a hard lesson for a perfectionist! As a business, the unfortunate timing of The Commons coinciding with the GFC led to a failure. However, in hindsight, that was great because it made us want to do better, and led to Nightingale 1* and the Nightingale Housing model, which has been incredibly powerful, and pivotal.
Nightingale Wurru wurru biik by Breathe in Victoria. Visualisation: Meche
As a young mother, how important is Breathe's family-friendly policy to you?
It’s incredibly important. We all want to feel supported at work and we want everyone to feel supported in taking the time off they need to raise their kids, as well as feeling supported to come back. That’s usually a big hurdle, especially for primary caregivers. Sending your kids to daycare is a big financial burden. When you have several kids, the daycare costs could even outweigh your salary. We’ve heard from other businesses where people don’t think it’s actually worth coming back to work. But we want our people to come back. We miss them when they're on leave.
Nightingale Bowden by Breathe in Adelaide. Visualisation: Meche
“As architects we can be change agents by questioning the status quo.”
Nightingale Ballarat by Breathe. Photo: Kate Longley
What keeps you awake at night?
Sometimes it’s the details of a project and sometimes it’s more strategic things. Working on Nightingale 1*, it was the fear of the unknown that kept me awake. As architects we can be change agents by questioning the status quo. On a personal level, what keeps me awake are bigger questions, like: ‘What are we doing to the planet?’ ‘Will there be a future for our children, and their children?’
Every building we design…
Can influence others to do better.
What's NEXT?
We’ve got some exciting projects coming up from houses to hospitality and commercial. We also have a few Nightingale Housing* projects completing in 2022: Nightingale Ballarat, and Nightingale Anstey and Nightingale Village in Brunswick – a community of six buildings by award-winning architects including Breathe, Clare Cousins, Andrew Maynard, Kennedy, Nolan, Architecture Architecture and Hayball. Nightingale Bowden in Adelaide is currently under construction. Nightingale Housing* has projects popping up all around Australia with other great architects.
Nightingale Bowden by Breathe in Adelaide. Visualisation: Meche
