DIANA ESPIRITU
WOODS BAGOT
SAY IT LOUD - Naarm Melbourne Exhibitor
MELBOURNE/AUSTRALIA Designer
Who or what inspires you professionally?
Designers and educators that advocate for more equitable futures. Industry leaders such as Monica Edwards, Jo Paterson-Kinniburgh and Nicole Kalms demonstrate how one can marry, if not ground, advocacy within their daily practices.
DIANA ESPIRITU
Bio:
Diana Espiritu is a designer currently specialising in education spaces at Woods Bagot and has worked across community art projects, in Sydney and Phnom Penh. As projects of public nature require sensitivity, Diana is active in sourcing authentic approaches to research, collaboration and spatial understanding. Originally from Sydney’s West, Diana aspires to embrace equity through an intersectional lens, for all people, beyond binaries and stereotypes.
How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?
I first came across architecture in high school ancient history when we learnt about the archaeological excavation of Pompeii. The architecture and interiors, suggested many ideas about society at the time; the culture, people, class and lifestyle.
What do you do?
I am currently an interior designer working in the education sector at Woods Bagot, Sydney. I am also a committee member of the Gender Equity Taskforce, AIA NSW Chapter and sessional tutor for Interior Architecture at UNSW Sydney.
What excites you in the work you do?
The prospect of creating learning spaces for the future generation of thinkers and leaders. Despite stringent design guidelines and often strict budgetary requirements, the team continually asks themselves, how do we best inspire the students?
Who or what inspires you professionally?
Designers and educators that advocate for more equitable futures. Industry leaders such as Monica Edwards, Jo Paterson-Kinniburgh and Nicole Kalms demonstrate how one can marry, if not ground, advocacy within their daily practices.
What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
Being awarded a scholarship and internship to work as a curational assistant for an interdisciplinary arts & urban festival in Phnom Penh. I worked with Sa Sa Art Projects and the Vann Molyvann Project to facilitate the Currents Festival.
Featured Project Name:
SEXTOPIA
Featured Project Location:
N/A - HONOURS PROJECT
Featured Project Completion Date:
N/A - HONOURS PROJECT
Role in Featured Project:
DESIGNER
Featured Project Description:
Sextopia explores notions of self – identity, sexuality, body and pleasure. The proposal was born of the hierarchies of identities found on Me-Mel (Goat Island) between colonial and Indigenous voice. Sexuality is postulated as a social construct built as a means of power (Williams, R. 2013), whilst built environment and media space have been suggested to further legitimise these hierarchies (Kalms, N. 2017). Note: complete reference required before publishing.
