Graduate Maryann Aziz on building a better future in Western Sydney

Community.

Western Sydney became their family’s home and explained that “in my culture your parents always want you to become a more successful version of themselves. So, with that mentality, I’ve always dreamed of making a difference in the community I was brought up in”. Maryann talks of the curiosity she had from a young age, about her parent’s Sudanese culture, “I always used to ask them what was it, that they missed from their home country? And for them, it was always that sense of community”. Going on to describe the familial ties of her parent’s culture, “in Sudan your next-door neighbour is considered like your sister or your mother, there is this real collaboration where everyone in a sense raises your child,” something which Maryann’s parents felt was missing in their lifestyle in Western Sydney. Although there had originally been a closer community when Maryann’s parents had first moved into the area, the older immigrants having brought the community culture with them, quickly changed as people came and went, and with it, that sense of community was lost. The style of community living that had been present in these small Western Sydney suburbs underpins how Maryann thinks conceptually and designs. Seeing her future career in architecture as an opportunity to leave a lasting impact in every building she designs, Maryann considers it a privilege and gift.

Mentorship.

As Maryann moved through her higher education at Western Sydney University (WSU), she took every opportunity to be involved in ways of combining community, inclusivity, and diversity with her passion for architecture. Inspired by architects Zaha Hadid and Norma Merrick Sklarek, Maryann admires how they “have pushed beyond the boundaries of architecture to serve as advocates for women in architecture,” aiming to emulate this ethos in her practice. She goes on to humbly talk of the mentoring she did with younger students, inspired by the altruistic concern of architects who had offered their time to share their own experience and knowledge with her, continuing a knowledge pooling within the community. Not to mention Maryann’s advocacy for women in architecture, speaking on panels as an ambassador for women at the university, and then being awarded the scholarship for Women Transforming the Built Environment by Fraser Property during her Master of Architecture. It is clear that Maryann had built a solid base of inclusion and community in her architectural learning and practice, foregrounding how she plans to continue in the industry, “my vision for the industry is one where it is celebrated as much for its diversity as it is for its creativity and known for its spirit of inclusion, as it is for its ability to find innovative solutions.”

Place.

The driving force which links all the work and opportunities Maryann pursues is the transformation of Western Sydney, which for Maryann, would centre on a celebration of its cultural diversity, fusing a creative core with a human-centered approach. She sees the burgeoning status of Western Sydney as a significant place of development in the Sydney region, with the potential to be an incredible space of growth. Interested and involved in large-scale, area-defining projects across Western Sydney, such as Woods Bagot’s Western Sydney International Airport*, the design competition for the Powerhouse Museum Parramatta with Genton, as well as Maryann’s final project which centres on creating a living space where culture, agriculture, and her parent’s heritage of community living. She believes that “we must ultimately create spaces that contribute to and understand their context, places that help improve the lives of others,” at the core of her design process, demonstrated in her final project, “Soil to Soul”, presenting a divergent style of community for the future that incorporates the rich historical tapestry of the immigrant culture, and the history of Country there.

Soil to Soul.

Surmising “Soil to Soul”, Maryann asks the simple question; “how can we bring together the community in one place and what is the medium that could achieve that?” Maryann began with research that delved into the significance of a place’s historical and cultural context, looking at a study of Sydney’s planned structural history and the indigenous history of Country in the area. Maryann explains that from the very beginning of planned housing, agriculture was separated, with large blocks of farmland dominating the landscape, however, she says we now have the opposite issue of housing displacing agriculture. Intimately familiar with this landscape, Maryann describes Western Sydney’s “strange condition where you’ll be driving past suburban homes, and then there’s a farm just randomly in the midst of that.” So began the deliberation on how to bring these two things together and what the negative outcome would be if a solution wasn’t found. The result? the beginnings of urban sprawl by 2030. Outlining how  the relationship between housing and agriculture is already affecting Sydney’s Food Bowl:

“Sydney’s food bowl only comprises 20% of our cities dietary needs, meaning that 80% of our diet is either transported, cold-stored or imported from another state or country..” A vision begins to form, painting a picture of Maryann’s idea to create these hubs that sit around Sydney which foster a sense of community, and agriculture functions as a medium to bring together this community.

The site Maryann worked on has a  rich indigenous history, around the Nepean River, Yandhai in Darug, originally occupied by Aboriginal communities who lived off Country, the area sustaining the community. The Darug people lived harmoniously with the land before European colonisation, a beautiful celebration of what we now call a biocentric year, and an exemplar of what Maryann envisioned for “Soil to Soul”. This coexistence was disrupted by European settlement, unbalancing the ecology, introducing instead a rigid system present across Sydney, with large acres of land given over to farming, agriculture firmly separate from life. Maryann’s deep dive into the area’s history brought her back to the original question of how to reunite agriculture and community. Proposing agriculture as the medium for this reunification of place and community. Maryann’s vision married designing with Country, people architecture, and sustainability, organically uniting these aspects of a community in a cyclical format, the architecture informing the space.

As Maryann pours through the renders of her project, you can feel the warmth and life she envisages for the people inhabiting the space. Terracotta arches, emulating the red earth of Country in Western Sydney, drip with green foliage and encase parklands for recreation, with planted squares where rows of neat greens flourish and are tended to by members of the precinct. Maryann points out that through the archways pockets of society can be seen: a milking shed, greengrocer, and theatre for the community to enjoy celebrations of culture. The architecture spatially disrupts the agricultural areas with ones of cultural exchange and communal activity, “so what we end up with is an integrator productive landscape, as you enter into the site, there’s this great landscape where you have agriculture happening at the heart of the project and then a sense of community wrapped all around the site.” The progression through the space, guided by the apertures cut into the building, encourages an exploration of the space and its different volumes, designed to provide the inhabitants with freedom of space, “really where anything can be used, however, you want to,” Maryann says smiling, “and in that process, you’re cultivating your own food, which I think is a beautiful thing.”

Paving the way.

With that project finished and her Masters completed, Maryann has started at Woods Bagot in the graduate program, “I am so fortunate for the opportunities I have had; to study at a university and work practices where I can make a difference through my contributions. Whether it be through mentoring younger students, acting as an ambassador for representing women in the built environment, or working on large-scale cultural hubs in my home suburbs; I know my passion for architecture will drive the change I want to see in Western Sydney and one day hopefully in the world itself”.

She tells of her latest project assignment, a new residential precinct at Moore Point , maintaining her ties and interest in building up her Western Sydney community through architecture and creating spaces to inspire others. Her inspiring work feels as though maybe Maryann is imbuing the soil with her soul before the soil gives back to the souls of others.

Woods Bagot designer, mentor and a 2023 medallion nominee, Chris Teo shares, “Maryann’s success is accredited to her dedication in achieving excellence in her studies, and her skilful integration of family, community, and architecture in projects makes her award nomination well-deserved.”

*Zaha Hadid Architects and Cox Architecture won an international competition for the concept design. Developed and delivered by Woods Bagot.

Written by Eliza Nicholls, Coordinator – Marketing & Submissions, Woods Bagot.