Having already worked briefly on Navy diver compression chambers at the HMAS Penguin in NSW, Stuart jumped at an opportunity in 2010 to join his first defence project in earnest.
“It was something different and that was very attractive,” he says of his work on HMAS Albatross, the Navy’s only air station and its largest operational base.
“We designed facilities for 24 new Seahawk Helicopters, including combined operational and training squadron facilities and a simulation centre. There were lots of complexities and it was very interesting to stitch everything together as a coherent facility.”
Since then it’s been a fascinating journey around Australia and the Pacific region for Stuart, with each project delivering unique problems to solve and new and exciting typologies to wrap his head around.
This included work on the AIR5428 Pilot Training System, a billion-dollar ADF pilot-training program, including flight simulators and his first experience designing pre-fabricated living-in accommodation.
Stuart credits a constant need to balance design with pragmatism for making defence such a challenging and rewarding space.
“Especially in larger projects, a high-ranking official has to justify why we’ve done what we’ve done and justify every dollar spent.”
Excited to be joining Architectus as our newest Principal, Stuart says he’ll be drawing on all of the above, while always enthusiastic to learn something new.
“I’ve delivered billion dollar-plus projects, and complex projects in complex locations,” he says.
“I’m looking to leverage that knowledge to further enhance what is obvious to people now: We’re the most capable defence team in the country.”
With the ADF’s plans to expand our footprint across the Pacific, Stuart believes defence will remain a fascinating space over the next decade.
“It’s only going to get more interesting and varied in the future.”
