Marina with mentor and colleague, Principal Ruth Wilson.
Today she leads Architectus’ largest and highly-awarded Education sector, which is now 120-strong. And after stints in Architectus’ Melbourne and Sydney studios, she’s now handing over the reins to pursue opportunities in New York.
“We’ve hit a critical mass and it’s a natural time to leverage the ever-expanding skills of the Education sector to specialise even further,” says Marina of passing the leadership to John Sprunt in the new role of Schools Sector Lead and Matthew Todd in the new role of Tertiary + Research Sector Lead as she transitions out of the business.
“John is an expert in school design and it’s the perfect time to harness his experience nationally. And Matt has an incredible reputation in the design industry. With him leading Tertiary we will hit a new calibre of design.”
The changes will take effect on 1 November, with Marina staying hands-on through the transition and both Schools and Tertiary remaining under Group Director Mark van den Enden.
“It makes it easy to push hard and reach for great outcomes when you have unwavering support and a great brains trust. Mark’s enthusiasm and encouragement has been unstoppable. We’ve achieved great things together.”
Reflecting on her time in education design, Marina credits some of Australia’s most respected universities with keeping her engaged to drive better outcomes.
“I’ve had incredibly interesting and rewarding clients. Universities are such large and complex institutions, full of talented and passionate people, who are so invested in word-class outcomes,” she says. “Universities in particular are such significant institutions in our cities, and they need to be beacons of innovation.”
She’s grateful for the leadership of people like Mark van den Enden, CEO Ray Brown and in particular Public Sector Leader Ruth Wilson, who pushed for Marina to lead her first project at the age of 32, the multi-award-winning Arts West at the University of Melbourne.
“I’ve had many incredible mentors at Architectus but Mark, Ruth and Ray have not only supported me but challenged me. I’ve been surrounded by people who love what they do, and it comes from the top. The energy is infectious.”
Please see a selection of Marina Carroll’s Architectus projects for University of Melbourne and Macquarie University below.
