Meet Rachel
 

I am passionate about designing thoughtful, cost- and energy-efficient homes that respond to the people who live in them and the places they inhabit. My work is particularly focused on rural homes and renovations, with experience in hempcrete, rammed earth, reclaimed materials and a broad range of sustainable construction methods.
 

Deeply drawn to the vast wilderness of the Australian bush, I relocated to rural north-central Victoria in my twenties. While working in architectural practices and makers’ workshops, I began exploring steel and aluminium fabrication, digital fabrication and installation, sculpture and furniture making.

During my Master of Architecture at the University of Melbourne, I was part of the team that designed, detailed and constructed Articulated Timber Ground, a full-scale experimental timber pavilion that was later acquired for the University’s public art collection. My graduating design thesis was also selected for the 2015 Melbourne School of Design - Exemplar exhibition, a showcase of selected outstanding design thesis work from the graduating cohort.
 

I was living in and slowly renovating a derelict rammed-earth home with reclaimed materials. I also worked alongside an owner-builder to design and construct another rammed-earth home in the bush. These experiences brought me into contact with an array of craftspeople and ways of making, and gave me a hands-on understanding of materials, fabrication and construction.

It was an invaluable period that taught me how the knowledge gained through formal architectural education could be tested, adapted and translated into real-world situations—and it continues to shape the way I approach architecture today.
 

I have worked with architectural practices and owner-builders across rural Central Victoria, developing experience in rural sites, sustainable construction and Bushfire Attack Level requirements. As a project architect, my work has encompassed residential and commercial projects in Castlemaine, Newstead, Daylesford, the Grampians, Malmsbury, Drummond North, Fitzroy, Carlton, St Kilda and beyond.

If you would like to discuss your project, please contact me for a consultation.