PDW 2026: Designing Spaces for Culture
From major institutions to public squares, pop-up galleries, and even our homes – this conversation is focused on the importance of designing spaces for culture. Cultural spaces bring life to our city and form our collective identity.
Award-winning journalist Victoria Laurie led a robust discussion with passionate Perth leaders in the culture space: Geoff Warn (founding director of With Architecture Studio, and former Government Architect of Western Australia), Helen Curtis (founder and director of Apparatus), Leah Bennet (interior & furniture designer, and founder of Leah Paige Designs), Randal Humich (property investor and developer, and board member of Centre for Stories, AGWA Foundation Council, Perth International Jazz Festival, Activate Perth, and the WAPPA Advisory Board), and Steve Woodland (Creative Director for Cox, and former Government Architect of Western Australia).
So, what were the panellists' favourite cultural spaces in Perth?
"Wallace Gallery. You can look into the window on William Street and get the sense of mystery, that something interesting is happening inside at different times. It's been fantastically popular, with packed exhibition openings, with a difference audience every time." Geoff Warn
"Edith Cowan University's new city campus. It's been a huge investment by the state and federal government as well as the university. It really took grit because they didn't know how it would turn out on a complex site. I'm really excited about the space." Helen Curtis
"WA Shipwreck Museum in Fremantle. When I was studying at WAPA we developed a performance based on history there, doing site-specific theatre, and that actually shaped a lot of how I approach design. Also the WA Museum Boola Bardip. I really love this museum - the blend of the original architecture with the new, and how Aboriginal culture has been embedded throughout all of the exhibitions and not just isolated to its own space." Leah Bennet
"Hay Street Mall. Just because if you look up, you can see how the city was developed and what it was like. One of my favourite places to sit is probably in front of London Court. From there you can tell the vibe of the city by how many tourists are there watching the clock. In 1950s and 1960s there was over five different theatres in the city. Sadly, that all died off. But if you have a look up, you will see the remnants of what was there and what could be." Randal Humich
"Kings Park. For me it's a bit of a postage stamp of the bigger stories of our place, and cultural stories which lie in the Kimberleys and elsewhere – that's where some of our great cultural storytelling occurs. Those stories are often hidden, gentle, mysterious, and hard to put a building around. In fact, sometimes when you try and put a building around those things, you fail. But they are my favourite stories, in true, authentic, cultural terms of our place." Steve Woodland
Photos by David Broadway.
