A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and a member of the South Australian State Government’s Design Review Panel, he has particular expertise in models of innovative infill housing for established suburbs. A Senior Lecturer in Architecture in UniSA Creative at the University of South Australia, his work encompasses the development of housing design and policy associated with low scale medium density infill – often referred to as the ‘Missing Middle’. Damian works collaboratively with academics, industry and government to create new housing typologies across the fields of urban and suburban infill, density, ageing in place, adaptive reuse, heritage and cultural memory.
This work has been recognised through successes as an individual and as a collaborator in international open ideas competitions for alternative housing models.
Current projects are focusing on the adaptability of older houses in various cities to help meet housing targets while retaining the character and cultural memory of neighbourhoods. You can read a little about his work in the Australian Centre for Social Innovation's The Future of Home book.
Projects with which Damian has been involved throughout his career have received awards and commendations from organisations including The Australian Institute of Architects, The Civic Trust and Think Brick Australia. As an individual and collaborative researcher, he is a recipient of the Woods Bagot Student Scholarship in Architecture, multiple teaching awards from the University of South Australia and multiple grants, awards, commendations and shortlistings in support of his housing research from UniSA, the South Australian and New South Wales State Governments, the City of Sydney, the City of Los Angeles, and the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation.