WHAT is…
An architectural practice, with a broad remit covering Architecture, Design, Research, Advocacy, Making/ Building and illustration. The core team consists of Owen Kelly and Bobbie Bayley who have been working together since 2016.
Like trailblazing architects Troppo and Paul Pholeros who, in the 1970s, studied Australia as a basis for a relevant Australian architecture, Dogspike Design & Architecture has studied Australia intensely. We have spent 10 straight months cycling and camping east to west across this continent to understand the varied climates and cultures that our architecture needs to respond to. Our work is unprecedented in looking at the regional and remote sections of the country which gives Dogspike a unique perspective on some of the big challenges of heat facing the built environment from climate change.
Our process is place focused. We walk (for days), camp (for weeks), analyse, document, observe and share our site-specific findings as part of our design process. This allows us an intimate understanding of site opportunities and challenges. We invite our clients to teach us about their sites and to learn with us through observation so conversations are richer, based in research and informed understanding.
We work with local experts, tradespeople, and makers. We create designs that work hard for the places they inhabit, the people they nourish, and the materials they use. We have a background in construction so understand the practicalities of how materials come together and how we can push materials to work best.
Our aim is to be influential in sharing the history of Australian Vernacular Architecture and the value it holds for simple living in contemporary solutions that are appropriate, durable and ‘passive’ with a long life that minimises impact on ecosystems.
We try to practice what we preach - spending time outdoors camping, walking and cycling, and living daily without mechanical heating and cooling to find the best solutions for shade and climate. Dogspike Design & Architecture is based in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), and works Australia-wide.
WHY DOGSPIKE?
The Dogspike moniker comes from the colloquial name for the fixings used in railway construction. They come in different shapes and sizes depending on which job they are intended for. They are hardworking pieces of hardware that operate in extreme conditions. Their design has been iterated and refined to operate consistently and efficiently. A story we learnt on The Grand Section that has stuck with us about them is from Maree in South Australia where the rail-line split the town physically and culturally. Whites on one side of the tracks and Afghans, Aboriginals and Chinese on the other. It was the railway where these segregations fell away and people worked shoulder to shoulder for a shared goal. A built testament to this is the first mosque in Australia which was built in Maree in 1886.
We try to employ these principles in our approach. We interrogate briefs and functional requirements to make sure our proposals are the right fit for the project, not just a knee-jerk reaction. We deeply consider site, maintenance, materials, construction, cost and aesthetics to make sure our designs work hard, so that our clients don’t have to. We iterate and refine design options to create the best outcome we can and we work closely with trades, consultants, clients, local communities and authorities working shoulder to shoulder towards a common goal.
Our principles
Accessible | To be enjoyed by everyone for a long time
Community Led | Encouraging the local experts of a place to have a stake in the process
Appropriate | The project has the right intentions + expectations for the people, place, climate and outcome
Environmentally minded | Contributing to and enhancing existing ecosystems and natural site patterns rather than wiping the slate clean
Outside Living | Embracing external living and connecting people to places and the rhythms of the year, even in Arid zones
Small Footprints | Physically small buildings, built of less shit with a priority on local materials
Multi-functional | Buildings are designed to work hard, be flexible and deal with the flux of life
‘Passive’ not ‘Active’ | Making sure buildings are optimally performing year round without electricity (Passive Solar Design)
Maintenance | Communicate the value of ongoing, regular maintenance and ensuring an appetite for this from day 01
Long Life | Designing and building thoughtfully and well to last a long time OR be deconstructed to live again somewhere else
Owen & Bobbie // wearing custom recycled tent outfits at Exhibition ‘Re-think, Re-look, Re-map our country’ Exhibition at Cessnock Regional Art Gallery, NSW
Owen Kelly
Barch | March | Architect AR#1234Owen grew up in the Blue Mountains, NSW, before studying Architecture at the University of Newcastle. He is deeply interested in addressing the systematic challenges faced by remote communities.
As an architect, Owen has worked on a range of residential, commercial, public and interior projects in his own business, as well as with firms The Shed Collective, Incidental Architecture and Susan Dugdale and Associates. During his career he has initiated exhibitions, public design talks, and worked on the steering committee for the Australian Institute of Architect’s annual national architecture conference. He has been involved in projects with Ozetecture - learning from revered Australian architects Glenn Murcutt, Richard Leplastrier and Brit Andresen - and has been a sessional academic at The University of Sydney and the University of Newcastle.
For more than 10 years, Owen has worked with Healthabitat, a not-for-profit organisation focused on improving housing health for disadvantaged communities in remote areas. In particular, he is an accredited team leader for Housing Health projects and was instrumental in starting the Healthabitat Nepal Sanitation Studio at the University of Newcastle.
Owen began Dogspike Design to work on place-specific projects. Dogspike use a highly immersive design process that involves embedding themselves in a place to identify the history and opportunity of the land. They use local knowledge to provide designs that respond to their context, the climate, and the landscapes’ resources.
Now based in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), alongside Dogspike Design, Owen continues his role as an accredited team leader with Healthabitat. He is a registered architect in the Northern Territory and is currently writing a book about a trip he and Bobbie did across the country by bike in 2017, titled The Grand Section (a project for which they were awarded by the Australian Institute of Architects for the advancement of architecture).
Inspired by the Central Australian vernacular of architecture, Owen likes to get his hands dirty on projects and work closely with remote communities on country.
Bobbie Bayley
BARCH | MARCH | Dip ID | CIV Social Housing | Accredited building designer #6773Bobbie grew up in the Hunter Valley and studied Architecture at the University of Newcastle and finished her undergraduate studies in South Carolina, USA. She has since attained a Diploma in Interior Design and is an accredited Building Designer. Bobbie has been awarded the prestigious Byera Hadley Scholarship, the Stuttgart IBA International Summer Scholarship and the MADE scholarship to travel to Denmark to study the work of legendary architect Jørn Utzon (who designed the Sydney Opera House) . She has been instrumental in community work with various groups including (out)fit, Healthabitat, and Ozetecture.
Bobbie’s approach to design is site and people focussed at its foundation. She attains a deep understanding through documentation of place, to realise what a site needs, rather than what a site wants . She is collaborative and hands on, working closely with engineers, builders, and trades early in the process. It is this approach that she brings to her business Dogspike Design.
Alongside Dogspike, Bobbie works as a Project Manager for Healthabitat, a not-for-profit that works closely with remote communities to manage repairs and maintenance that improve the health benefits of housing. Bobbie is also currently carrying out research on improving the Thermal Performance of Northern Territory Aboriginal Community Housing in the face of climate change . She works closely with the Central Land Council (CLC) in Alice Springs, providing technical support in design and construction for projects in the central desert.
Bobbie is a nationally accredited Building Designer. Together with Owen, she has been awarded by the Australian Institute of Architects for the advancement of architecture for their project The Grand Section, where they documented their travels across Australia by bike.
Now based in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Bobbie is excited by the unique opportunities in the NT. She is dedicated to improving the thermal efficiency (heating and cooling) of housing in Aboriginal communities, through progressive, climate appropriate materials and passive solar design.