Saturday, 7 November 2026:
Celebrate a regional architecture
with a fun afternoon of community events
Choose your experience
An intimate look behind the scenes of Vogue Living VL50 Product Designer of the Year and recent INDE Award winner, Trent Jansen. In Trent's Thirroul studio enjoy a 1-hour studio tour and discussion
Enjoy a Grand Designs–style afternoon touring four remarkable homes in the northern Illawarra, with exclusive behind-the-scenes access hosted by the local architects and builders who brought them to life. Handpicked by the Festival
It's been a big year! Let's celebrate the spirit of the Illawarra's architecture and design community at Coledale RSL. Join the architecture community for some drinks and canapés. We'll also announce the IFAD Award winners.
Is your home a uniquely Illawarra architectural gem? Enter the Illawarra Festival of Architecture & Design Award 2026 by Monday, 28 September to honour the professionals behind it and help fundraise for the Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre.
profits from CELEBRATION DRINKS & TRENT’S STUDIO TOUR are donated to the Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre.
Step inside the Thirroul studio of internationally acclaimed furniture and object designer Trent Jansen, Vogue Living VL50 Product Designer of the Year, whose work has been exhibited around the world.
Part of the Illawarra Festival of Architecture & Design, this intimate studio tour offers a rare look at Trent’s creative process and an exciting new body of work yet to be publicly revealed. Hear firsthand about the ideas, stories and collaborations that shape his distinctive approach to design
Enjoy a Grand Designs–style afternoon touring four remarkable homes in the northern Illawarra, with exclusive behind-the-scenes access hosted by the local architects and builders who brought them to life. Handpicked by the Festival, these innovative residences in Wollongong, Bulli, and Austinmer are just a short drive apart. The exact locations revealed to ticket holders. Get ready to peek behind the curtains, meet the creative minds, and be inspired by the fusion of form and function.
Join us at Coledale RSL for an evening with the Illawarra’s architecture, design and creative community. Enjoy complimentary canapés, grab a drink from the bar, catch up with colleagues and friends and celebrate the people and practices shaping design across our region. The evening will feature the announcement of the 2026 IFAD Architecture Award winners, recognising outstanding local architecture and the contribution our design community makes to the Illawarra.
The 2026 Illawarra Festival of Architecture & Design Award celebrates homes that capture our region’s innovative spirit and honour its dramatic coastal and escarpment landscape.
This year, two awards — Home and Renovation — will recognise 2–3 project leads for each winning home, including the architect or designer, builder, and any interior or landscape designers involved. Eligible homes must have been completed after December 2023.
Enter before MIDNIGHT, FRIDAY 25TH OF SEPTEMBER
We thank those who have invested in this community with their support for the Illawarra Festival of Architecture & Design.
The Creative Directors and engine behind the Illawarra Festival of Architecture & Design
Our Co-Directors are all Illawarra locals, drawing from varied industries which all support our building industry. Each of our Directors have spent their careers working to help us forge greater connections with the homes and buildings in which we spend time. It’s no wonder our Directors wanted to unite others with this passion in our community.
With so little opportunities in the Illawarra to encourage this curiosity among architecture and design enthusiasts, the answer proved obvious. And so, the Illawarra Festival of Architecture & Design was imagined, and with it we hope to bring together a new insight into the meaningful ways to build in the Illawarra.
Please note, all our events on the weekend of October 18th and 19th have limited capacity, and we expect them to sell out. Don’t miss out!
Register your interest to attend and we’ll notify you when tickets go on sale.
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