A graduate of QUT's interior architecture degree who now works at a global design firm in the United States has been named Australia’s Design Graduate of the Year by the Design Institute of Australia (DIA).
Kirsteen James completed her Bachelor of Design at QUT last November, landed her first job at the Brisbane office of GHDWoodhead in December, and then moved to Houston, Texas, in May this year to start work at Gensler, one of the world’s biggest – and greenest – design and architecture firms.
She has also just passed her first exams with the United States Green Building Council to become a ‘LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Associate’.
Kirsteen was named the DIA’s Queensland interior design graduate of the year in August – and went on to win the national interior design graduate category and be named Australia’s overall Design Graduate of the Year for 2022.
The award recognised her final year project at QUT which saw her design ‘The Termitarium’ (featured from page 13 of her portfolio) – a community kitchen space inspired by termite colonies and the topography and Indigenous lore of the Glass House Mountains.
“I wanted to explore ‘biomimicry’ as a way of addressing sustainability and social cohesion,” Kirsteen said.
“The most notable feature of my project is the two double-story walls of stacked clay pipes – these provide an ecological evaporative air conditioning and purification system that employs the centuries old practice of air cooling through evaporation on wet terracotta clay.”
Kirsteen’s career path prior to interior design included studying a few semesters of science at uni after finishing school, and then working in corporate banking, before starting a family.
She first studied interior design in 2015 at Houston Community College after she moved to the USA with her husband Mark for his engineering career.
Kirsteen said built environments could impact people’s lives in positive and negative ways.
She cited the example of the sterile medical environment where, over a decade ago, she and Mark first learnt that he had a rare brain tumour.
“I realised that the environment I was in at the time of learning his diagnosis grossly impacted how I processed that news,” she said.
“I not only want to make a difference in the world, but I especially want to change the impact that design of the built environment has on the most vulnerable. I hope to always design for a greater social change.”
Kirsteen said the time following Mark’s diagnosis had helped foster grit, determination, and resiliency for the whole family.
“Eventually Mark was able to have the tumour resected, but he had to re-learn everything again – from learning to walk, talk, write and make decisions,” she said.
“Our girls were only 3 years and 18 months at the time, so he was relearning everything they were learning alongside them. He has worked harder than anyone I know to overcome momentous challenges and obstacles in this life.
“Today he is back working as an engineer, and also recently returned to postgraduate studies – he successfully graduated from QUT with his Masters in Mechanical Engineering in 2020!”
While Mark was studying his Masters, Kirsteen decided to keep pursing her interest in interior design and enrolled in QUT’s Bachelor of Design, majoring in interior architecture.
“I thought QUT’s interior architecture course sounded the most interesting and creatively challenging – and I knew QUT had a reputation for graduates that were ‘real world’ ready,” she said.
“Gensler was one of those dream companies I followed throughout my studies.
“I could see Gensler leadership was making commitments and taking measurable action on climate change through design. They are committed to transforming the built environment for a net zero future by 2030.
“With their global presence and commitment to making a significant impact on the types of cities being built and the products being specified, I knew I wanted to be a part of that Gensler movement.
“So, I did my research, sent in my application, and got a call back for an interview! I selected the projects from my portfolio that most closely aligned with Gensler’s values to talk about in my interview, and I was subsequently offered a job in the Houston office.”
Kirsteen made the big decision to move to Texas by herself, with work and school commitments keeping her family in Brisbane for now.
“Initially, I came alone to see if I could even make it, and if it really was my dream job – it is!,” she said.
“I needed to take a leap of faith in myself, my skills and my education … I do feel like this is something QUT prepared me for – to take those calculated risks and believe you can do it.
“My design studios at QUT taught me that risk is worth taking if you have done your research and analysis correctly – and that is also the exciting place where innovation and new frontiers are found. I have learned a lot about myself as both a designer and individual by being here alone, but I do hope my family can join me here soon.”
Kirsteen said a typical day for her in the Houston office involved calls and meeting with the design team, clients, and external contractors, and working on materials, finishings and furniture selections for current projects.
She is contributing to projects ranging from the new Houston office of a global commodities trading company, to an entertainment company’s New York office in the Rockefeller Center.
QUT interior architecture lecturer Lynda Fischer nominated Kirsteen for the DIA’s Graduate of the Year Award.
“Kirsteen’s final-year design project stood out as an innovative response to the brief of examining the ideals of community and context,” she said.
“Her project [The Termitarium] was grounded in strong principles of sustainability and inclusivity. It was conceptually strong and applied inventive ways of viewing design problems to achieve authentic but modest outcomes.
“Kirsteen’s success can inspire our current students to understand that authenticity and exploration are crucial to good design, that motivation and dedication will see results.”
QUT’s interior architecture study area coordinator, Dr Penny Wild, said students could do 100 hours of industry work placement as part of their course, with assessment projects also grounded in real world scenarios and often based on local existing buildings and spaces.
She said the QUT course produced interior designers who were problem solvers and experts at understanding the social and psychological needs of people as they interact and engage with spaces.
“Our graduates have knowledge and skill sets that they can apply to a broad range of interior environments, from large scale projects in healthcare, airports and education precincts to smaller scale projects like cafes, stage and event design,” she said.
“It’s an exciting time to be studying and graduating in Brisbane. There are many large-scale infrastructure projects happening, with our graduates securing work on projects such as Cross River Rail, Queens Wharf development, and stadium and infrastructure for the 2032 Olympics.”
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