The Australian Institute of Architects’ 2027 Gold Medal has been awarded to Susan Dugdale, founding director of Susan Dugdale and Associates.
2027 Gold Medallist, Susan Dugdale.
The Gold Medal is the Australian Institute of Architects’ highest honour. It recognises distinguished service by architects who have designed or executed buildings of high merit, produced work of great distinction resulting in the advancement of architecture, or endowed the profession of architecture in a distinguished manner.
The Gold Medal for 2027 has been awarded to Susan Dugdale, founding principal of Susan Dugdale Architects.
Originally from Brisbane, Dugdale completed four years of her architectural education at University of Queensland, completing her final year of studies at RMIT. She worked for ten years in Melbourne, including for Gold Medallist Greg Burgess. Ready for something new, she accepted an opportunity to assist with what was meant to be a short-term workload at Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in the Indigenous-owned firm Tangentyere Design, where she worked for six years before starting her own practice, Sue Dugdale and Associates (SDA), in 2000. She has been based in Mparntwe on Arrernte Country ever since.
Dugdale’s award-winning practice achieves excellence in design outcomes through deeply considered interactions between people, remote places and cultures. For more than three decades, her work has been dedicated to crafting regional built form, woven across dry desert plains to wet tropics and extreme heat. Dugdale’s work includes Aboriginal housing, community and cultural buildings, commercial developments, remote civic and public spaces, and urban infrastructure. Many of Dugdale’s buildings are in remote locations, delivered with modest budgets and limited access to skilled trades and specialist services. In overcoming this adversity, there is a clear demonstration of the care, imagination and technical skill of an accomplished architect who has honed their craft and skill over decades. In this context, Dugdale’s achievement is not simply sustaining a regional practice. She has shown how good architecture can change expectations of what is possible where resources are limited. Dugdale is recognised for an “against the odds” architecture that is reflective of people and celebrating of place – qualities that are fundamental to fine architecture everywhere.
Over the decades, stand-out projects have established her approach to combining architectural quality with economy, practicality and cultural responsiveness. The Lolly Houses at Yuendumu (2000, Tangentyere Design) demonstrate Dugdale’s ability to find architectural opportunity in difficult circumstances. The project transformed barely habitable accommodation for older Aboriginal residents. Originally constructed from surplus military sheds, the existing homes were remnants of an unfortunate architectural legacy to socially engineer Warlpiri people’s assimilation into Western culture through staged housing. Rather than undertaking a basic refurbishment, Dugdale involved residents in selecting colours for each house. The result was a collection of lively homes that reflected residents’ preferences and improved everyday living.
Dugdale understands local construction capability, and how to introduce new approaches without imposing unnecessary costs. SDA-designed buildings like the Desert Knowledge Business Innovation Centre (2007) and MPH HQ (2017) are robust, carefully detailed, and rarely dependent on expensive finishes or complicated construction. This approach extends to larger commissions. The Greenwell Building (2013) combines commercial office space with environmental performance, adding improvements to the public streetscape. The Alice Springs CBD Revitalisation (2013) incorporates Arrernte cultural references and local artwork into the town centre. The Garden Cemetery Chapel (2018) accommodates different ceremonies and cultural relationships through generous verandas, flexible gathering spaces and carefully designed screening. These projects demonstrate command of form, materials and detail, alongside an understanding that buildings have responsibilities and impacts beyond their immediate brief.
Dugdale describes this philosophy as “value adding.” The Akeyulerre Healing Centre (2023) is a significant recent example. Developed over eight years with Arrernte Traditional Custodians, the project began with pro bono assistance to secure funding. The completed centre supports bush medicine production, cultural healing, language recording, community gatherings and cultural enterprise. Its public and private spaces respond to the organisation’s cultural practices and priorities. The project received the 2025 Northern Territory Indigenous Community Award and was shortlisted for a National Architecture Award the same year.
Dugdale’s service to the profession extends beyond buildings. She has mentored generations of architects, incorporated Aboriginal participation in construction, and contributed extensively to the Australian Institute of Architects. The awarding of the Gold Medal recognises the quality and sustained achievement of her architectural practice. Her career demonstrates that architectural excellence is not always determined by the commission’s size, location and budget; it lies equally in the skill with which an architect responds to people, place and the pragmatics of building.
Dugdale has produced architecture of distinction, while at the same time highlighting the possibilities of what architecture can offer communities across the Northern Territory. Her influence is evident in her buildings, the people who use them, the architects she has mentored and the construction industry she has helped shape.
This is an outstanding contribution to Australian architecture, the architectural profession and the people of Australia – one deserving of its highest honour.
David Wagner FRAIA (chair), national president, Australian Institute of Architects | Atelier Wagner Architects
Adam Haddow FRAIA, immediate past president, Australian Institute of Architects | SJB
Sean Godsell LFRAIA, 2022 Gold Medallist | Sean Godsell Architects
Carrol Go-Sam Hon. FRAIA | University of Queensland
Jennie Officer RAIA | Officer Woods Architects
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Yitpi Yartapuultiku (The Soul of Port Adelaide) by Ashley Halliday Architects together with the Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Working Group and Wax Design.
