In collaboration with Her Home, this special session of Parlour Talks starts at the beginning, exploring how housing designed for women is different. What particular issues are raised? What factors need to be considered? How does this translate to the way we procure and design housing? The speakers will canvas a suite of interrelated ideas – safety, flexibility, housing types and models – all while challenging preconceptions about where women, especially older women, ‘should’ live.
The speakers include three highly experienced and knowledgeable speakers – Eloise Atkinson, Samantha Donnelly and Sophie Dyring – in conversation with Tania Davidge and Justine Clark.
Eloise is a Brisbane-based architect whose career has largely focused on education and social and affordable housing. She has advocated for well-designed housing through her role as Independent Chair of BHC, Queensland’s largest Community Housing Provider (CHP) and has served on the board for over 17 years. She holds several other committee roles with not-for-profit organisations who are focused on housing and homelessness, including Sharing with Friends (SWF), a foundation with an innovative plan to address older women’s housing needs and the risk of homelessness.
Samantha is an architectural educator specialising in social impact design, with a focus on inclusive, gender‑sensitive and sustainable approaches to the built environment. Her work centres on design that supports marginalised and vulnerable communities. She collaborates with practitioners on projects for women and children who have experienced violence, and for older women facing homelessness. Her PhD explored trauma‑informed design for women’s refuge accommodation and workplaces supporting frontline staff.
Sophie is an architect and landscape architect with extensive experience designing and delivering social and affordable housing for those most in need. She is also active on design review panels in SA and NSW and is a Moreland Affordable Housing Committee member.
