Amy Seo and Shahar Cohen went straight from university to setting up architecture practice Second Edition, delivering a growing body of work characterised by real care and rigour in the reuse of building demolition materials, alongside beautiful design and entrepreneurial flair.

In doing so, they’ve become one of the more prominent Sydney voices in a movement that’s moving incredibly fast from the radical fringe to the absolute mainstream of construction and design - with the impact of adaptive reuse reverberating through such disparate projects as A Moratorium On New Construction, Pritzker Prize winners Lacaton & Vassal, and closer to home, Sydney’s Quay Quarter Tower..

Of course, the story started much, much earlier, with an engineer dad who fixed everything in Amy’s house, and Shahar pulling computers apart, piece by piece. And once you hear the story, it all starts to make a lot of sense!

Having fallen in love with The Sound of Music and never wanting it to end, Kerri Glasscock packed her bags at 15 and moved away from her family and her tiny country town to make a play for the theatre. 

She performed and put on shows and started the classic 505 jazz and theatre venues - rated in the top 150 jazz clubs worldwide by Downbeat - as well as turning the The Sydney Fringe into one of the most adventurous slots on the city’s calendar. 

Along the way, she emerged as a key change agent for Sydney's culture, advocating for reform, leading the review of the state’s culture policy - and this year she took the helm of Create NSW, the state’s creative agency. 

Kerri has an Instagram grid full of extraordinary cakes, a magnetic personality, she’s larger than life - of course, I’ve always wanted to know more, and this conversation more than delivered. 

Philip Thalis has been described as an influencer for a better future. As one of Australia's most respected architects, he’s literally shaped the physical environment of Sydney.

In being awarded the Australian Institute of Architects’ highest honour - the Gold Medal - he was described as a role model for the architect as a public intellectual.

Through his research, teaching, his magisterial tome Public Sydney and his persistent advocacy, he’s changed the way we think about our city - I’m constantly challenged to look at the city differently by the care and affection in his social media posts.

So, of course, I’ve always wanted to know more!