Friday Five is a new project brought to you by the Queensland Design Council, and is a Q&A series where we invite design and industry leaders to give insight into what inspires and motivates them, and to hear their thoughts and goals for design in Queensland and internationally.  A new Q&A will be unveiled on QUEENSLANDERSIGN™ every three weeks, on a Friday. First up in the Friday Five hotseat is one of Australia’s best-known designers and Director of Derlot Alexander Lotersztain. FRIDAY FIVE  WITH ALEXANDER LOTERSZTAIN  1.   What does being a Queensland designer or design thinker mean to you?   I think it’s being part of a great wave. Queensland, and in fact Australia, is changing. There is a new appreciation for design. We are starting to understand the role of design in our society, economy and environment and how important  its role is.  2.    What significant moment, quote, publication, event, city or object inspires you? Too many to list, as designer I am constantly observing. I guess a quote that resonated with me strongly is one by late designer Achille Castiglioni, in where his states that ” design demands observation.”  I am very passionate about this; we as designer are trained to observe, we ...

The much-awaited National Architecture Conference is to take place in Brisbane for the first time in more than three decades. The Conference anticipates attracting more than 1,400 Australian and International industry participants, and will be held on 10 –12 May 2012. The Creative Directors for the 2012 Conference – architecture champions Shane Thompson, Michael Rayner AM and Peter Skinner - have selected the annual theme ‘experience’ to explore the real experiences and processes of architecture within its natural and constructed surroundings. The program, which can be viewed here, features an exciting timetable of exhibitions, talks, masterclasses and awards, as well as networking events and urban and regional tours. Speakers at the Conference include Paul Finch, Deputy Chair of the UK Design Council, and Wang Shu, architect and founder of the Amateur Architecture Studio in Hangzou. Tickets to the National Architecture Conference are on sale here. The Conference leads into the QUEENSLANDERSIGN™ endorsed  ‘Lecture Series on Art, Architecture and Design’ program, held in partnership with the Australian Institute of Architects, Griffith University and Gold Coast City Gallery. The Lecture series, which takes place at the Gold Coast City Gallery, started off with talks by design writer Peter Hall and photographer Anne Noble, and continues with presentations by architect/designer Kevin Carmody on ...