Community Service | Consultancy | Expert Opinion

Steffen Lehmann has significant experience in working with executive teams or advisory boards, providing independent advice on architecture, urban design and sustainability. Over the last 4 years, he advised:

Rio Tinto (Member of Coal & Allied - Lower Hunter Land Steering Committee);
NSW Government (Dept. of Planning; Government Architect);
Queensland Government (Dept. of Public Works; Strategic Development);
City Councils of various Australian cities (Brisbane, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Lake Macquarie, Greater Taree);
Professional Bodies, Academic Institutions, NGOs and Community Groups.

Since 1990, Steffen Lehmann has undertaken major architectural and urban design consultancies in five different countries. He is engaged in applied research in urban renewal with various City Councils (such as in Brisbane and Newcastle City).

Steffen has a strong design background and has maintained his own design and research practice since 1993, undertaking significant urban design consultancies for state government, Local Authorities, and various international private practices, including De Portzamparc (Paris) and Isozaki (Tokyo). Since the beginning of 2005 he acts as a regular design reviewer to the Australian practice Suters Architects (Newcastle, Sydney, Brisbane).

Steffen has served on, and acted as Chair of, numerous architectural competition juries. He promotes excellence in architecture and advocates broad community access to that excellence. Service to the community has been a focus of his work since arriving in Australia. Since joining the Bund Deutscher Architekten in Berlin (1996) and The Royal Australian Institute of Architects in Queensland (2003), he has served on a number of committees and award juries, provided expert advice and consultancy, offered continuing and professional education (CPE) seminars for the profession, organised exhibition events and instigated public debate about important architectural issues.

Thus, Steffen represents the University and Faculty effectively to the wider community. He is acting as an independent expert and advisor in numerous relevant committees, taking an active role in community groups and relevant professional bodies (in both the public and private sector), and is engaged in successful interaction with Industry, NGOs, Government and the local Profession, such as:

International Competition Juries

Steffen has been invited as a jury member for important International Competitions, such as:

2000-2002: Leipziger Platz', Berlin
2006: 'Etihad Towers', Abu Dhabi
2009: 'Harmony Point', HoChiMinh City

Consultancy and Services to New South Wales Government

2007 - present

Appointed by the Minister for Planning, the Hon Frank Sartor MP, as representative on the Newcastle Stakeholder Reference Panel, for the Newcastle City Centre Masterplan (Oct. 2006 - to date)

2006 - present

Consultant to two NSW Government companies: Honeysuckle Development Corporation; Newcastle Port Corporation

Consultancy to Newcastle City Council (NCC)

2007

Member of expert panel for Newcastle City Council on specific heritage buildings.

2006 - 2007

Member of Steering Committee for Newcastle Alliance, evaluating the City West

2006 - present

Participation in various workshops of the Property Council, and Newcastle Alliance, for the City Centre Vision

2006 - 2008

Member of NCC Steering Committee for City Centre Forum in 2006

2005/2006

Input in new City Centre (Draft) Master Plan for Newcastle's city centre; consulting The Lord Mayor and City Council on urban renewal strategies and a 'Vision for 2010'; presentation of 'A Sustainable Vision for the City Centre' to Newcastle City Council and Newcastle Alliance (Febr. 2006 - to date)

Brian Suters and SL, Jan 2007

Services to The Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA)

2006

Member of Committee for Continuous Educational Program / Talk Series, RAIA

NSW - Newcastle Division (Aug. 2006 - to date)

2006

Offering CPE Continuous Professional Education activity: public lecture series (7 talks: 'From City to Detail') for RAIA Newcastle Division, between July and Sept. 2006

2006

Participation in the Round-table Forum 'Archivision: The Future of Architecture in Australia', Canberra (Febr. 2006)

2005

Invited juror for the newly established RAIA BlueScope Steel Glenn Murcutt Student Prize

2005

Invited juror of NSW RAIA medals (interstate academic juror) for best student projects in NSW Universities, and for MIRVAC Award

2005

Keynote speaker for RAIA, NSW - Sydney (Tusculum, May 2005)

2004

Invited Jury Member for RAIA, QLD Architecture State Awards 2004

www.architecture.com.au/i-cms?page=5256

2004

Keynote speaker for RAIA, NSW - Newcastle (Annual Dinner, Oct. 2004)

2004

Keynote speaker for RAIA, NSW - Sydney (Tusculum, April 2004)

2003 - present

Active member of the professional Institute RAIA; eg. organising and introducing public talks of international speakers at the RAIA

Consultancy and Services to Queensland Government

2006

Participant at 'Subtropical Urbanism' Forum, initiated by Queensland Gov. Dept. of Housing (Febr. 2006)

2005/2006

Member of the Organising Committee for the 'German Week in Brisbane' (April 2006)

2005

Member of the Expert Reference Group for the Art Built-in Policy and Program, ArtsQueensland

2005

Member of the Advisory Panel of Dept. Public Works for a new, inner-city footbridges 'Tank Street Viaduct' and 'Kangaroo Point Bridge' in Brisbane

2004/2005

Member of Steering Committee for German Australian Community Centre

2004 - 2006

Design and construction of the 'Wedding Pavilion in Roma Street Parklands'

Initiating and organising Year-of-the-Built-Environment / Dept. Public Works Senior Students Competition for a 'Pavilion in Roma Street Parkland', to be built Febr. - Aug. 2005 (budget $300,000). Head of competition jury and supervision of process. See also : 'The Courier-Mail' on 01 Dec. 2004, p.3: 'Pavilion takes pride of place in Parklands', or

www.ybe2004.qld.gov.au/news/news.asp


'Wedding Pavilion' in Roma Street Park, Brisbane: The result of Steffen's design+build studio 2005/2006 (design: student Carmen Slatter)

2004

Advisor to Queensland Government in workshops of the newly founded Office of Urban Management, to develop the draft 'Regional Plan for SEQ 2021, South-East-Qld'.

2003/2004

Active member in the Industry Group for the organisation of the 'Year-of-the-Built-Environment' (Queensland Government Advisory Body); involvement of community groups. An initiative to raise the public awareness about the practice of architecture

2003 - 2006

Organised ongoing Sponsorship for QUT Design Studio from Project Services, Department of Public Works / Queensland Government

www.ybe2004.qld.gov.au/news/mediaReleases.asp

2003

Support for Student Ideas Competition 'Inner-city Schools', sponsored by Project Services; collaborated with 3 rd Year Design Studio

2003/2004

Ongoing collaboration with the Department of Housing / Queensland Government, incl. a local developer, on 'New solutions for Affordable Housing'

2003/2004

Invited Juror for Collaborative Design Competition 'Bulimba Creek Bridge' for Queensland Government, Arts Queensland and Brisbane City Council

Consultancy to Brisbane City Council (BCC)

2005

Initiated and organised architecture exhibition for BCC at 5 th Asia Pacific Cities Summit in Chongqing, China, Oct. 2005, opened by Lord Mayor, showcasing the best recent architecture from Queensland www.apcsummit.org/content/?id=233

2005

Study for BCC on 'Urban Park Project: Petrie Bight', along Brisbane River, in collaboration with BCC Urban Management; organised Student Ideas Competition and provided input in CBD Draft Master Plan for 'Howard Smith Wharves'

2004/2005

Member of the Urban Renewal Task Force - Reference Group, Brisbane City Council, for the 'New CBD Draft Master Plan 2005'

2004

'Living Cities' workshop for Year 12 Secondary School students, in collaboration with BCC

2004

Public Art and Public Space: Appointed Head Curator for the exhibition project 'ART+ARCH infinite', funded by Brisbane City Council (with Arts Queensland and Brisbane Festival), Sept./Oct. 2004. See also: 'The Courier-Mail' on 30 Aug. 2004; and: 'Architecture Australia', Nov. 2004

2003

Seminar on 'Cultural Literacy: Public Art' for BCC (Sept. 2003)

Consultancy to the Local Profession in Brisbane

Ongoing

Steffen acts frequently as Design Consultant to the local profession.

2005

Organised Architecture Symposium open to the profession 'Indigenous Environment Forum', with 120 participants and 12 speakers (April 2005)

2004

Organised International Architecture Symposium open to the profession, as YBE-event: '1:1 seductions', with 180 participants and 12 speakers from Europe and Australia (March 2004)

2004 - present

Member of the LIONS Club, Brisbane, Newcastle; engaged in charity work

2003 - present

Offering external Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) seminars for the local profession in various practices