![\"3](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e68a37b75d8a9133405a7cf5acc69191.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAt DBJ, there are undoubtedly specific qualities that each of the three directors brings to the work, but these qualities are not binary. Practice is more complicated and less linear, and is richer for that fact. My experience of the shared bond between Camilla, David and Neil is one of deep trust, negotiation, gentle teasing, occasional disagreement and conciliated resolution. Corny as it might sound, it\u2019s the family you choose.<\/p>\n
Almost a decade ago, I had the pleasure of visiting that family in their studio quite a bit, leading up to the publication of 3 plus 2: Durbach Block Jaggers. Unsurprisingly, their studio embodies their shared character. Focused yet relaxed. Creative yet analytic. Hard working, yet with a whole floor almost entirely given over to a pocket rooftop Eden.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
View gallery<\/p>\n
The shelves of the studio groan with models reflecting the work of many hands. Three-dimensional conversations, played out in real time and in card. Scrolls of plans and scribbles, coaxing clarity from the fray. Have we gone too far? Have we gone far enough? Can we afford that? Does this fit? Will that raking light cast a magical spell? This sense of toggling between defined limits and the ineffable poetry of space is the crux of their work.<\/p>\n
In a potted form, this was my experience of making 3 plus 2. I remember visiting their studio one day with an A0 package under my arm. We had spent months of design deliberation, agonising over image selection, production options and commissioning text. Reshooting here and tweaking there. Not gruelling, but exacting. Now, finally, test prints from Tokyo.<\/p>\n
As we unpacked the parcel, pulled back the tissue paper and gently extracted the sheets, a quiet reverential tone descended over the table. A hushed silence. Clarity took hold. With the mix of photography, architecture, light, printing ink and a heavenly paper stock called Montelukia, something beautiful was emerging in front of our eyes.<\/p>\n
For a practice of modest size, committing to a book project is never taken lightly. But on that day, with hungry eyes, shifting through sheets as precious as a rare, uncovered manuscript, I saw up close the commitment of this practice to pushing harder, demanding more and above all, teasing out the joy of life in each design challenge.<\/p>\n
We built a book.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Andrew Mackenzie, architectural writer, publisher and consultant<\/p>\n
The Australian Institute of Architects\u2019 2026 Gold Medal<\/a> has been awarded to Neil Durbach, Camilla Block and David Jaggers, directors of Durbach Block Jaggers Architects. In this collection of articles, their colleagues and peers share insight into their practice and work. Read Kate Goodwin\u2019s essay here<\/a> and Nick Bryant\u2019s here<\/a>, and Glenn Murcutt\u2019s testimonial here<\/a>, Sue Barnsley\u2019s here<\/a>, Marcus Zusak\u2019s here<\/a>, Elizabeth Farrelly\u2019s here<\/a> and John Wardle\u2019s here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At DBJ, there are undoubtedly specific qualities that each of the three directors brings to the work, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":694854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":["post-694853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}