August Critics

Mike Thomas, Principal Jasmax.
Mike has over 16 years’ experience as a Landscape Architect, working predominantly in New Zealand, Hong Kong and China. He has extensive experience as a project design leader with a focus on design and delivery of public realm projects for local and central government agencies and commercial precincts. Mike set up and leads the Landscape Architecture team, one of the largest in New Zealand, in addition, he was a co-founder of the Jasmax Christchurch office, managing the regional studio for four years. Mike has led and participated in the successful design and delivery of streetscapes, civic plazas, parks, campuses and transportation infrastructure. He is as adept at the high level masterplanning of precincts and transportation infrastructure as he is with the detailed design of furnishings, plantings and surface finishes. His ability to craft individual designs for each project reflects his skills at listening and collaboration and the value he attributes to ‘sense of place’. Mike is able to engage in productive partnerships with clients, consultants and in-house designers to deliver ‘whole of site’ solutions that are comprehensive and complimentary to their urban and natural environments. He has championed an integrated design culture in Jasmax, where architecture, urban design, interiors and landscape coincide to deliver meaningful living and working environments.

Katherine Poi
Kaihautū Mātauranga Māori / Equity Transformation Consultant Unitec Institute of Technology. Expertise in designing and facilitating professional development in equity transformation; and partnership under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Kaihautū Mātauranga Māori
Working across Unitec to realise the implementation of the institute's Māori Success Strategy. Developing capability and supporting staff to embed mātauranga Māori in the activities of the institution, and specifically into learning and teaching.

Juan Molina
Juan Molina is a senior architect and urban designer at CPRW Fisher. Juan is a graduate of the Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona and a Spanish Registered Architect,  member of the Collegi Oficial d’Arquitectes de Catalunya.  Juan was taught by luminaries, Enric Miralles and Ignasi de Solà-Morales and worked with Viaplana and Pinon on the early days of the ‘Plazas duras’ in Barcelona. He has over 20 years of experience as a practicing architect in New Zealand and Spain, projects include the master planning of Britomart with Cheshire Architects and designing a NZIA award wining projects with CPRW Fisher.

Dr Dushko Bogunovich
Dushko Bogunovich is associate professor of urban design in the Departments of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Unitec Institute of Technology in Auckland. He studied architecture and urban planning at the universities of Sarajevo, Belgrade, Cyprus, Pennsylvania and California at Berkeley.
Dushko is a member of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP); New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA); and the Urban Design Forum (UDF) of NZ. He was twice a Fulbright scholar; has won numerous urban design competition awards; has acted as consultant and advisor to local and central government in NZ; and had in the past contributed to UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO and Habitat projects. Dushko had also been a visiting fellow at the universities of Oxford, Bologna, Genoa and Wismar, and most recently was visiting professor of urban design at the Milan Polytechnic.

Glenda Fryer Member of the Albert- Eden Local Board
Glenda Fryer has served the people of Mt Albert for 15 years, as Local Board Deputy Chair and Auckland City Councillor. Glenda is a member of the Mt Albert Aquatic Centre Trust, with experience on Balmoral School Board of Trustees and Auckland Business Development Council.

Julian Rennie
After working in London for 4 years from 1986 to 1990, Julian returned to New Zealand to set up in private practice with his partner Rose Dowsett.
Julian was invited to join the Landscape staff at Unitec on a permanent basis in 1999, and since then his role within the Department has evolved from model making classes through to perspective drawing classes, and into Landscape Construction studio sessions. This later role has this year expanded in a wider overseeing role of Landscape construction issues across a range of studio years for the greater benefit of more students.
2009 saw Julian graduate from within Unitec's Department of Education with a Graduate Diploma in Higher Education, which has established his activities within learning pedagogies.
Julian remains a practicing partner within rennie dowsett architects, with which he continues to win prizes and awards, most recently in 2009, he was chosen as a finalist, (1 of 10 out of 139 entries), and prize winner in Housing New Zealand's The Starter Home Design
Julian also was awarded a Highly Commended Prize in Housing New Zealand's 100 Years
Research:
2010 saw Julian commence his Research activities and he travelled to four conferences around the world presenting various papers based on his observations and educational field trials held here within Unitec, two such papers relate to providing better feedback and summative assessment events for student learners.
Another paper, showcased a representation strategy, (developed with the Landscape Model making sessions, and since taken up by students), of how digital cameras could be slipped inside 3D models and the resulting images can are very compelling and life like, and thus providing a quick, yet cost effective presentation technique.
Julian continues to research interfaces between Art, Colour, Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

Megan Rule
Megan Rule graduated with honours from the Auckland School of Architecture in 1992 and worked on award winning projects, including Axis Building, D72 (Commercial Refits) and St Helier Residence with Auckland practice Patterson Co Partners until 1998. Prior to completing her degree she traveled extensively while based in the UK working for large commercial practice RHWL. In 1995 Megan participated in an international summer school based out of Macerata (Marche region) and Rome, Italy. From 1998 an extended break from the industry evolved into establishing an independent practice, South Pacific Architecture in 2000, with an expanding interest in the investigation of spatial and material context to produce environmentally sensitive enduring architecture.
Guest Lecturer Auckland University School of Architecture 2003, 2004, 2005.
Member of the NZIA NZ Awards Jury 2005, 2006

Marita Hunt Isthmus
Marita is excited about the potential of dense urban environments, and the opportunities for designers to make cities healthy, liveable and stimulating places. She joined isthmus in early 2015 as an Intermediate Landscape Architect and is highly talented and motivated with an eye for identity, diversity and community. Marita completed her Masters at Victoria University in 2012 and her thesis investigated overlapping national and local identities in a complex urban site in Wellington. She has previously worked in practice and as a teaching fellow at Victoria University.