Interdisciplinary design practice Hames Sharley is pleased to announce two key appointments to their national team, founded almost fifty years ago by demographers, researchers, architects and urban planners.
The new Principals, Keith Dougal and Nic Hughan, join the Adelaide and Melbourne studios respectively, bringing their vast experience in designing global industry-leading projects.
Building on a 30-year international career in the UK, Singapore, and Australia, Keith brings considerable expertise and special interest in the workplace sector. He has led and contributed to interiors projects across Asia, the US, Australia and New Zealand including NZICC, Google, NAB, MPC Studios and SAHMRI, encompassing a broad range of project scales and type.
“I’m especially drawn to Hames Sharley’s research-based approach and strong interdisciplinary philosophy, and I’m looking forward to contributing to the practice’s design culture to produce high-quality, high-value outcomes,” Keith said.
For Keith, good workplace design is imperative because it’s somewhere many of us spend most of our time outside our homes.
“Workplace design is about optimising performance. How do you embody the brand? How do you foster a positive work culture? How do we create a healthy working environment for all? That multi-layered, problem-solving aspect of design really excites me.”
Nic Hughan has 28 years of experience both as an architectural practice owner and as a senior portfolio leader in Australia, Southeast Asia, United Kingdom and Dubai.
Specialising in the Health portfolio, Nic’s body of work includes leading the ground-breaking Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, representing a personal career highlight.
“Highly political and complex, this landmark project is the number one paediatric facility in the world,” says Nic. “I feel very blessed to have been a project leader on this world-leading hospital.”
At Hames Sharley, he’s excited about exploring and collaborating on future large-scale opportunities, with a particular interest in designing for neurodiversity.
“By engaging with staff, patients and users, I try to understand what people need and how they wish to interact with a health facility. Having lived and worked in unfamiliar environments, I also have a deep appreciation and empathy for the cultural and emotional challenges faced by many patients and visitors – I enjoy leveraging this experience to work with big groups of diverse thinkers and stakeholders across multiple studios,” he said.
