About
Belonging is not a feeling. It’s built.
Through the spaces we share, the stories we see reflected, and the care we place in our environments.
Artefact exists to design those places.
Our Founding Story
Steven Chu
Founder & Creative Director
ARBV 18725 Australian Registered Architect
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On a family road trip through war-torn Burma, in a van that barely held together, Steven (Artefact Founder and Creative Director) realised that most people don't get to choose the environments they live in, work in, or grow up in, and how deeply that affects their lives.
He wondered if it was possible to design a world that uplifts people, rather than limits or excludes them. That moment sparked a lifelong calling: to help people shape their environments with agency and meaning.
After exploring paths from soldier to doctor, Steven chose architecture, not for the buildings, but for what they can do: bringing communities closer together.
Through a richly diverse yet all-too-familiar diasporic journey across continents and cultures, that moment decades earlier set the course for Artefact: a purpose-driven practice dedicated to architecture that builds belonging.
Before establishing Artefact Architects, Steven gained extensive leadership experience in design, public service, education, and humanitarian work, leading and contributing to more than $3 billion in built projects, including award-winning public architecture.
He served as Director at a National billion-dollar facilities management firm, as Director of Design and Board Member at an Australian charity delivering international humanitarian aid, and as the Principal Architect at a local government council in Victoria.
In parallel with practice, Steven has taught in the architecture programs at leading schools of architecture, including RMIT University and the University of Melbourne.
But Steven’s focus has never been just the buildings. It’s always been about how they shape the lives within and around them, and how, through architecture, we can build belonging.
Steven leads Artefact alongside a trusted network of planners, engineers, and builders. Together, we bring the focus and depth needed to explore the meaning of community, belonging, and legacy.
“
Hope is the belief in the plausibility of the possible
rather than the necessity of the probable.
Marshall Ganz
Rita E. Hauser Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
About Artefact Architects
You shouldn’t have to settle for environments where you don’t feel seen, included, or proud of. When you work with Artefact, you won’t. You’ll gain places designed with care to reflect your values and story, connecting you with the innate human desire for belonging and community.
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An artefact tells a story.
It holds memory, culture, and meaning.That’s what we believe buildings should do too. Not just attain compliance, but carry the stories and culture of the people within and around them.
For as long as humans have existed, our survival has depended on belonging within the spaces we share. For our communities to thrive, those spaces must hold our values and stories. When they don’t, we stop believing we belong.
That is why at Artefact, architecture is not only about designing beautiful or functional buildings. We see architecture as a systemic way of thinking and working, as an intellectual and cultural craft that serves community and society.
We translate community stories and programs into architecture that strengthens identity and connection. Every project begins with listening to your story to shape spaces that work beautifully and feel meaningful.
We believe what lacks functionality cannot be beautiful, and what lacks cultural and communal meaning cannot be truly functional.
When people belong, communities thrive, and leaders create lasting legacies.
Because in the end, it’s not about the buildings. It’s about your people.
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The foundation of Artefact’s mission to create a world with more agency, diversity and compassion. We do this by practising architecture that combines intentional optimism with cultural depth, transcending the conventional focus on function and aesthetics.
Our work strives to address spatial inequality and cultural agency, to bridge cultural story, community identity, and spatial justice.
Artefact cares about creating environments that not only serve, but also shape. We nurture agency, belonging, and meaningful progress through spaces that honour diverse stories to help communities thrive.
We believe what lacks functionality cannot be beautiful, and what lacks cultural or communal meaning cannot be truly functional.
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Through participatory workshops, behavioural research, and post-occupancy insight, we translate your community stories and programs into spaces that bring your people together towards a shared vision. Every project begins with listening to your story to shape spaces that work beautifully for you and feel meaningful to you.
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We’re a full-service architecture and interiors studio that specialises in designing shared spaces that help people feel seen, included, and proud.
We love projects that aspire towards a strong connection with nature, and gravitate towards projects that involve spaces shared by a diverse group of people, where identity, place, and culture are complex spatial problems that require architectural-grade resolutions.
Does this mean we only do ‘community buildings’? No, we believe helping people feel seen, included, and connected is important in all the spaces we share, whether it’s a single family home, an apartment building, a school, or a train station.
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You gain spaces that honour your story, making you feel seen, supported, and proud.
You gain your people’s trust, with projects that catalyse pride and measurable social cohesion.
You gain spaces that last, with design that aligns programs, culture, and flow.
You benefit from lower lifetime cost, with practical design and stewardship planning that cut maintenance and operational costs over time.
We bring to the table a track record of over AUD 3 billion of valued project experience, over 20 projects delivered across public and private sectors, and over 21 architecture and interiors awards.
When you work with Artefact, you gain an architectural partner trusted by government councils, educational institutions, and community organisations across Australia.
Artefact is trusted by councils, community organisations, educational institutions, and purpose-driven partners across Australia to design shared spaces with care. If your project is driven by community, culture, or connection, we’d love to hear your story.
We’re now booking a limited number of projects.
Book an obligation-free conversation with us today.