Grounded in Empathy and Deep Understanding

I had the privilege of contributing to a range of local government projects, most notably Hardy’s Road Family and Community Centre and Doveton Pool Pavilion, under the guidance of Steven Chu, who served as Principal Architect and Director at Programmed.

Steven leads exceptional design and technical thinking seamlessly from early concept to delivery, with clarity and meaningful purpose. What defines Steven’s leadership is his ability to cultivate transparent dialogue to meet clients' needs as well as grounded in empathy and deep understanding of contextual sensitivity to its serving communities.

The most transformative to me was Steven advocating a nurturing working culture of critical design inquiry and reflection.

Beyond design, Steven demonstrated commitment to mentoring, generously sharing knowledge, and instilling in the team a deep respect for the design process, professional integrity, and practice.

Working under Steven was a profoundly formative experience in the early stages of my architectural career, transitioning from Student to Graduate of Architecture. Steven’s leadership, mentorship, professionalism, and design philosophy will remain a guiding influence throughout my professional growth.