Charmaine Kai & Melody Chen | Brisbane Winter 2023

Parlour POD

Our conversationalists for this episode are Melody Chen, co-founder of architectural practice A-CH; and Charmaine Kai, co-founder and director of 8i Architects.

Melody and Charmaine share the genesis and evolution of their practices and the flexibility required to balance family, architectural projects and volunteer commitments. They discuss the challenges of running architectural businesses, balancing the passion for the work with efficient time management.

They discuss the adversarial nature of some projects and the importance of getting on site as much as possible to build a strong foundation of construction knowledge. “Construction knowledge is one of the most powerful tools that we as architects have,” says Charmaine.

From the intimacy and joys of residential work to the technical complexity of IVF labs and day hospitals, from the increasing obligations of HR in practice to maintaining a separation between home and office life, this fascinating episode is well worth a listen.
This episode of Parlour POD was produced with the assistance of the Alastair Swayn Foundation through a Design Audio Grant. Thanks!

We hope you enjoy Parlour POD, live recordings from our much loved Seasonal Salon series. For more great Parlour content, head to our website, and follow Parlour on Instagram or LinkedIn. To support our ongoing work, join the Parlour Collective!