DogSPIKE DESIGN is…
An architectural practice, with a broad remit covering Architecture, Design, Research, Advocacy, Making/ Building and illustration. The core team consists of Owen Kelly and Bobbie Bayley who have been working together since 2016.
Like trailblazing architects Troppo and Paul Pholeros who, in the 1970s, studied Australia as a basis for a relevant Australian architecture, Dogspike Design & Architecture has studied Australia intensely. We have spent 10 straight months cycling and camping east to west across this continent to understand the varied climates and cultures that our architecture needs to respond to. Our work is unprecedented in looking at the regional and remote sections of the country which gives Dogspike a unique perspective on some of the big challenges of heat facing the built environment from climate change.
Our process is place focused. We walk (for days), camp (for weeks), analyse, document, observe and share our site-specific findings as part of our design process. This allows us an intimate understanding of site opportunities and challenges. We invite our clients to teach us about their sites and to learn with us through observation so conversations are richer, based in research and informed understanding.
We work with local experts, tradespeople, and makers. We create designs that work hard for the places they inhabit, the people they nourish, and the materials they use. We have a background in construction so understand the practicalities of how materials come together and how we can push materials to work best.
Our aim is to be influential in sharing the history of Australian Vernacular Architecture and the value it holds for simple living in contemporary solutions that are appropriate, durable and ‘passive’ with a long life that minimises impact on ecosystems.
We try to practice what we preach - spending time outdoors camping, walking and cycling, and living daily without mechanical heating and cooling to find the best solutions for shade and climate. Dogspike Design & Architecture is based in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), and works Australia-wide.
WHY DOGSPIKE?
The Dogspike moniker comes from the colloquial name for the fixings used in railway construction. They come in different shapes and sizes depending on which job they are intended for. They are hardworking pieces of hardware that operate in extreme conditions. Their design has been iterated and refined to operate consistently and efficiently. A story we learnt on The Grand Section that has stuck with us about them is from Maree in South Australia where the rail-line split the town physically and culturally. Whites on one side of the tracks and Afghans, Aboriginals and Chinese on the other. It was the railway where these segregations fell away and people worked shoulder to shoulder for a shared goal. A built testament to this is the first mosque in Australia which was built in Maree in 1886.
We try to employ these principles in our approach. We interrogate briefs and functional requirements to make sure our proposals are the right fit for the project, not just a knee-jerk reaction. We deeply consider site, maintenance, materials, construction, cost and aesthetics to make sure our designs work hard, so that our clients don’t have to. We iterate and refine design options to create the best outcome we can and we work closely with trades, consultants, clients, local communities and authorities working shoulder to shoulder towards a common goal.
Our principles
Accessible | To be enjoyed by everyone for a long time
Community Led | Encouraging the local experts of a place to have a stake in the process
Appropriate | The project has the right intentions + expectations for the people, place, climate and outcome
Environmentally minded | Contributing to and enhancing existing ecosystems and natural site patterns rather than wiping the slate clean
Outside Living | Embracing external living and connecting people to places and the rhythms of the year, even in Arid zones
Small Footprints | Physically small buildings, built of less shit with a priority on local materials
Multi-functional | Buildings are designed to work hard, be flexible and deal with the flux of life
‘Passive’ not ‘Active’ | Making sure buildings are optimally performing year round without electricity (Passive Solar Design)
Maintenance | Communicate the value of ongoing, regular maintenance and ensuring an appetite for this from day 01
Long Life | Designing and building thoughtfully and well to last a long time OR be deconstructed to live again somewhere else
Owen & Bobbie // wearing custom recycled tent outfits at Exhibition ‘Re-think, Re-look, Re-map our country’ Exhibition at Cessnock Regional Art Gallery, NSW
Owen Kelly
Barch | March | Architect AR#1234Owen grew up in the Blue Mountains, NSW. Throughout his career he has initiated exhibitions, public design talks and events (on rooftops) and was instrumental in starting the Healthabitat Nepal Sanitation Studio at the University of Newcastle.
Owen has worked on a range of residential, commercial, public and interior projects in his own business, with The Shed Collective and Incidental Architecture (Sydney) as well as being a sessional academic at The University of Sydney and the University of Newcastle.
Now in Mparntwe alongside Dogspike Design he works with Susan Dugdale and Associates and continues remote work as an accredited team leader with Healthabitat.
Owen is a registered architect in the Northern Territory.
Bobbie Bayley
BARCH | MARCH | Dip ID | CIV Social Housing | Accredited building designer #6773Bobbie Bayley grew up in the Hunter Valley, NSW. Bobbie finished her undergraduate studies in South Carolina, USA, and undertook an internship in Dallas, Texas, in 2015, followed by cultural studies in South America. She has been instrumental in community work with various groups including (out)fit and Healthabitat, and institutions such as Ozetecture.
She was awarded the prestigious Byera Hadley scholarship in 2017 to undertake The Grand Section, Stuttgart IBA International Summer School scholarship in 2019, and the 2020 MADE scholarship from The Sydney Opera House to carry out a 6-week multidisciplinary project in Denmark.
Alongside Dogspike Design, Bobbie works as a Project Manager for Healthabitat and is carrying out research on improving the Thermal Performance of NT Aboriginal Community Housing in the face of climate change – Cool Living. Cool Living was awarded the Construction & Practice Prize in the 2023 NSW Student Architecture Awards.
Bobbie is a nationally accredited Building Designer.
Bobbie and Owen have been awarded nationally by the Australian Institute of Architects.