JDA Co

JDA Co is a studio-based design practice that specialises in a range of complex project types in Australia and overseas. Based in Brisbane, we have built a reputation for innovative, collaborative projects with a strong emphasis on design, research, advocacy and policy. We focus on undertaking projects that present an opportunity to turn problems into enjoyable challenges.

In our approach to architecture, we believe that the discipline is by its very nature an empirical anthropology, where the making of architecture is directly linked to its social processes and material culture. This said, our practice of architecture relies heavily on qualitative research that privileges no single research methodology over another in establishing an interpretive field of inquiry that can be easily transposed between architecture and anthropology.

We focus on what can be described as architectural bricolage, the French term for ‘weaving’ or ‘quilt making’ whereby a bricoleur is a person who uses the tools at hand to achieve a desired outcome. Bricolage is a temporal process, when one thread fails to explain the situation at hand, the bricoleur can add another to help complete the methodological patchwork.

While the history of our practice has seen us undertake architectural commissions across a wide range of project types, the last decade has seen us focus on architectural projects that present an opportunity to positively contribute to influence our world in areas of climate change adaptation and sustainability more broadly. Our work seeks to occupy the nexus between architecture, economy, culture, and adaptation with the goal to build a better future for all.

We are Australia’s leading flood resilience architects and have more recently begun to diverge into other areas of climate adaptation such as bushfire, cyclone, heat, and drought resilience. We see the future of our practice work moving further in this direction, both nationally and internationally.