Michi Moses (nee Playford)

Michi joined the Light House team in 2022 after eagerly following our work for several years.

She is passionate about sustainability, affordability, quality and health in housing and recently won a Paul Pholeros Scholarship to study cohousing.

The Australian housing system is currently in a state of crisis. The rising cost of housing, increasing interest rates and several devastating natural disasters over the past few years have severely impacted the availability, affordability, and quality of housing across Australia.

Cohousing is an alternative housing model that can address these challenges by creating community-based living environments which prioritize social connections, sustainability, and affordability. The proposed study will investigate the potential of cohousing to improve health and living conditions for the Australian community.

How did this interest develop? In 2013, Michi had the privilege of traveling to Nepal with Paul Pholeros to work on a village sanitation project as part of a collaboration between the University of Newcastle and Healthabitat. This trip opened her eyes to the power designers have to improve the lives of people, as well as the importance of listening and collaborating with end users. It ignited her desire to pursue an architectural career driven by social purpose, a mission which she has passionately pursued for a decade.

In 2017, Michi spent 6 months travelling across Asia studying the regional adaptations of vernacular housing in response to the local climate. She later applied this research to her Master’s design thesis, exploring alternative housing and development models specific to Australian climactic conditions in opposition to the existing model of suburban sprawl. While cohousing might seem a relatively novel concept in modern Australia, many of the principles it embodies have existed for centuries in vernacular housing typologies such as the Haveli’s of Udaipur, the Fujian Tulou roundhouses and the Chinese Siheyuan.

Qualifications

Registered Architect ACT Reg. No 2810

Master of Architecture, University of Newcastle

Bachelor of Architecture, University of Newcastle

Awards

2023 | Paul Pholeros Architecture Scholarship- 2023

2022 | RMIT /Politecnico di Milano REDI PhD Scholarship - 2022 (not accepted)

2017 | The University of Newcastle, The Parker Fellowship

2011 | The University of Newcastle Dean’s Merit List

Committees

2020 - 2021 | Co-Chair, EmAGN ACT, Australian Institute of Architects, ACT Chapter

Work Experience

2022 - Present | Architect, Light House Architecture & Science

2018-2022 | Graduate Architect/Architect, COX Architecture, Canberra

2015 - 2018 | dwp (Design World Partnership), Newcastle – Architectural Assistant, Architectural Graduate

2014 - 2015 | GROUP GSA, Sydney – Architectural Assistant