Julian Ashton has been appointed as a Principal at BVN Architecture.

National Director, James Grose said, ‘Architecture is highly collaborative and as the portfolio of our projects broadens, the intelligence, sophistication and culture of our team constantly evolves.’

He noted that Julian Ashton’s architectural experience and skill, particularly in health, research and education projects will add further depth to the innovative culture being developed by BVN Architecture.

Since joining BVN as a Practice Director in 2009, Mr Ashton has worked on a number of major projects including the Campbelltown Hospital Redevelopment , Millennium Research Institute at Westmead, Kinghorn Cancer Centre and Sydney Childrens Hospital.

Julian was inspired to take up architecture by his remarkable great Uncle Nigel Ashton who was one of the most formidable thinkers in architecture and planning in the mid 20th century and whose achievements included the Sydney Region Outline Plan in 1968.

According to Julian Ashton, ‘From the last project comes ideas for the next, architecture is very much an evolutionary process which draws on the specific experiences of not only each building but which also responds to and evolves from ideas and examples from other typologies.’

He maintains that the key to modern research and health buildings is ‘their ability to be flexible and adapt to change whilst creating spaces that are creative, joyful and inspiring.’

‘For example in hospitals, as in any building, the experience of natural light is now considered an important contributor to amenity, this means windows are not only in wards, but are also incorporated into waiting areas and inserted at the ends of corridors.’

 ‘This means that when you step into a corridor you can experience whether it’s sunny or raining outside, you also get a sense of space and this has an entirely different effect to that created by the enclosed corridors of older hospital designs,’ he said.

For Julian Ashton looking ahead in his new role as BVN Principal, he is interested in bringing areas of expertise together and applying them to each new building challenge.

 ‘There is not just a set design solution for any type of building and I look forward to participating in designs that continually improve the experience of the people who live and work within them,’ said Julian.