How does winning an architecture award change the narrative around good design?
Architect Matt Delroy-Carr receives the Wallace Greenham Award for Sustainability from the Honourable Doctor Katrina Stratton MLC, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Planning and Lands; Housing and Works; Health Infrastructure, representing the Honourable John Carey MLA and representing the Honourable Rita Saffioti MLA, at the 2026 WA Architecture Awards.
Photography by David Broadway.
One of our long-standing clients - Matt Delroy-Carr of MDCA Architects - recently won a named award at the 2026 WA Architecture Awards.
MDC Architects’ Hinderwell House project – located on an infill site in Scarborough – won The Wallace Greenham Award for Sustainable Architecture.
Despite stiff competition in the Sustainability category, this relatively restrained and modest project – in terms of its overall size and the materials used - won the top prize.
This recognition proves that well-designed, comfortable, sustainable and affordable homes are within the reach of young families.
It also helps to shift the narrative around what architecture is, and who should benefit from good design.
After winning the award, Matt generously provided this feedback about our ongoing collaboration, highlighting the fact that Rachael had encouraged him to enter this exemplar project into this year’s awards program:
“We were thrilled to receive the Wallace Greenham Award for Sustainable Architecture at the recent WA Chapter Architecture Awards.
Hinderwell House is a very humble home for a young family, yet Rachael really encouraged us to see the value of this in a broader sense; the fact that it offered an alternative to the market, one that was highly sustainable and economically viable.
We have been collaborating with Rachael and Sounds Like Design for around five years now, and the value Rachael has brought to our practice is immense.
Her insights have guided our internal discussions and provided us with significantly more clarity and direction regarding our architectural focus and overall business goals.
As a relatively young practice, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the various opportunities that arise. By focusing on the core purpose of our practice, we have improved our ability to communicate with clients, allowing us to carve out our own niche within a diverse industry full of talented individuals.
Rachael’s contributions have been instrumental in transforming our interests and ideas into a wonderful client base filled with exciting projects.”
How are architects changing the narrative?
A look back over past winners confirms that the Wallace Greenham Award is usually bestowed upon higher-budget public projects, such as The Metronet Morley-Ellenbrook Line Project (2025) and Ravensthorpe Cultural Precinct (2024).
In 2026, the shortlisted projects included:
ECU City by Lyons with Silver Thomas Hanley and Haworth Tompkins;
Common Ground East Perth by Gresley Abas; and
AngliSchools House by Hassell.
There were also five other family homes in the Sustainability category, plus the Special Needs Dental Clinic by SPH architecture + interiors; the South Beach public facilities by Bernard Seeber Architects; and the Gibbon Crossing and Parkland Heart at Perth Zoo by iredale pedersen hook architects with HASSELL.
The jury citation highlighted the fact that Hinderwell House contains lessons for the broader housing market, and challenges widely-accepted beliefs around sustainability:
“Hinderwell House is humble, yet its message to the architectural profession is weighty and critical: it showcases sustainable design strategies that the industry must support by broadcasting and scaling them. It is economically sustainable, successfully arguing against the narrative that sustainability is expensive.”
Would you like some help to “change the narrative” with your projects?
There are lots of ways to tell new and different stories about the transformative power of architecture and good design.
One of the easiest and fastest ways is via our CPD Express training - Get Published for Architects - which works on two levels:
it helps architects to get their projects and subject-matter expert articles published in the media; and
it describes how to tell new and different stories - and to expand the audience and market for good design - by elevating the role of architects and architecture in public discourse.
We also offer Acupuncture Sessions to workshop your story pitches and provide tips on seeking publication, and more intensive business development and marketing consulting packages. (Matt completed our Review + Reset package in the second half of 2021, and has been an ongoing retainer client since January 2022).
If you’d like to chat about which of our CPD training products and/or consulting services suit you best, you can book a free 30-minute Zoom call with Rachael, to discuss the various options available.