Winner of the Victorian RAIA 2001 Sir Osborne McCutcheon Award, Neil & Idle's Richmond Office & Studio.
Cameron Neil
Chris Idle

Neil & Idle Architects

Why did you decide to become an architect?
Cameron: It seemed like a good excuse to live down the coast for a few years. Also perceptions of variety and fun.
Chris (Billy): I liked to draw.

What keeps you motivated and inspired?
Cameron: People with unbridled enthusiasm.
Billy: The next project.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
Cameron: Giving up smoking for three years. My greatest failure was starting again.
Billy: Holding $3500 worth of unpaid parking fines.

In your opinion what personal qualities make a good architect?
Cameron: Honesty.
Billy: Vision and invention.

Do you have a favourite architect?
Cameron: I like lots of architects works, nothing exclusively comes to mind.
Billy: Peter Wilson.

What is your favourite international building?
Cameron: In the flesh, Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Waters inspired me in 1991.
Billy: TWA Terminal, New York.

Which Australian building excites you most?
Cameron: I still think it's the Sydney Opera House, its complexity reveals itself further each time I revisit.
Billy: Fed Square.

What do you see as the future threat facing Australian architecture?
Cameron: Prescriptive Planning Controls and predefined building envelopes.
Billy: Design Construct.

If you weren't an architect what would you be?
Cameron: A naked chef.
Billy: Graphic designer.

Your Idea of perfect happiness?
Cameron: Balancing as opposed to juggling, working on it.
Billy: Holidays and reading.

What elements/concerns do you deem most important in your work?
Cameron: Seeing a client really enjoy the experience of being involved in the architectural process and eventually the product.
Billy: Development of a formal language.

Neil & Idle Architects
21 Balmain St
Richmond
VIC 3121
t: 03 9428 5600
web:www.neil-idle.com.au