Foster + Partners has published its Australian Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Based around the core pillars of relationships, respect and opportunities, RAPs provide tangible and substantive benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, increasing economic equity and supporting First Nations self-determination. Reconciliation Australia’s RAP Framework provides organisations with a structured approach to advance reconciliation.
Stuart Latham, Senior Executive Partner and Managing Partner, Foster + Partners, said: “Our inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan recognises that the spaces and places where we work intersect with the unceded lands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As architects and designers, we are authors of change in the built environment and acknowledge that First Nations peoples are the true custodians of these lands and their histories. The practice’s Reflect RAP seeks to establish long term, symbiotic relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through our work and the ensuing connections that emerge from it.”
Muir Livingstone, Partner and Sydney Studio Lead, Foster + Partners, added: “We have had the privilege of working on city shaping projects in Australia since 1997. Our architecture is inspired by context, is driven by environmental concerns and places people at the heart of every project. Under the guidance of our local Aboriginal partners, Yarnnup, who specialise in assisting organisations such as ours on the path to reconciliation, the Sydney office as well as senior colleagues from our headquarters in London have initiated a series of events and workshops to understand the drive of First Nations peoples and how Australia’s colonial past continues to impact their lives today.”
There are four different types of RAP that an organisation can develop: Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Each type is designed to suit an organisation at different stages of their reconciliation journey. The Reflect RAP is helping prepare Foster + Partners to participate in reconciliation meaningfully, engaging staff and leaders in understanding the importance of reconciliation, developing relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders, and scoping where the practice can best have impact in its sphere of influence. The practice is partnering with Yarnnup throughout the development, endorsement and implementation of its Reflect RAP and ongoing commitment to reconciliation.
Foster + Partners has worked closely with Teho Ropeyarn, an artist and curator originally from Injinoo, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, who lives and works in Cairns. Ropeyarn has created two prints that are on display in the practice’s Sydney and London offices – introducing the Reflect RAP to staff, colleagues and clients. The artwork, ‘Muraany Avang’, depicts the meeting of the river and the ocean. The symmetry encourages a universal perspective, with the artwork becoming a landscape that can be perceived by many on an equal footing. The piece also appears on the cover of the practice’s RAP document.
The practice is committed to working alongside First Nations peoples, businesses and communities, and recognises its responsibility to always act in the spirit of respect and reconciliation. This is especially important given the work it does and the close association with the planning and design of the land.