Geoff Warn
GEOFF WARN – Founding Partner | Creative Director
ARCH (WAIT), MA. ARCH (RMIT), BA. COMP. LIT (MURDOCH),
REGISTERED ARCHITECT 997
“The house of architecture has many windows”
…after Henry James
Geoff is the Founder and Creative Director of With Architecture Studio, bringing particular experience in urban design, master planning, arts projects, educational projects, civic architecture and technical buildings. Throughout his career of over 40 years, Geoff has been an enthusiastic leader, promoter and spokesperson for the value of design excellence and creative practice.
Geoff Warn was the Professor of Architecture at Curtin University (2005 – 2010) and was appointed WA Government Architect in November 2013, a position he held till February 2020. In that role Geoff provided leadership and independent strategic advice to government to improve the design of
public buildings and spaces, and enhance the quality of the built environment, which included several high-profile projects— Perth Stadium, the WA Museum, Elizabeth Quay, MetroNet, and the release of the Apartment Design Policy as part of Design WA, a major planning reform initiative. He also championed the complete overhaul and rejuvenation of the Perth Cultural Centre with links to a Performing Arts Precinct around the Concert Hall and adjacent the Swan River. Geoff was the inaugural Chair of WA’s first State Design Review Panel, was a member of the Central Perth Planning Committee, and the City of Perth Design Review Panel.
Geoff has a focus on urbanism and contemporary architecture that promotes engaged experiences within the built environment. He has particular interest in the performative role of design action and the relationships it can forge between strategic visioning, innovation and purposeful outcomes that are bedded in generative ideas. He is an advocate for the economic and social values of good design and the benefits that historical and theoretical perspectives can bring to creative practice. He champions a structured working method that will enable a thorough design process to be fully integrated into a project’s delivery system.