Industry Leaders EP19 with Dua Green

Seton Walsh-Rose sits down with Dua Green, CEO of AJC (Allen Jack + Cottier) — a Sydney architecture practice of around eighty people, celebrating 70 years and recently recognised with the NSW Enduring Architecture Award. The two first met at the Australian Design Review 30UNDER30 leadership retreat in Bali, and Dua’s story is anything but a straight line: from a Lego-obsessed childhood and an architect father, to Newcastle, London, silversmithing, tutoring, a buyer’s-agent licence and a stint on the client side — before returning to the practice she now leads.

It’s a warm, practical conversation about what architecture really is beyond the design, why collaboration beats the lone genius, and how working part-time forced her to master the leadership skill of letting go. Dua makes the case that a non-linear career is a strength, that great teams are assembled like a puzzle, and that AI is an opportunity to automate the repetitive and free architects for design — as long as the profession protects how the next generatio

Episode Chapters

• 00:11 Welcome & Introduction
• 00:46 What AJC Is
• 01:55 70 Years & an Enduring Award
• 02:38 Sydney-Based, ~80 People
• 02:55 Why Architecture?
• 04:13 Thinking Three-Dimensionally
• 04:39 What Architecture Really Is
• 05:33 Big Picture vs Detail
• 06:43 Why Teams Balance Skills
• 08:15 Keeping the Design Culture
• 09:20 Newcastle & Problem-Based Learning
• 09:46 Residential Work, then London
• 11:56 London Projects
• 13:03 Returning to AJC
• 14:33 Kids, Part-Time & Trying Things
• 15:04 Silversmithing
• 16:11 Design Tutoring at Sydney
• 17:06 The Load of Working Parenthood
• 18:59 A Buyer’s-Agent Detour
• 20:30 The Client Side
• 21:46 Missing Design
• 22:02 Architects & Self-Actualisation
• 24:41 Small Decisions That Matter
• 26:08 Back to AJC
• 29:48 Learning to Let Go
• 30:25 The Evolution of a Career
• 32:09 Building a Team Like a Puzzle
• 33:08 AI as Opportunity
• 34:15 The Graduate Skills Question
• 36:27 What Won’t Change
• 38:46 Reflections & Close

Key Takeaways

• Know what architecture really is
• The consummate architect holds both scales
• No one person designs a building
• Make development a continuous conversation
• A non-linear career is a strength
• Keep a faster creative outlet
• Part-time works with great communication
• Leadership means learning to let go
• Use AI to free the design
• Relationships and trust won’t change

Sound Bites / Quotes:
““It’s really important to take the time to understand what architecture actually is as a career — the legislation, responsibility and risk.”
— Dua Green, ~04:39

“If you get the right team together, you balance those skills — and the energy that comes out of that can be so rewarding.”
— Dua Green, ~06:43

“Rather than waiting a year for a performance review, try and make it more of a continuous conversation.”
— Dua Green, ~08:50

References & Resources

• Dua Green — AJC profile: https://architectsajc.com/person/dua-green/
• AJC (Allen Jack + Cottier) — Sydney architecture practice: https://architectsajc.com/
• AJC announces Dua Green as CEO (July 2025): https://architectsajc.com/ajc-announces-dua-green-as-chief-executive-officer-with-michael-heenan-continuing-as-chair-of-the-board-and-design-lead/
• AJC wins second consecutive NSW Enduring Architecture Award: https://www.australiandesignreview.com/architecture/ajc-architects-win-second-consecutive-nsw-enduring-architecture-award/
• Australian Design Review 30UNDER30 — where Dua and Seton met (Bali retreat): https://www.australiandesignreview.com/30under30/about-the-program/
• James Turrell — the light artist whose window lighting AJC integrated in a London gallery: https://jamesturrell.com
• University of Newcastle — where Dua studied architecture: https://www.newcastle.edu.au
• The University of Sydney — where Dua tutored design: https://www.sydney.edu.au
• Loom — the async video tool Seton recommends for remote and part-time teams: https://www.loom.com