PeopleG003
Tessa Forde
Tessa Forde is a daughter, sister, partner, friend, maker, organiser, swimmer, teacher, researcher, writer and architecture worker based in Aotearoa New Zealand. When she was 15, after a bout of second places, she won the The Tryer’s Cup at her local swim club “for trying really hard but not always doing that well”, and she’s been trying hard and coming second ever since. Tessa’s practice, explored through a PhD, is one of ‘school-making’, 'ground-making', and organising—establishing platforms and events that experiment with how architecture is practised, and make ground for new modes of being and knowing to emerge. These have included the Free School of Architecture and the Architecture Beyond Capitalism School based in the US and globally online; and The Night School and pre:fab platform operating locally in Aotearoa. Tessa has lived and worked in Los Angeles California, and in 2024 Tessa received a scholarship to spend a year in Valparaíso, Chile, researching and learning alongside students at the Escuela de Arquitectura y Diseño PUCV, and observing and participating in the activities at La Ciudad Abierta (The Open City). Her time there has had a profound impact on her life and practice.
Leonard Hobbins
Leonard Hobbins dreams of lines: clean surf breaks and tidy drawing sets. Leonard grew up on the beach in Whiritoa, surfing, running, and painting like his Mum and Grandad. He discovered a love for architecture upon witnessing Salvador Dali's egg crowned home and he hasn't looked back since. He has worked on medium density housing in suburban Los Angeles California, and experimental earth building at La Ciudad Abierta in Chile. A member of the Earthbuilding Association of New Zealand, he is interested in how natural building materials can outperform conventional materials, while also offering an alternative to designers seeking to operate outside of supply chains that tie their practice to harmful labour conditions and environmental degradation in other countries. At Groupwork, Leonard has continued his personal practice seeking to deliver extraordinary design solutions in ordinary places and for ordinary people.
Simon Glaister
Simon Glaister is an artist, seismic engineer, and architectural designer. His expertise is in turning complex, abstract, and/or loosely defined, hard-to-elaborate ideas into intuitive and affective outcomes at any scale. As a PhD candidate in engineering he authored the foundational paper in analytical seismic vulnerability assessment and meta analysis for reinforced concrete and steel structures now used by the reinsurance industry around the world. Simon cares about revealing and evolving the connection between people and the places they live.
