He spent a lifetime designing. Now he’s building tomorrow

Architect Alec Tzannes AM is a true trailblazer. Over a five-decade career, he has shaped some of Australia’s most significant civic and cultural projects. He has influenced how cities grow, how students learn, and how designers think about their role in the world. And his efforts have been recognised: he was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2014, and in 2018 the Australian Institute of Architects awarded him their highest honour, the Gold Medal.

“The main reason for doing things as a designer is to make a better world,” he says.

Good design is never solely about form or function, Alec believes. It’s about people, place, connection and responsibility.

After completing a bachelor’s degree in Sydney and then a master’s at New York’s Columbia University, Alec returned to Australia to take up a role in the NSW Government Architect’s Office. There, he worked on major public projects including the NSW Public Library and the Art Gallery of NSW.

By the early 1980s, he had founded his own studio, Tzannes, with a clear ambition: to design spaces that would enrich communities and endure over time.

When UNSW Sydney invited him to become Dean of the Faculty of the Built Environment in 2008, he saw a university aligned with his vision of the world. Its researchers weren’t chasing prestige; they were trying to shape what comes next.

For more than two decades, Alec has dedicated a portion of his income to causes he believes in – funding research into sustainable construction and digital innovation in architecture and design, and supporting a number of scholarships – including the Alec Tzannes Scholarship in Architecture and Built Environment – for students facing barriers to further education.

Now an emeritus professor at the University, Alec’s support for UNSW will continue through a generous gift in his Will. It will fund scholarships to help students live in one of the world’s most expensive cities. His hope is that the scholarships will give students the space to think deeply, to take risks and to pursue the kind of bold, values-driven design the world needs.

“It’s never about the money. The money is the vehicle,” he says. “I think philanthropy is best pitched as a partnership – we can offer this and you can offer that, and the two together will change the world.”

You, too, can support innovation and uplift future generations by including UNSW in your Will. For more information, contact Janet Hall at giftsinwills@unsw.edu.au or +61 478 492 032.