Jenny Newman & Rebecca Boland | Adelaide Winter 2025

Our conversationalists for this episode are Jenny Newman and Rebecca Boland. Jenny has over 25 years’ experience in architecture and planning, including 15 years serving on State and Local Government planning panels in South Australia. She is currently a Senior Associate at Swanbury Penglase Architects. 

Rebecca Boland works for Studio Nine Architects and became a registered architect in the same week of the Salon. Rebecca’s interest in the housing affordability crisis specifically for displaced women, led to her receiving the Peter Corrigan Memorial Medal and an honourable mention in the AA Prize for Unbuilt Work for her public housing concept design ‘Lost Property’.

With candour and generosity, Rebecca and Jenny share their circuitous paths to working in architecture in Adelaide and the professional experiences that have enriched their work. Rebecca is grateful for her unconventional path into architecture and says she wouldn’t change a thing. Jenny describes the arduous process of getting registered in Australia again after realising her UK registration was not transferable (at the time). The setback merely increased her drive to progress, take on fresh challenges, and “say yes to everything”. 

Topics range from AI and the rapid pace of technological change to the progress women have made in the industry, the challenges of being the only woman in the room, and the importance of collaboration and mutual support. 

This episode was recorded live on Kaurna Country at the 2025 Adelaide Winter Salon. Held at the Australian Institute of Architect on 19 June 2025, the Salon was organised by Alison McFadyen. Photos: Benjamin Lieu.

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