Studio

Master of Architecture, University of Melbourne | Registered Architect, VIC & NSW
‍
BenCallery founded Ben Callery Architects more than a decade ago, after ten yearsat Zen Architects, a respected Melbourne practice with a kindred commitment toenvironmentally responsible design. He grew up surrounded by building. Familymembers worked in the trade, and his parents renovated and built their ownhomes several times over, so he came to see design and construction as ajoyful, creative process rather than simply a result.Benoversees every project and the studio as a whole. He is closely involved inearly design, working with the project leads and drawing their perspectivesinto the process, and he is happiest on site during construction. He believesan architect’s responsibility extends beyond the client to the wider cultureand environment: to show how we might build better, with respect for the land,and to reconnect people with nature. Timber is a constant in his work. Whenresponsibly specified it is renewable, and it brings warmth and wellbeing tothe people who live with it. Of the studio’s homes, he holds particularaffection for Elemental House, its first fully off-grid residence, which meetswind, rain and sun head-on rather than retreating from them.Bendraws on talks and podcasts, and on the way musicians, artists and filmmakersmove their audiences. Running along the Yarra and Merri Creek, surfing the SurfCoast and snowboarding in the high country give him room to reflect.

CarmelMichener joined Ben Callery Architects in 2025. She holds a Bachelor of Designand a Master of Architecture from the University of Melbourne, where she wasnamed on the Dean’s Honours List in 2022 and 2023, and brings experience inhigh-end heritage homes and interior fit-outs across Melbourne’s inner east.Colleagues rely on her for resolving design details and navigating planningapplications. Those skills were tested by a current project in Hawthorn, a rarenew build within a heritage overlay, which is about to begin on site. She isdrawn to spatial contrast, a compressed threshold that opens into a generousroom. She also sees architecture as part of a larger system of landscape,weather, street and community, the subject of her Master’s manifesto.