Our Board of Directors

WARWICK MIHALY, Chair, Insurance & Member Services

Warwick is principal of Mihaly Slocombe Architects and leader in the architecture profession. He is instrumental in championing positive change within the industry through mentoring the next generation of architects, as a Director of ArchiTeam, Committee member at the Australian Institute of Architects, and founder of Australia’s most widely read business blog for architects, Panfilo.

Warwick is the Director in charge of the Insurance and Member Services Portfolios. These portfolios aim to provide members with affordable PI & PL Insurance, and a series of additional services that support members.

In his spare time, Warwick practices yoga a lot and buys LEGO sets that he pretends are for his children.

JAMIE SORMANN,  Secretary. Awards, Advocacy & Research 

Jamie is a director of Foomann Architects, which he and Jo Foong established in 2008. Foomann is devoted to realising beautifully simple, sensitive spaces that are underpinned by utility, context and sustainability. Jamie is committed to collaboration and to sharing ideas with students, clients, colleagues and the architecture community.

Jamie graduated from University of Melbourne where he is a regular guest critic. He has been a jury member for the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects and a committee member for the AIA Emerging Architecture Graduates Network.

Jamie has been involved with Advocacy as a committee member, co-hosted the ArchiTeam 2018 Awards and featured with Foomann in The Naked Architect series. Jamie joined the ArchiTeam Board in 2019 as Director of Awards, Advocacy & Research to support and celebrate architectural practitioners for the betterment of the built environment. He is focused on launching new initiatives to advocate for the use of architects and to improving work conditions of ArchiTeam members so they can do their best work.

Jamie likes to impose his musical taste on others and maintains an active interest in pretentious films.  

SONIA SARANGI,  CPD Events & Conference

Sonia is a director of Atelier Red+Black, a tenacious thinker and problem solver. A highly capable project lead, her collaborative approach and strong negotiation skills bring a fresh perspective to the table.

Sonia is a strong advocate for diversity in the profession and has been involved in a number of mentoring programs, a guest critic and tutor at University of Melbourne - Melbourne School of Design and is a frequent contributor to Parlour.

Sonia has been a member of the ArchiTeam since 2017 and the (Continuing Professional Development CPD) committee since 2018, and was elected as an ArchiTeam Board member in 2019. She has recently taken over the CPD Events and Conference Portfolios.

Sonia is a keen photographer and often drives around the block a little bit longer just so she can finish listening to a podcast episode.

KALLIOPI VARKAS

Kalliopi Vakras is the director of Kalliopi Vakras Architects, a small architecture practice established in 2009.  

Kalliopi is a registered architect with over 20 years experience both locally and internationally, have worked in Vienna. Her background lies in residential, low scale multi residential, commercial and early learning architecture.  She has also taught various design studios for 8+ years.

Her design work is driven by the experience of the site and client requirements to create solutions that are not only visual but multi-sensory and a joy to interact with. Each design response pays particular attention to the detailing, use of materials, experiential qualities of the space and the utilisation of natural light in an attempt to create an enjoyable, usable, poetic and sustainable space. 

She is currently building an off-grid tiny home with her husband their rescue greyhound Dennis who plays an important role in the office.

DELIA TESCHENDORFF

Delia founded Delia Teschendorff Architecture in 2009. A registered architect in Victoria, she received her architecture degree from RMIT University. Her architecture studies included 12 months in the Masters Program at Sci-Arc, the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles, USA.

An award winning architect with a diverse career spanning over 20 years, she has worked in Los Angeles, USA for Narduli Grinstein Architects and in Berlin, Germany for renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. Prior to establishing her own practice, she worked with several leading design practices in Melbourne.

Delia’s experience has encompassed a broad range of projects, including international and local design competitions, urban design, resort design, institutional, education and residential architecture.

Delia is actively involved with the profession, including teaching, invited talks, jury panels and professional appointments. She has taught design and construction studios at Swinburne University, RMIT University and the MSD (Melbourne School of Design) at Melbourne University. Delia has been an examiner for the ARBV and has been involved in the development of Acumen Practice Notes for the AIA. Her work has featured in the Robin Boyd Open Day Series, and more recently in The Naked Architect Series, a collaboration between Open House Melbourne, Architects Registration Board of Victoria (ARBV) and ArchiTeam.

Committed to the belief that ‘design thinking’ can improve our built environment, Delia is currently undertaking PhD Research at Monash University (Architecture). Titled, ‘Site Thinking in the Suburbs’, Delia’s design research is an investigation into new design principles for housing in the fringe areas of Melbourne. The outcomes of this research may assist government policy makers, land developers and stakeholders to adopt more sustainable and innovative practice in Melbourne’s growth areas.

Delia was an Australian Institute of Architects (AIA), Victorian Chapter Councillor for two years from 2009 and was involved in the launch of the Victorian Reconciliation Action Plan while on council. She has been a Juror and Jury Chair for the Victorian AIA awards program and continues to be a mentor since 2012, as a part of the AIA Constructive Mentoring Program for Women in Architecture. Delia participated as a member of the ArchiTeam Awards jury in 2019.

Delia was the recipient of the Architects Registration Board of Victoria Architectural Services Award for 2016.