Narrm / Melbourne & Gadigal / Sydney
Upstream design and advice for better public places.
PLΛCE ΛSSEMBLY is an independent design and advisory practice that works with governments, institutions and mission-led organisations on the development of transformative design policies, strategies, standards and review.
Drawing on expertise across architecture, landscape architecture, urban design and community engagement, we partner with clients to navigate complexity, build consensus and realise enduring public value.
PLΛCE ΛSSEMBLY brings more than two decades of strategic design leadership across government, consulting, place-based research and client-side design practice.
From campus and precinct strategies to city design standards, governance and independent review, our work supports design excellence - from vision through implementation and long-term stewardship.
Photo by Madeline and Mine Studios x The Atlas of Belonging
About the Founder
As Director of PLΛCE ΛSSEMBLY, Jocelyn Chiew believes that great cities, campuses and precincts are shaped by what happens upstream - the strategies, standards, briefs and design review that set the ambition for transformative projects.
Prior to establishing PLΛCE ΛSSEMBLY, Jocelyn was City Architect and Director of Design at the City of Melbourne for five years and Campus Architect at Monash University for nearly a decade. She is a Fellow and former National Councillor of the Australian Institute of Architects, and a Fellow and former Board Director of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.
Jocelyn currently serves on the New South Wales and Victorian State Design Review Panels and contributes to advisory boards, committees and panels. She is also a sessional academic and researcher at RMIT University, focusing on housing and belonging in landscape architecture and the built environment.
Her work across consulting, public and institutional practice has been recognised at state, national and international levels, and presented internationally, including at the UIA World Congress of Architects.
