Alumni Award for Outstanding Achievement in Community Service - 2006

Col James has been dedicated to the creation and improvement of housing for the poor, homeless, disadvantaged and Aboriginal groups for over 30 years. He has been a pioneer in the development and creation of new forms of housing to accommodate the poor, providing innovative solutions that have taken account of individual and community needs.

At the request of South Sydney Council Col engaged with student squatters in Sydney, and his work lead to the development of caretaker leasing and the launch of the homeless assistance group CRASH – Construction Industry Relief and Assistance for the Single Homeless.

Col has provided pro-bono architectural services to a number of Aboriginal service groups and contributed widely to housing and sustainability debates in the community. Dedicated to creating and improving Aboriginal housing and services, he has been a driving force in building bonds between the University, the Aboriginal Housing Company and the local Darlington community both as a local resident and also as Director of the IB Fell Housing Research Centre of the Faculty of Architecture.

In 1994 Col was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for services to architecture and to the community. The Alumni Award for Community Service is conferred upon Col in 2006 in recognition of his outstanding community services to the poor, homeless, disadvantaged and Aboriginal groups.

photo: Carmen Lee Spiers