For more than 30 years, Kerstin Thompson’s eponymous practice, Kerstin Thompson Architects (KTA), has produced architecture of substance that has enhanced the lives of people and places across Australia. Raised in Melbourne by a father who encouraged inquiry and a mother who renovated homes, Thompson’s early exposure to homemaking shaped the philosophies that would define her career.

For Thompson, the idea of home extends beyond a single dwelling to encompass all the places that connect people with each other, the spaces they inhabit, and the landscapes around them. She initially considered a career in psychiatry before discovering design in her final year of school, enrolling in Interior Architecture at RMIT before transferring into architecture during a foundational first year that crystallised her ideas about the relationship between inside and outside.

After third year, Thompson moved to Milan to work in the design studio of Matteo Thun, absorbing the city and the practice’s diverse work across products, interiors and architecture, before returning to Australia to complete her studies and gain practical experience at Robinson Chen. A subsequent teaching position at RMIT became a formative period, allowing her to develop her thinking about the relationships between people, buildings and the grey areas between architectural norms.

In 1994, Thompson established Kerstin Thompson Architects, beginning with residential alterations before expanding into other sectors. Today, KTA employs more than 50 staff across civic and cultural, commercial, education and housing projects, with architecture defined by sensitivity to people and place.

The practice’s work includes the climate-resilient Bundanoon Art Museum and Bridge, the Eva and Marc Besen Centre at TarraWarra, the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, and the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne. Education projects span the Monash University Museum of Art, The Stables at the VCA, Broadmeadows Town Hall and Clyde Creek Primary School.

Residential work remains a mainstay, from single residences such as Erskine River House and Otway Beach House to multi-residential projects including Kerr Street Residences and Richmond Social Housing. Thompson is equally passionate about smaller commissions that serve communities directly, including four distinct police stations in Warrandyte, Hurstbridge, Marysville and Carrum Downs, each responding uniquely to its site, people and history.

In 2023, Thompson received the Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal, the nation’s highest architectural honour, in recognition of her influence as designer, educator and keynote speaker. She remains deeply invested in mentoring younger architects and advocating for fair remuneration and recognition of the profession’s contribution to the built environment.

Thompson describes her approach through the image of a flock of birds flying in unison, each contributing to the whole, a philosophy that shapes both her studio culture and her design process.

As a Luminary, Kerstin Thompson is a proud voice for her profession, and her singular talent continues to propel her toward making an incredible impact on the way we live.

Photography: Jessica Lindsay