Paul Pholeros

by Heather Livingston
Contributing Editor

Summary: Paul Pholeros is the director of Healthabitat, an organization that aims to improve Australian Aboriginal people’s living environment, and consequently their health, and national program manager of Fixing Houses for Better Health and Housing for Health projects, including several research and development projects. As principal of Paul Pholeros Architects in Sydney, Australia, Pholeros works on a variety of urban, rural, remote, and international design projects.

Education
I studied architecture at the University of Sydney in the 1970s, when issues of the environment, ecology, and the social dimensions of architecture were being introduced. With hindsight, these issues, and the great teachers who introduced them, had a major impact on the type of work and options I have followed throughout my career.

In the fourth year of the degree, it was a requirement that students gain practical experience working in an architecture office. I was one of three students who opted for the alternative of buying a 30-year-old double-decker bus and driving around the edge of Australia taking a show on the environment to school children. While missing some technical and office skills, the 10,000-mile journey over nine months forever imbedded in me an appreciation of the richness and variety of the country.

Why did you become an architect?
I have no idea! I had drawn and painted from the age of five and always loved mathematics, and someone suggested the two combined would make an architect. No one in my family had ever known an architect and had no experience with universities. There was no direction or pressure from family and no knowledge on my part. It was pure luck.

What are you currently reading?
I am re-reading Guns Germs and Steel [by Jared Diamond] and a book on the English/Australian artist John Wolsely. The first gives a set of impressive theories on why cultures are “successful” and the importance of place for that success. The second shows an artist’s detailed, intimate exploration and immersion into landscapes. John sees the fine grain of a much bigger picture and reminds me of the 18th-century scientific artists that accompanied explorations.

What motivated you to co-found Healthabitat?
I wish I had been the motivating force but the truth is Healthabitat was “born” several years after an indigenous [Australian aboriginal) leader of an aboriginal-controlled health service in the central desert area of Australia needed to “stop people getting sick.”

In 1985, having run the health service for three years, he had noticed that health had not improved and that 80 percent of the problems people were presenting with at the health clinics were generated by the poor living environment.

With a medical doctor and public and environmental health specialist and 18 local indigenous people, we worked for two years to improve the living environment and consequently health. The medical doctor, environmental health specialist, and “the architect” decided that the relationship should be formalized and the work expanded to other areas of Australia, and Healthabitat was formed.

How does the Fixing Houses for Better Health program help residents living in poor conditions?
The key principles are:

• On the first day of any project, to make change immediately by fixing things in existing houses; we take the tools and people to each place to ensure this can happen
• At least 75 percent of all staff working on the projects must be local indigenous people
• There is a strict safety and health priority for the work, so things that will kill you today are fixed first and then we follow a nine-point health priority.

The work at the outset is low budget, dirty, and un-heroic, but it improves people’s day-to-day lives by giving them running water, a working shower, a working toilet, hot water, and a place to cook a meal. What we learn from fixing existing poor quality houses we then use to help many people, including architects, manufacturers, trades, and—perhaps most importantly—local indigenous people to design, build, and manage houses better.

What is the greatest obstacle to providing healthy homes?
One of the greatest obstacles has been the myth-making by lazy professionals, builders, and government officials. The greatest myth has been that indigenous people damage or vandalize houses and that is the reason for the poor quality of housing. This lets everyone off the hook.

We keep detailed records of why we fix houses and record every item fixed, the cost, and why the fix work was needed. Since 1999—and having fixed over 100,000 items in houses around the country—the “damaged” items account for less than 10 percent of money spent. Items that needed fixing because they were installed incorrectly or initially poorly built consumed 25 percent of the budget and the bulk of money spent was on normal day to day maintenance required in all houses.

What results have you seen from the program?
Houses have improved function and the health team has shown a consequent improvement in health, particularly those illnesses that are caused by poor environmental conditions. Also important has been the training and ongoing employment of local Indigenous people. For long-term change, building an easily accessed, “evidenced-based” set of data and design principles has been essential. Producing a range of publications over 20 years is improving the design, construction, and maintenance of houses.

How many people have been helped?
Since 1999, more than 35,000 indigenous people have had their houses physically improved. Since 1985, it’s a lot more, but it is not about numbers alone. This work is not about helping, it is about ensuring basic justice for all citizens of the country; a house that has basic function. I have yet to enter an aboriginal person’s house where the family doesn’t want their children to be healthy and safe. Each person in each family is important and the work starts at this level and builds from there.

What advice would you give to American architects who want to increase the quality of living conditions in the U.S.?
I would not be so bold to give any advice. I have been inspired on many occasions both within the USA and internationally by the work of many of your architects. All architects should work to ensure there are reasonable living conditions for all citizens and there are many ways to achieve this dream.