by Heather Livingston
Contributing Editor

Summary: Louise Cox recently was elected president of the International Union of Architects (UIA), and is only the second woman selected to lead the organization. She previously served the UIA as first vice president and vice president of Region IV, representing Asia and Oceania. She has served on the UIA Council since 1996. Cox also is a past president of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA), the NSW Chapter of the RAIA, and a previous RAIA councilor. She is the treasurer of DOCOMOMO Australia and a former member of the Heritage Council of New South Wales. Cox is the coordinator of the regional UIA Heritage Work Programmes and was instrumental in negotiating the agreement between UIA & ICOMOS International and UIA & DOCOMOMO International, both signed in March 2007. Cox is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University of New South Wales and a board member of Standards Australia. In November 2004, she became an Honorary Life Councilor of Standards Australia. In 1999, she was made a member in the General Division of the Order of Australia.

Educational background
University of Sydney, Australia, BArch and Diploma of Town and Country Planning.

Currently reading
Biography of Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi, and another one on Einstein.

Early career
I have always worked on large projects, usually institutional, but I am very interested in historic preservation as well. I spent 25 years building hospitals for government clients in Australia and in Asia.

Professional influences
My former senior director in my office, Peter Johnson, was involved with local Institute affairs and was national president of RAIA and of the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA). He was interested in international people; he introduced me to some of them, and I became interested also. I first went to a CAA Congress in 1985 and a UIA one in 1990. I enjoyed the people, their cultures, and the way they all think, which is different, but the same.

Why did you run for president of UIA?
Because I felt that I could give something back to my profession and I wanted to do this internationally. We all need to share what we are doing. I was president of my chapter, New South Wales, and national president of RAIA, and I knew that I could do something, because I had already done this nationally.

What do you hope to accomplish during your presidency?
I hope to have students active in UIA Council and make sure that sustainability is understood in all the UIA work programs and that we deal with this actively from now on. I want to set up Disaster Relief and Housing without Borders work programs and make sure that UIA online CPD [continuing professional development] works, has lots of product, and is an excellent resource for all architects. UIA needs to be more active in Africa and South America and encourage them to trust us and work with us.