Studio

Moraene is a studio shaped by movement. Formed gradually, like the landform it’s named after.

We take our name from moraine, a landscape of unstratified glacial debris shaped through pressure, friction and time. This is how we work: not by following a formula, but through an open, responsive process. We embrace accumulation, difference, and dialogue.

  • Our practice brings together international experience across cultural, residential, commercial and civic projects. We work with clients locally and abroad to create spaces, experiences and objects that are shaped by conversation, grounded in place, and led by concept.

    We see design as a cultural act. Responsive to climate, community, and context. Each project begins with a guiding idea that integrates opportunities and constraints into a coherent whole. We find ingenuity and clarity in the realities of site, budget and brief.

Services

We work across architecture, interiors, urban design and masterplanning. Our services span the full life of a project, from early thinking through to delivery and beyond.

  • We offer:

    • Feasibility studies and master planning, assisting clients in identifying opportunities and constraints of a site.

    • Development of architectural briefs in close collaboration with clients.

    • ⁠Establishment of design principles informed by extensive site analysis, existing conditions, and the broader cultural and environmental context.

    • Sensitive treatment of heritage places and experience in the adaptive re-use of existing buildings.

    • Coordination and participation in community engagement and user consultation processes.

    • Communication of ideas through physical models, diagrams, and 3D renderings, with support for marketing imagery.

    • Coordination of planning approvals and authority negotiations.

    • ⁠Support for clients in value management and post-occupancy services.

    • Construction phase services, including contract administration, site inspections, and quality assurance to maintain design integrity during delivery.

    • Experience with a range of procurement methods, including Early Contractor Involvement (ECI), Design & Construct (D&C) contracts, and Construction Management, ensuring flexible and informed project strategies.

Approach

Each project begins with a guiding idea, an anchor that holds everything together. But our process remains fluid, open and iterative. We balance strong conceptual direction with responsiveness, using a range of analogue and digital tools to test, refine and evolve ideas throughout the life of a project.

  • Our process is hands-on, research-led, and exploratory. We engage in sketching, model-making, material testing and abstract spatial studies to understand form, light and atmosphere in tactile ways. These analogue tools allow us to move beyond the purely representational and think through making and discover unexpected opportunities.

    In parallel, we embrace cutting-edge digital methods; parametric design, AI-assisted tools, BIM, and environmental simulation to deepen our understanding and deliver precise, high-performing outcomes. These tools support iteration, performance analysis, and efficient documentation, while allowing space for experimentation and surprise.

    We prototype early and often both digitally and physically, so that ideas can evolve in response to context, feedback and collaboration. We believe the most compelling design outcomes come from a willingness to test, adapt and rethink.

    Design is never static. We treat it as a dynamic process. One shaped by research, constraint, collaboration and curiosity.

Country

Moraene works, learns and designs on the lands of the Kaurna People.

We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the Traditional Custodians of our shared lands and their enduring relationship with Country and recognise them as the first place makers on this land.

We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and extend that respect to all First Nations peoples.

Uluru Statment

As part of our ongoing comitment to reconciliation, Moraene supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart

Sustainability

We see sustainability as an ethic, not a checklist. It’s about designing in ways that give more than they take. Supporting ecological systems, cultural continuity, and human wellbeing. We embed generosity and reciprocity into the way we build, think and collaborate, working toward a more enduring and regenerative future.

  • Our approach is holistic. We integrate passive design strategies, circular thinking, and responsible material selection from the outset; not only to reduce impact, but to enhance the experience of space. We consider sustainability across all scales, from siting and structure to planting and long-term stewardship.

    But beyond performance metrics, we ask: What can this place give back? How can a building nourish the land it sits on, the people who use it, and the culture it becomes part of?

    We believe that sustainable design is not just technical, it’s cultural. It requires curiosity, humility, and ongoing dialogue. We work closely with communities, collaborators and consultants to deliver outcomes that are context-sensitive and resilient.

    This shift, from extraction to exchange, from efficiency to care, shapes everything we do. Our goal is to create architecture that supports life in all its forms, with quiet integrity and lasting generosity.