The Australian Islamic House was developed through the coordinated work of several professional disciplines over an extended period of design, planning, documentation, approval, and construction.

Architecture and interior design provided the overall direction of the project. Specialist consultants contributed expertise in structural engineering, transport and infrastructure planning, landscape architecture, environmental planning, and building-code compliance.

As architect and interior designer, Leyla Baydar Guven led the architectural design and coordinated these specialist contributions within the wider project framework. This collaboration helped align the design with structural requirements, site conditions, planning responsibilities, safety standards, and the practical demands of construction.

Architect and Interior Designer

Leyla Baydar Guven

Overseas-Qualified Architect and Interior Designer

Leyla Baydar Guven was responsible for the architectural and interior design of the Australian Islamic House. Her role included site planning, functional programming, spatial organisation, architectural form, interior design, material character, consultant coordination, and project documentation.

She maintained the overall design direction while working with engineers, planners, landscape specialists, builders, and the project management team. This continuity allowed structural, functional, aesthetic, and regulatory considerations to be addressed within a coherent architectural framework.

Her responsibility extended beyond the initial design concept. It continued through the documentation and coordination stages, helping to preserve the consistency and integrity of the project as it developed.

Structural Engineer

Majed Hawatt

Global Project Solutions

Leyla Baydar Guven and structural engineer Majed Hawatt had worked together since 1995. Their earlier collaborations included community buildings, townhouses, and private residences. This established a professional relationship based on experience, coordination, and trust.

For the Australian Islamic House, Hawatt’s structural expertise supported the development of a stable, durable, and technically achievable building. Close coordination between architect and engineer helped ensure that structural requirements remained compatible with the project’s spatial organisation and architectural character.

Their collaboration also supported the project’s response to council requirements, Australian Standards, and the Building Code of Australia. It provided an important connection between architectural intention and engineering feasibility throughout the design and documentation process.

Consulting Engineer for Transport and Environmental Planning

Lyle Marshall

Lyle Marshall & Associates Pty Ltd

Lyle Marshall began working with Leyla Baydar Guven on the Australian Islamic House project in 1997. His consultancy addressed surveying, transport movement, parking, infrastructure provision, and the long-term planning of the 2.877-hectare site.

This work supported the project’s three-stage development programme:

• Stage 1: the main mosque building and fountain
• Stage 2: the meeting hall
• Stage 3: the educational facilities and classrooms

Marshall’s planning coordinated the architectural site arrangement with traffic conditions, parking requirements, essential services, and future development. The resulting framework supported the initial mosque stage while allowing the wider site to accommodate later community and educational facilities.

Vehicular access presented a particular planning challenge. The architect explored the possibility of an additional entry and exit arrangement to improve access from both directions of the main road.

However, the site was largely enclosed by adjoining properties and had limited direct connection to the road. A secondary access route would have required wider planning changes, a longer approval process, and additional infrastructure costs. It was therefore not incorporated into the approved scheme. Future changes to the surrounding planning framework may create new possibilities for access at the rear boundary.

Landscape Architect

Scott Murray

Scott Murray began working on the landscape design of the Australian Islamic House in August 2002.

Leyla Baydar Guven supplied the architectural drawings and survey information in CAD format. These documents included the building layout, roads, parking areas, services, and the wider organisation of the site.

Working in coordination with the architect, Murray prepared a detailed landscape documentation package by March 2003. It included hardscape plans, planting plans, paving details, construction details, and landscape sections.

The package coordinated planting, circulation, paved areas, levels, materials, and landscape construction with the architectural and infrastructure plans.

Drawing Register by the Landscape Architect Scott Murray:

This drawing register shows that the landscape was developed as a documented technical component of the project. It was not conceived simply as planting around a completed building.

The paths, paved areas, planting, levels, and construction details were designed in relation to the building, parking system, circulation routes, services, and wider site plan. The landscape therefore forms part of the project’s overall architectural and environmental framework.

Future landscape work should be assessed against the original architectural, survey, and landscape documentation. Review by appropriately qualified design and landscape professionals would help ensure that later interventions remain compatible with the site’s original planning and design logic.

Environmental Planner

Neil Kennan

NEXUS Environmental Planning Pty Ltd

Neil Kennan prepared the Environmental Impact Statement for the Australian Islamic House at 2094 Camden Valley Way, Edmondson Park. The statement formed an important part of the development application and planning process.

It examined the relationship between the proposed place of public worship and the surrounding residential area. The assessment addressed planning requirements, traffic conditions, acoustic impacts, environmental considerations, and the protection of residential amenity.

According to the project documentation, the site was identified within a Zone R1 General Residential area under the Liverpool Local Environmental Plan 2008. Within this planning framework, a place of public worship required formal council consent and careful assessment of its likely effects.

Kennan’s environmental planning work complemented Leyla Baydar Guven’s architectural design. The environmental assessment addressed the planning and operational conditions of the proposal. The architectural design translated those conditions into a functional religious and community building.

Together, these contributions helped balance the needs of the Australian Islamic House with the responsibilities associated with development in a residential setting.

Building Code and Design Consultant

Chris Michaels

City Plan Services Pty Ltd

Chris Michaels prepared an independent Building Code of Australia assessment during the construction of the Australian Islamic House. The report, dated 30 September 2019, provided an additional professional review of building-code compliance and fire-safety matters, which served as a crucial second opinion for the architect and also brought a few matters to the attention of the builder and the project management team.

The report examined a proposal to change Stairs 3 and 4 from fire-isolated exits to non-fire-isolated exits. Its findings provided the project architect with an independent technical basis for requesting corrective action.

Dated 30 September 2019, this comprehensive report was the decisive factor in achieving BCA compliance and supporting the final Architectural Design Certification. The assessment supported the review and rectification of the stairways and other elements requiring attention. It also contributed to the project’s Building Code of Australia compliance and the final architectural design certification process.

Professional Collaboration and Design Continuity

The Australian Islamic House reflects the contribution of several professional disciplines working within one coordinated project framework.

Structural engineering supported the building’s stability and technical performance. Transport and infrastructure planning organised access, parking, services, and phased development. Landscape architecture connected the building with its wider site. Environmental planning addressed the relationship between community use and residential amenity. Building-code consultancy supported safety, compliance, and corrective action during construction.

These specialist contributions complemented the architectural and interior design led by Leyla Baydar Guven. Their coordination was essential to resolving the project’s technical, environmental, landscape, civic, and regulatory requirements.

The Australian Islamic House can therefore be understood both as a clearly directed work of architecture and as the result of sustained multidisciplinary collaboration. Leyla Baydar Guven provided continuity across the architectural and interior design, while the consultant team supplied the specialist expertise needed to carry the project from planning and documentation into built form.

Together, these professional contributions helped shape the Australian Islamic House as a complex, carefully documented, and enduring work of contemporary mosque architecture.