Paul Walter

Director | BArch, BA(Arch), BBus 

Paul has broad experiences in the field of urban design and architecture, having worked in the State Government of NSW as well as private practice both in Australia and Papua New Guinea. This experience includes: City-scale urban plans; town centre master planning; design of residential, mixed-use projects and the development of policy. He has extensive experience on both sides of the approval process, consulting both developers and to government.

Paul chaired the Australian Institute of Architects, Built Environment Committee (NSW) from 2014 to 2020 and was Vice-president of the NSW Chapter in 2020. He has lectured locally and internationally on urban design and urban policy. He also serves as an expert witness in the NSW Land & Environment Court. In 2020 he was appointed to the NSW State Design Review Panel.

Belinda Walter

Design Director | BArch, BA(Arch), AdvDip(IndDes), BBus | Registered Architect 11696

Belinda has experience across a broad spectrum of architectural projects, from international airports to beautifully detailed living spaces. She has worked in urban renewal with the NSW Government’s Urban Design Advisory Service, and Woodhead International, as well as producing a substantial body of work in her own right, including heritage renovations and new houses, such as the home of actor Hugo Weaving and his family. 
 
Since joining Atlas she has completed a number of projects, including the thousand-student dining hall at the University of Technology PNG; a landmark campus building that is economical, beautiful and  culturally sensitive.

Belinda is known for her extraordinary and subtle control of space; resolving complex and challenging design briefs into satisfying architecture full of rich tactile spaces. 

Christy Lai

Urban Designer | BEng (Civil), MUDD

Christy has a Masters of Urban Design and Development and has been working with Atlas Urban since 2018. She is passionate about people’s perception of spaces within the city. How the shape and scale of spaces influence possibilities for action and feelings towards the city and one another. She brings strong skills across drawing, graphics, and GIS. Christy’s background in Civil Engineering gives her clear insight into systems-thinking and problem-solving.

Her role covers urban design, project management, client liaison, and stakeholder consultation. Her passion for design and research, together with and technical skills bring a rich perspective to the team.

Roderick Simpson

Architect | Urban Designer, Consultant

Roderick Simpson is a Registered Architect, a fellow of the Planning Institute, a corporate member of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and Recognised Urban Designer (UDG UK).

Prior to being appointed as the inaugural Environment Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission, he was director of the Urban Design and Urbanism programs at the University of Sydney until 2016. His work has focused on sustainability since the early 1990s and more recently resilience. His current focus is to shift practice from planning’s narrow focus on transport and productivity to give equal importance to ‘blue and green infrastructure’ as a starting point for planning and the need to recognise the importance of urban design at all scales and stages of urban development.

Rod is currently an Adjunct Professor at UNSW Art Design Architecture, is a Member of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia and was a Trustee of Sydney Living Museums 2011- 2022. He is Chair of the External Advisory Panel of the Western Sydney Architecture Program, co-panelist of the Byron Bay Design Excellence Panel and is a member of the State Design Review Panel.

Kenneth Atasoa

Regional and Urban Planner, Consultant

Kenneth is a leading regional and urban planner who joined the Atlas Urban team in 2022. Kenneth has played a pivotal role in shaping the development landscape of Port Moresby, having dedicated over 20 years of his career to the National Capital District Commission (NCDC).

Possessing an in-depth understanding of Physical Planning and Land laws and processes in Papua New Guinea, Kenneth is well-versed in navigating the intricacies of the legal framework surrounding urban planning and development. His expertise and leadership have played a vital role in shaping sustainable and vibrant communities, while his passion for inclusive and participatory approaches continues to drive positive change in the development landscape.

Simon Rosewell

Architect | BArch, BA(Arch), BBCM | Registered Architect 7471

Simon is an Architect and Project Manager, with over 20 years’ experience across a range of sectors and roles in project design and delivery. The various strings to his bow connect an understanding of the qualities of place and of materials with a very practical understanding of construction. Simon’s work as an architect extends from beautifully detailed houses to public art projects, and complex institutional buildings.

David Duncan

Landscape Architect, Consultant

David has been a practising landscape architect for over 20 years. He has a strong collaborative spirit in design, and this has grown to be a design collective and business collaboration with a multitude of architectural and urban design practices in a broad range of disciplines, including with landscape architecture, colleagues.

He has a unique focus on small and large scale community, public domain and master planning projects for several Councils in Sydney. Based on the Central Coast, this also includes working with regional councils. He provides expertise in master planning design, urban greening, social sustainability, advocacy, climate change adaption, green infrastructure and living architecture. Throughout his professional career, he has overseen the design development, management and delivery of significant, Sydney public master plans and public domain projects, with a diversity of size, budget and scope.

Dr Geetha Abayasekara

Development Planner, Consultant

Dr Abayasekara is a development planner with over 30 years experience working in urban and village planning in developing countries.

As the first Director of the Human Settlements Division of the National Building Research Organisation in Sri Lanka, she initiated and successfully implemented its research program under UNDP sponsorship focusing on urban and rural communities to inform national policy on the planning of housing and urban settlements. She extended the research program to the Asia Pacific region as Sri Lanka’s Project Coordinator for the UNDP/UNIDO. In recent years she has been active in urban planning in PNG and the Pacific.

Timothy de Mestre

Agricultural Specialist, Consultant

Tim de Mestre has extensive knowledge of agriculture sector, he comes with a background in corporate agriculture and previously held senior positions in corporate agribusinesses Paraway Pastoral, Twynam Agriculture and Clyde Agriculture. He was the New South Wales Local Land Services(LLS) Executive Chair in 2016. His role required leadership of the agency to deliver upon the current Local and Services and the Biodiversity Act. The role was one of governance, advocacy and strategy, working with many stakeholder investors (both ratepayers and other funding Government agencies / peak bodies) and at the Board level.