John de Manincor.
B.Sc. (Arch.), B.Arch (Hons.), PhD (RMIT University).
Registered Architect - NSW ARB No. 6787 | QLD ARB No. 4793
we can learn so much from
the non-human world ...
our work takes cues from that world and applies it to designs for low-impact living that are inventive and playful without mimicking "nature"
John is a registered architect in NSW and Queensland.
In addition to the design of numerous new houses and renovation projects, his extensive experience includes Art Camp Studios, Artspace Visual Arts Centre and Gallery Lane Cove, and larger public projects such as the Great Hall and Balcony Room at UTS and a major new facility for the State Emergency Services (SES) for Inner West Council. John has played a key role in the design and delivery numerous award-winning projects including the Great Hall and Balcony Room (University of Technology Sydney), Parramatta Transport Interchange and the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
He was an Associate at HASSELL and established AO: The Architecture Office in 2004 and worked with Adam Russell as DRAW: DE MANINCOR RUSSELL ARCHITECTURE WORKSHOP from 2007 ~ 2013.
Collaborative by nature, John has teamed up on projects with esteemed Australian architects such as CHROFI, Durbach Block Jaggers and John Wardle Architects as well as the internationally renowned practices Foster and Partners and Bjarke Ingles Group (BIG).
John has been involved in architectural education for more than 20 years and has lectured widely in Australia and abroad. He completed a PhD by design at He currently holds an honorary position at The University of Queensland. He is a past recipient of the Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship and was a Creative Director for the Australian Institute of Architects 2013 National Conference.
honours and awards
Shortlisted; NSW Architecture Awards 2021
Shortlisted; Creative Director of Australian Pavilion for Venice Architecture Biennale (with Sandra Kaji-O'Grady)
UTS Great Hall and Balcony Room (Design Architect, Principal DRAW)
Commendation; NSW Architecture Awards (Public)
Winner; NSW MBA Awards (education with Lipman)
Winner; International Category, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America(with Steensen Varming)
Commendation; NSW Illuminate Lighting Award (with Steensen Varming)
Shortlisted; Australian Interior Design Awards
Shortlisted; IDEA Interior Design Excellence Awards
Winner; Design Competition 2009
Runner Up: UTS Alumni Green Competition (Design Architect, Principal DRAW).
Winner; UTS Sign of the Times Competition (Design Architect, Principal DRAW).
Pointy House, Balmain (Design Architect, Principal DRAW).
Shortlisted; 2013 HOUSES Awards.
Shortlisted; 2013 NSW MBA Awards.
Yagoona Housing (Design Architect, Principal DRAW).
Peers Choice; About Face Research Competition
Highly Commended; About Face Research Competition
Runner Up; Doha Corniche Competition, UAE (with Kann Finch)
(Design Architect, Principal DRAW).
Parramatta Transport Interchange (Design Architect / Associate - HASSELL)
Winner; CCAA Public Domain Awards - Public Artworks (with Peter McGregor)
Commendation; CCAA Public Domain Awards
Excellence Award; Engineers Australia (Sydney), Infrastructure Projects
Winner; MBA National Awards for Excellence [Public Buildings + A$50m (Bovis Lend Lease)],
Winner; MBA NSW Awards for Excellence [Public Buildings + A$50m (Bovis Lend Lease)],
Premier's Award; Australian Institute of Architects (NSW) Awards,
Winner; AISC (NSW) Awards, Architectural, Industrial and Commercial Steel Design.
Certificate of Recognition; ACEA Awards of Excellence – Transport and Infrastructure
National Institute of Dramatic Art (Design Architect / Associate - HASSELL)
Winner - Sir John Sulman Award; Australian Institute of Architects (NSW).
Gold Medal; The Francis Greenway Society Green Building Awards
Shortlisted - 1997 SMH Young Designer of the Year Exhibition.
Shortlisted - 1995 SMH Young Designer of the Year Exhibition.
selected media
“Architecture and Neuroplasticity Collide” ArchitectureAU 2016
Charles Rowe, Burst Open Exhibition Review.
Trisha Croaker, ‘A House Finding its Identity’, Sydney Morning Herald, May 5, p. 46.
Laura Harding, ‘UTS Great Hall and Balcony Room’, Architecture Australia, vol. 101, no. 2, March
Kelsey Munro, ‘Designs on Future as University Reinvents Itself (UTS Great Hall)’,
Sydney Morning Herald, 16 December.
Stephen Crafti, ‘ Erskineville House’, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 August.
Penny Craswell, ‘The Concept of Home Explored in Home: Real and Ideal’,
Houses Magazine, no. 80, June 2011.
Hardy, P, ‘War Story’,
Inside, no. 50, pp. 40-42