Professor Donald Bates is a registered architect in Australia and the UK, and is the Director of LAB Architecture Studio. LAB Architecture Studio are the architects of Melbourne’s award-winning Federation Square. LAB have completed projects in the UK, China, Singapore, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, as well as Australia. The works of LAB have been exhibited in museums and exhibitions across Australia, Europe and the USA, and have been published in more than 50 international publications. [www.labarchitecture.com]

Professor Bates is a frequently invited juror on international design competitions, for projects in China, Vietnam, Europe, Libya, Lebanon, Armenia, and Australia. He was recently appointed as a juror to the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction, 2014. He is currently a member of the Victorian Design Review Panel, and has been an advisor to the School of Architecture, American University of Beirut and Department of Architecture, RMIT University. He is an External Examiner to the School of Architecture at Hong Kong University, and has been an External Examiner at the Bartlett School of Architecture and University of East London.

Professor Bates has lectured extensively in both an academic and professional capacity, with more than 140 lectures across North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia in the last 20 years. He has been the subject of numerous interviews, in print, radio and television.