MARRIED TO THE JOB
There are many different business models for an architecture practice, but one of the most fraught, surely, would be one run by life partners? Isn’t it hard enough to deal with the stress of operating a business without taking onboard any emotional baggage that comes when personal relationships are added to the mix?
Not so, say Rosa Coy and George Yiontis, who have run their titular Melbourne-based practice together since 1996.
The duo established the studio after finding success in their respective individual careers overseas. “We were both working for interesting practices,” recalls Yiontis. “And it came to the point where we had to make the decision about digging in there for the long-term.
“Rosa was with Renzo Piano and I was with a young company called Brunet Saunier Architects, which is now a very large company. Because of the cycle of the projects, I’d just finished three years working at a big music conservatory, and thinking, do I launch into the next cycle? Which commits me to maybe another five years of living there, or do I start thinking about the future?”
The couple’s children were another consideration. “We decided, both the practice and the children would be a
