Featured Article - City Shapers and Dealmakers
Katya Crema Director of Projects - Hip V. Hyp
Hip V. Hype director of projects Katya Crema is an advocate for female representation in development and together with partner Liam Wallis is developing sustainable design-led apartment projects.
“Healthy, enduring homes that get better with age and areembraced by community are the projects we want to be delivering.” And Melbourne-based Hip V. Hype is hitting the mark when it comes to sustainable, design-led architecture that is improving the built environment. Katya Crema is director of projects, alongside partner Liam Wallis. The couple and their two young children live and breathe the ideals and have lived in three of their own developments. “We use lived experience to constantly improve the homes we design and build,” Crema says. “We strive to design and build projects that look better in 10 years’ time than they did the day they were built.” Crema says she admires the women behind Armitage Jones, Sonya Miller and Olivia Christie, who are delivering “impressive scale projects across commercial and residential sectors”. “They seem to be one of the very few property development/project management businesses in Victoria led entirely by women. In an industry so heavily male dominated, particularly property development, what Sonya and Olivia have created is inspiring the next generation of women into this industry. Huge respect for those women.” But Crema has also been working in the background to develop grassroots connections in the industry and develop a pathway for more women into property development. “Women’s networking events go a long way in helping women to connect, share experiences and build networks, which in turn helps to retain women in the industry. “From my own personal experience, a grassroots initiative like the Women of ABP, an alumni networking group I formed with fellow colleagues graduating out of the University of Melbourne’s Architecture, Building and Planning faculty, has had a significant impact on my own female network in the industry and has provided me with a platform to engage and work with other female leaders across the industry.” Hip V. Hype recently launched a hotel experience at its Ferrars and York carbon-neutral apartment development at South Melbourne. The curated short-stay experience enables people to experience sustainable apartment living firsthand and showcases the intersection between design and sustainability.
12 – June / July 2023
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