Our Story.

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WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG / DESIGN BY GRESLEY ABAS (WITH GROUNDED STUDIOS TEAM AS EMPLOYEES OF GRESLEY ABAS) IN COLLABORATION WITH GREGORY BURGESS AND REALMSTUDIOS.

At Grounded Studios,
we support communities
and ecologies to
strengthen and thrive.

—
LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL MASTER PLAN / BY GROUNDED STUDIOS WITH REALMSTUDIOS

We work closely with ambitious leaders and organisations to reveal the knowledge embedded in communities and grounded in place. By marrying this with traditional and contemporary architectural responses, we create built environments that imbue belonging, connection and relevance through time.

We are a small, agile, collaborative architecture and design practice with a trusted network of values-aligned expert partners - forged over decades of experience. This allows us to curate highly skilled teams that reflect the spirit and needs of each client, community and project.

We provide full architectural and interior design services from project definition to construction, masterplanning, and feasibility studies. We specialise in engagement, facilitate collaborative design processes, and undertake analysis and reporting. Research, education and advocacy are important on-going activities that support our design practice. 

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WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG / DESIGN BY GRESLEY ABAS (WITH GROUNDED STUDIOS TEAM AS EMPLOYEES OF GRESLEY ABAS) IN COLLABORATION WITH GREGORY BURGESS AND REALMSTUDIOS.

More than 40 years of professional experience

Involved in more than 20 award winning projects

Architecture
Interior Design
Engagement
Education
Advocacy 

Co-Chair of the
Architecture and Design Reconciliation
Industry Network Group (A&D RING)

Deep appreciation
of the significance
of Aboriginal Country which guides our design response

National
Reach

Grounded Studios is a small and thoroughly collaborative practice. Our strength comes from our extensive professional experience and trusted relationships with other disciplines that support our design process.

About our team.


Ahmad Abas
Director

Ahmad co-founded Grounded Studios in 2024 following 2 decades of experience as Founding Director of Gresley Abas Architects. Grounded Studios exists to create architecture and design that is grounded in relationships between peoples and place.

Ahmad is recognised for his creative design talent for which he has received multiple awards. He brings passionate and heart-felt energy to the team as the lead designer on our projects. With analytical skills that find opportunities beyond typical project constraints, Ahmad’s design and strategic thinking produces exceptional responses to every design brief.

Ahmad’s investment in strong relationships with our clients, communities with whom we work, collaborators and contractors bring the joy of design and creativity to the heart of our projects. On complex or logistically challenging projects, Ahmad’s experience demonstrates strong communication and negotiation skills, proven leadership and team management, and an ability to find solutions to difficult questions.

Ahmad is excited to bring Grounded Studios to life in order to best serve the interests of our clients, communities, and built environments that care for the interconnected places where we work.

Connect on Linkedin


Emily Cox
Director

Emily co-founded Grounded Studios in 2024 to create architecture and design that is grounded in relationships between peoples and place. Emily brings her extensive experience in the design of the built environment and her engagement in research to the leadership of Grounded Studios.

Emily’s knowledge and experience about the ways that the built environment can enable human and non-human action is an essential component of Grounded Studios work. Founded in research, experience in Community Development, and a deep engagement with peoples and place, Emily builds relational design approaches and practices into the foundations of our work.

Emily leads engagement, brief development, design integration and Interior Design of our projects with a relational and collaborative leadership style that values diverse ideas and opinions. Emily is completing a Masters by Research into the responsibilities of non-Indigenous designers to First Nations and Aboriginal Country, and regularly builds shared knowledge in educational forums as a guest speaker and educator. Emily is a founding member and co-chair of the Architecture and Design Reconciliation Industry Network Group, a forum intended to develop awareness and action within the design professions to address the aims of reconciliation, and come into more just relations on Aboriginal Country.

Connect on Linkedin


Monica Santoso
Architect

Monica is a talented architect who brings great care and diligence to her work. Monica oversees and coordinates the documentation of projects, compiles reports, and maintains records and manages data deftly. Her love of design in all of its forms is evident in her contribution to design thinking and aesthetic sensitivity.

Monica is a curious and passionate person who is always learning and sharing knowledge. Monica is a generous collaborator who enjoys building relationships with colleagues and clients. Her positive attitude and commitment to our projects and clients makes Monica an essential team member of Grounded Studios. Monica has 8 years experience on projects ranging from large community facilities, Primary and Tertiary education buildings, small residential projects, refurbishments, Masterplanning and feasibility assessments and competitions.

Connect on Linkedin

Explore    Approach    Ideas    Let’s Talk

These are the
values that
drive us.

  • Humility

    We continually seek to listen and learn from communities and places. The histories, ecologies, knowledge and stories that shape them form the foundation of our design response.

  • Receptivity

    Grounded Studios is an engagement-led practice. We deeply consider the communities and conditions unique to a project, from strategic thinking to the finer grain.

  • Generosity

    We place relationships at the heart of all we do as we work to connect with Aboriginal Country. We foster a spirit of generosity and reciprocity with our clients, collaborators and communities, allowing us to weave diverse thinking through our projects.

  • Harmony

    We design to find balance in response to peoples and place. Our approach seeks integration and belonging, to avoid design outcomes that dominate or intrude.

  • Advocacy

    We challenge preconceived standards and stretch the design professions into new terrain. We enact the changes necessary to create sustainable, nourishing and grounded places.

Explore.

NAIRM MARR DJAMBANA CONCEPT

NAIRM MARR DJAMBANA CONCEPT

MOONDANI BALLUK

MOONDANI BALLUK

MOONDANI BALLUK

MOONDANI BALLUK

MOONDANI BALLUK

MOONDANI BALLUK

MOONDANI BALLUK

MOONDANI BALLUK

MOONDANI BALLUK

MOONDANI BALLUK

MOONDANI BALLUK

MOONDANI BALLUK

APARTMENT 11

APARTMENT 11

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG

SEYMOUR INTEGRATED HEALTH AND COMMUNITY HUB CONCEPT

SEYMOUR INTEGRATED HEALTH AND COMMUNITY HUB CONCEPT

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL EARLY YEARS

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL EARLY YEARS

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL EARLY YEARS

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL EARLY YEARS

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL ARTS PRECINCT CONCEPT

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL ARTS PRECINCT CONCEPT

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL GYMNASIUM

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL GYMNASIUM

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL EARLY YEARS

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL EARLY YEARS

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL

LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL

K’GARI PAVILLION

K’GARI PAVILLION

K’GARI PAVILLION

K’GARI PAVILLION

SEYMOUR INTEGRATED HEALTH AND COMMUNITY HUB CONCEPT

SEYMOUR INTEGRATED HEALTH AND COMMUNITY HUB CONCEPT

Credits

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LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL  /  DESIGN BY GRESLEY ABAS (WITH GROUNDED STUDIOS TEAM AS EMPLOYEES OF GRESLEY ABAS) IN COLLABORATION WITH GREGORY BURGESS.

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LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL EARLY YEARS / DESIGN BY GRESLEY ABAS (WITH GROUNDED STUDIOS AS TEAM AS EMPLOYEES OF GRESLEY ABAS) IN COLLABORATION WITH GREGORY BURGESS.

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LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL GYMNASIUM / REFURBISHMENT DESIGN BY GRESLEY ABAS (WITH GROUNDED STUDIOS AS TEAM AS EMPLOYEES OF GRESLEY ABAS)

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LITTLE YARRA STEINER SCHOOL ARTS PRECINCT CONCEPT / DESIGN BY GROUNDED STUDIOS.

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NAIRM MARR DJAMBANA CONCEPT DESIGN  /  DESIGN BY GRESLEY ABAS (WITH GROUNDED STUDIOS TEAM AS EMPLOYEES OF GRESLEY ABAS) IN COLLABORATION WITH REALMSTUDIOS.

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K’GARI PAVILLION  /  COLLABORATIVE DESIGN BY TCL, GREGORY BURGESS, AND GRESLEY ABAS (WITH GROUNDED STUDIOS TEAM AS EMPLOYEES OF GRESLEY ABAS). RENDER BY TCL.

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WUNGGURRWIL DHURRUNG / DESIGN BY GRESLEY ABAS (WITH GROUNDED STUDIOS TEAM AS EMPLOYEES OF GRESLEY ABAS) IN COLLABORATION WITH GREGORY BURGESS AND REALMSTUDIOS.

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MOONDANI BALLUK / DESIGN BY GRESLEY ABAS (WITH GROUNDED STUDIOS TEAM AS EMPLOYEES OF GRESLEY ABAS) IN COLLABORATION WITH GREGORY BURGESS, REALMSTUDIOS, ARTISTIC MERIT AND ARTIST PAOLA BALLA.

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SEYMOUR INTEGRATED HEALTH AND COMMUNITY HUB CONCEPT / DESIGN BY GROUNDED STUDIOS

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APARTMENT 11 / DESIGN BY AHMAD ABAS AND EMILY COX.