Architecture Groups Sydney

Welcome to the next 2026 AWS Sydney Well-Architected Meetup!

Hi Architects, Welcome to the next 2026 AWS Sydney Well-Architected User Group Meetup! Each month we cover off AWS best-practices across all pillars and give away drones - lots of drones 🥳 **Please also note that AWS Security now requests a company name and company email where it is available. If you are a student, please list your institution and your student email address at that institution 👍** We'll be announcing more speakers on [https://well-architected.me](https://well-architected.me/) and previewing presentations during the coming weeks - our speakers and details this month include: * **Carles Vallecillo, Technical Trainer, Snowflake** **Well-Architecting AWS AI** Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker are two of AWS's most powerful AI services - but which one will win the heavyweight title? In this session, we'll put them head-to-head across the six pillars of the AWS Well-Architected Framework: Operational Excellence, Security, Reliability, Performance Efficiency, Cost Optimization and Sustainability. Round by round, we'll compare their strengths, weaknesses, trade-offs and real-world use cases to answer questions such as: Which service gets you to production faster? Which gives you more control? Which is easier to secure and govern? Which delivers the best performance? • Which gives you the biggest bang for your buck? Expect practical examples, architectural insights and a few surprises as we crown the winner of each category (and discover whether there is really a single champion at all 9. * **SkillzLab Build Gen AI Well-Architected Reviews** **Well-Architecting App Build-off Review!** In this session, we will have review the apps from the previous session and perform AWS Gen AI Well-Architected Framework Reviews, with the drone going to the most **Gen AI Well-Architected** app on the night. This month's menu will include: * Pizzas * Beer: Nastro Azzurro * Wine: Big and red 🤤 So come join us at 5:30 for a 6pm **SHARP** start, followed by beer, wine, pizza and friendly networking after our talks :-) Tired of Linkedin’s "thought leadership”, spam and advertising? Join https://well-architected.me/ , the AWS community built for architects, developers and cloud professionals. * Connect with experienced AWS practitioners * Preview upcoming AWS Meetups and relive past content * Create and review beautiful AWS case studies in minutes * Prepare for AWS certifications with curated quizzes * Show your manager and reports you’re well-architected (Please note that by registering to attend you agree to your details being shared as and where required with Amazon Web Services and AWS Well-Architected User Group partners)

Updated ! SSP TUE - CITY LIGHT & SHADOWS IN MONOCHROME : Kings Cross

Explore the light, shadows, architecture and street life of Kings Cross, Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay on a monochrome photography walk following the City of Sydney’s “Passion: Sydney’s Wild Side” cultural route.(see Photos for details) Coffee before the walk and an optional group pub lunch afterwards. **First meeting point:** For those who like coffee, from 10:00 am **Uliveto Café** Location: Bayswater Road, Kings Cross, close to Kings Cross Station **Second meeting point** (Walk starting point): The Coca-Cola Sign, at 10:30 am **Group lunch** Lunch time: Approximately 12:00–12:15 pm Location: **Kings Cross Hotel,** Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross **Photography theme: City Light and Shadows** During this walk, look for: **Pools of light:** Wait for a person to walk through a brightly lit section of pavement while the surrounding area remains in shadow. ↳ **Silhouettes:** Photograph people against bright walls, windows, the sky or reflective surfaces. Exposure compensation may help preserve the highlights and turn the person into a strong graphic shape. **Layers and framing:** Use doorways, railings, stairways, tree branches and architectural openings to divide the frame or surround your subject. **Human gestures:** Street photography can include people as important subjects. Look for an expressive stride, a conversation, an unusual interaction, a moment of solitude or a figure whose position completes the composition. ↳ **Tonal contrast:** Search for scenes containing very bright and very dark areas. In monochrome photography, separation between tones can be more important than the original colours. **Textures and traces of history:** Weathered walls, stone steps, iron fences, old façades, signs and pavement details can communicate the character of the neighbourhood. **Suggested shooting areas** **The Cross and Darlinghurst Road** The walk begins amid the visual intensity of Kings Cross. Look for shopfront reflections, signs, traffic, pedestrians emerging from the station and contrasts between older façades and contemporary street life. This is a good place to practise **layered compositions**. Rather than photographing one person against an empty background, try combining foreground reflections, a middle-distance subject and architectural detail farther away.↳ A slower shutter speed can introduce movement into passing pedestrians or vehicles, while a faster shutter speed can isolate gestures and brief interactions. **Victoria Street and 202 Victoria Street** As we move away from the commercial centre, the visual rhythm changes. Terraces, apartment entrances, balconies, fences and trees create repeated lines and alternating patches of light and shade. Look for people entering and leaving buildings, figures partially hidden by trees, and subjects framed by gates or doorways. In monochrome, small differences in texture—paint, brick, stone, foliage and clothing—can become important. **Butler Stairs and McElhone Stairs** The stairways are among the strongest locations for our theme. Steps, handrails and retaining walls naturally produce leading lines, repeating geometry and deep shadows. Try photographing: \*a single person ascending or descending the stairs - shadows cast across the steps \*a figure positioned between railings↳ - a high-angle or low-angle composition \*the contrast between a sunlit landing and a darker staircase Be considerate here, as the stairs are public access routes. Keep camera bags close and leave space for residents and pedestrians. **Embarkation Park** The park provides a visual transition from the dense streetscape to a more open environment. Trees can create broken or dappled shadows across paths, walls and people. Look for small figures within larger compositions and relationships between people, foliage, surrounding buildings and open sky. This can be an opportunity to make quieter photographs rather than concentrating only on dramatic contrast. **St Vincent’s College, Challis Avenue and surrounding streets** The institutional architecture, mature trees and residential streets offer strong vertical lines, formal façades and framed views. Challis Avenue may provide opportunities to photograph café activity, local residents, deliveries and everyday interactions. Watch for people passing between sun and shade or appearing briefly between parked cars, trees and building entrances. **Yellow House** Around Yellow House, consider the relationship between the neighbourhood’s artistic history and its present-day appearance. Instead of making only a straightforward record of the building, look for fragments, details, reflections and human activity nearby.↳ A person walking past an unusual façade can give the image scale and turn an architectural photograph into a street photograph. **Elizabeth Bay House and nearby streets** This section introduces more formal heritage architecture and landscaped surroundings. Columns, gates, windows, paths and symmetrical elements can be used as compositional frameworks. Try waiting for a person to enter a carefully arranged architectural composition. The human subject does not need to dominate the frame; a small figure can provide scale, contrast and narrative. **Kingsclere, Tusculum and Wayside Chapel** These locations bring together different layers of the area’s architectural and social character. Look for contrasts between grand buildings and ordinary street activity. At Wayside Chapel and the surrounding streets, approach photography with particular sensitivity and respect. Do not photograph people who may be vulnerable or experiencing distress merely for visual effect.↳ Strong street photography is not only visually interesting—it should also recognise the dignity of the people being photographed. **Orwell Street and Llankelly Place** This area offers narrow streets, pedestrian movement, café activity and changing light between buildings. It may be one of the best locations for using shop windows and reflections. Experiment with: - photographing through glass \*combining reflections with people inside or outside - waiting for several figures to occupy different parts of the frame \*underexposing slightly to preserve bright highlights - using narrow passages to create depth **Fitzroy Gardens and Darlinghurst Road** Near the end of the walk, Fitzroy Gardens provides opportunities for candid moments involving people sitting, walking, talking or moving between the trees and surrounding streets.↳ As we return to Darlinghurst Road, the busier environment gives us another chance to work with pedestrians, signs, traffic and strong graphic contrasts. Consider how your photographs from the end of the route differ from those taken at the beginning.

Placeholder with Satya Chunduru #85

In this Lunch & Learn, **Satya Chunduru** will explore why **AI is the missing link in modern architecture**. Most organisations don’t struggle to build AI pilots — they struggle to **scale them** and turn them into **measurable business value**. Satya’s **3A™ Framework (Adoptive AI Architecture)** was created to bridge that gap. It connects **strategy, data, enterprise knowledge, decisions, operating models, and AI‑enabled actions** into a coherent architecture that delivers real outcomes. The framework acts as both a **reference architecture** and a **thinking model**, designed to complement existing enterprise delivery, governance, and transformation practices. Over the coming weeks, I’ll share more about the thinking behind the framework and the practical components that support **scalable, accountable AI adoption**.

SydDT #128: When Does Design Become Strategic?

Most designers want to be more strategic. But what does that actually mean? Is strategic design about working on bigger problems? Influencing executives? Creating visions and roadmaps? Driving transformation? Or are we confusing good design with strategic design? Join us for our July meetup where a panel of experienced strategic design leaders will explore one of the most debated questions in our profession: what makes design strategic? We’re lucky to have Dr Leanne Sobel, Jaimes Nel, Paul Merrell, Lize Wordsworth and Laura Kostanski sharing their insights with short lightning talks before we open up a panel discussion and audience conversation. We'll explore: * What strategic design is * What it isn’t – with common misconceptions and traps * How strategic design differs from other design disciplines * Where strategic design is heading * How designers can increase their strategic influence and impact Expect diverse perspectives, thoughtful discussions, and practical insights for designers at every stage of their career. Come join us for some fun conversations with interesting people in and around the design thinking community. New members are welcome! **SPEAKERS** **[Dr Leanne Sobel](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lsobel/)** **Adjunct Fellow, UTS Business School** Leanne is a strategic designer, researcher, and educator. Her PhD research explored the role of design in strategy, and her work focuses on applying design practices, systems thinking, and participatory approaches to complex organisational challenges. With experience spanning consulting, academia, and industry, Leanne is a leading voice in the evolving field of strategic design. **[Jaimes Nel](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimesnel/)** **Founder, Path Ventures** Jaimes is the founder of Path Ventures, a Sydney-based consultancy helping organisations connect strategy to action through design-led approaches. With more than 20 years of experience spanning service design, digital transformation, and organisational change, Jaimes has worked with organisations including the NHS, BBC, GOV.UK, Westpac, ING, and TAL. His work focuses on helping organisations “play the long game” by using strategic design to navigate complexity and deliver lasting change. **[Paul Merrell](https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-merrell-9861846/)** **Senior Service Designer, Allianz** Paul is a design leader and strategist with extensive experience applying service design and human-centred approaches to organisational transformation. Currently with Allianz Australia, Paul works at the intersection of customer experience, business strategy and change, helping organisations navigate complexity and deliver meaningful outcomes. His work is grounded in the belief that meaningful change happens when strategy connects with the realities of people, systems and delivery. **[Lize Wordsworth](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizewordsworth/)** **Group Head of Business Architecture & Design, Westpac Group** Lize is a practical, results-driven leader specializing in bridging the gap between high-level strategy and tangible execution. With extensive global experience spanning financial services, telecommunications, infrastructure, mining, and petrochemicals across Australia, the Americas, Asia, and Europe, she focuses on building organizational capabilities across people, process, culture, and technology. A trusted advisor across complex global environments, Lize combines deep expertise in target operating model design, enterprise architecture, and customer journey blueprints to help organizations navigate change and turn strategic intent into operational reality. [Dr Laura Kostanski](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-kostanski/) **Fellow, Design Institute of Australia** Laura is a strategic designer working where science, design, policy and data meet. She designs and stewards national-scale programs across environmental intelligence, data ecosystems and multi-agency governance - building the partnerships and capabilities that help science translate into enduring impact. A Churchill Fellow with a PhD in human geography and public policy, Laura's focus is towards the systems end of design: what the practice looks like when the brief is a national capability, with multiple products, services and institutions to be navigated. **EVENT SPONSORS** This event is brought to you by [Atlassian](https://www.atlassian.com/), [Shapeshifters](https://www.sh8peshifters.com/), and [Dynamic4](https://dynamic4.com/). We take photos and record our events for documentation and promo purposes. Just let us know if you prefer not to be featured.

AI Engineering Day, DataEngBytes

**🔖 TICKETS — Before you read any further** Tickets for the AI Engineering Day must be purchased via Ticket Tailor: * Single day (AI Engineering Day only): **$299 AUD** * Both days (Data Engineering Day + AI Engineering Day): **$499 AUD** 👉 **[Get your tickets at tickettailor.com/events/dataengbytes](https://tickettailor.com/events/dataengbytes)** *** **About the Day** The AI Engineering Day is Day 2 of DataEngBytes Sydney (Wednesday 29 July) — Oceania's largest community-run data engineering conference. This is a full day dedicated to the engineering side of AI: not the hype, not the pitch decks — the real patterns, trade-offs, and production experience from practitioners who've actually shipped. Two tracks run in parallel across the day, with everyone converging for keynotes in the morning and the Town Hall close in the afternoon. **What's on** The day opens with two keynotes covering the fundamentals that underpin serious AI work right now. The first makes the case for **context engineering** as a proper engineering discipline — moving beyond prompting to systematically designing what flows into a model. The second digs into **Model Context Protocol (MCP) in production**: gateway patterns, security realities, and where the standard is heading after its rapid rise to Linux Foundation governance. From there, two tracks run in parallel across the day covering: * **Evals and testing** — building evaluation pipelines that catch regressions and don't require a PhD to interpret * **Agents in production** — the reliability patterns, failure modes, and oversight requirements that separate a demo from something your organisation trusts * **AI coding tools** — what the research actually says about productivity gains (the numbers might surprise you) * **RAG at scale** — chunking, embedding freshness, retrieval quality, and what real RAG infrastructure looks like beyond the prototype * **The 80-to-95 gap** — why getting an AI system from demo to production-grade takes disproportionate effort, and how to close it * **LLMs in the transform layer** — where they genuinely help inside data pipelines and where they introduce risk * **skills.md** — encoding domain knowledge and workflow patterns into reusable, versionable LLM interactions for your team * **LLM gateway patterns** — routing, rate-limiting, cost control, and audit at the organisational level * **Vector databases in production** — the real-world messiness behind the benchmarks * **Fine-tuning vs prompting** — a practitioner's decision framework for when fine-tuning is actually worth the complexity * **AI agents for data quality** — automating anomaly investigation, schema drift triage, and incident summarisation * **AI pipeline security** — data poisoning, prompt injection, MCP tool abuse, and what defensive architecture looks like * **Autonomous data agents with Apache Flink** — stateful stream processing as a foundation for long-running, event-driven agents The day closes with a **Town Hall** — an open, community-run discussion on the topics that matter most to practitioners in the room. This is a practitioner-led, vendor-neutral event. All talks go through a competitive CFP process and are selected on technical merit. No marketing sessions. *** **🔖 TICKETS** Tickets must be purchased via Ticket Tailor — this Meetup page is for discovery only. * Single day (AI Engineering Day only): **$299 AUD** * Both days (Data Engineering Day + AI Engineering Day): **$499 AUD** 👉 **[Get your tickets at tickettailor.com/events/dataengbytes](https://tickettailor.com/events/dataengbytes)**

BONDI PAVILION X WAVERLEY ART PRIZE  

Networking Drinks #29

Here is our July event =D Join us once again at **The Art Syndicate**, a unique wine bar and gallery nestled in Surry Hills for a relaxed evening blending local drinks and meaningful conversations which should be perfect for a cold winter night. 🍷 **Event info:** ✅ Come discover some amazing NSW wine, beer and spirits. ✅ Expand your network of designers & make connections that last. ✅ No formal talks or speeches - just great conversations in a relaxed, friendly environment. *Check out my reviews on this page to see what others are saying!* **Venue information:**
 You'll find us at this art gallery & wine bar in Surry Hills. They exclusively offer a curated selection of NSW-based wine, beer and spirits! There is even art for sale! **Check them out on socials:** https://www.instagram.com/theartsyndicate.com.au/ **How to find us:**
 We are on Bourke Street, a short walk from Oxford Street or Central Station. **Join our What'sApp group:**
 Since Meetup has removed the event chat feature, [please join this WhatsApp group](https://tinyurl.com/uxad2026) for the latest event updates! Cheers, Josh

Eastwood - Bricks, Floods and Food

Central / Surry Hills Classic Film Photography

The challenge for today is to capture street images around Central Station, Belmore Park and Surry Hills. Look for the unusual and let your images tell a story. If you feel comfortable enough you could ask a subject for their portrait. The meet up point is the cafe outside the country platforms at 10 am. It is next to the Eternity Cafe. I would recommend monochrome film at 400 ASA or ISO. Hp 5 by Ilford works well as well as Kodak Tri X. It gives a grain effect similar to mid 20th Century film emulsions. I would consider developing the negatives and getting the images scanned to your computer which you can then upload to the meetup page or Instagram. If you have an image, you particularly like you can pick up the negatives from your camera store later. I would recommend Digi Direct at Bondi Junction or Super 8 at Newtown. It is more challenging using film but that is part of the fun. If you don't own a film camera there are two stores in Newtown that sell refurbished 35 mm film cameras or alternatively you can buy a disposable film camera on line or try the two retail stores I suggested earlier. Why not give it a try as there will be more film events in the future.

SSP TUE...CROWN ST ...Central Stn bus 311 or 440 to cnr Oxford &Crown)

**1st Meetup point**: Central Station Cafe, near the country train entry at 10 am. **2nd Meetup point**: Shakespeare Hotel, Surry Hills, just to the west of the Light Rail Station, Surry Hills. Arrive at Central station and catch the bus 440 to the junction of Crown St and Oxford St. If you get to Taylor Square you have gone one stop too far. From here we will stroll down Crown St to Surry Hills light rail station. For street photographers there are a plethora of choices for images that may prove to be problematic. Too many choices. There are plenty of things happening in the area. Keep your eyes open and sharpen your observation skills. There are no guarantees in street photography and photo opportunities may vary on the day. My advice would be to use a discrete prime lens somewhere between 28mm to 50mm. The smaller the camera the better for capturing more natural looking images. Take your time as the walk is a few kilometres, there are a few coffee shops on the street, pubs and restaurants. A moderate fitness level is required for the walk. The walk is open to both digital and film photographers; I hope you enjoy the event and the experience. From the pub catch the light rail to central station for the return journey home.

TRELAWNEY & THE BRADLEY RESIDENCE MOSMAN

TechWalking - Sydney - Networking Event for Tech Professionals

**TechWalking is here to stay in Sydney!** 🌊🚶‍♂️A huge thank you to our co-hosts — Nitta, Malathy, Cara, Vishal, and Akhil — for making it happen! Are you a tech professional looking to network beyond the screen? Join us for a refreshing **#TechWalking** event along the stunning Royal Botanic Garden! It’s the perfect chance to connect with industry peers while getting in some steps! Whether you're in software development, cybersecurity, data science, or any tech-related field, this is the perfect opportunity to expand your network in a relaxed setting. 🌅 **Meeting Point:** Archibald Memorial Fountain, Hyde Park 🏖 **Route:** 4 km walk through the Botanical Garden to the Sydney Opera House 🕙 **Start Time:** 10 AM sharp—don’t be late, or you might have to sprint to catch up! Check out the photos from the last event in Sydney: https://www.meetup.com/it-career-in-australia/photos/35710580/ And video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/H6_-ZET00I8 **Please note:** unfortunately, dogs aren’t allowed in the Botanical Gardens. A bit sad, we know 🐶💔 Looking forward to meeting you all in real life! **TechWalking Community page: [https://tech-walking.yanamartens.com/](https://tech-walking.yanamartens.com/)** *** Join the TechWalking group on LinkedIn! [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14477058/](https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14477058/) Just moved to Australia? Grab your FREE guide to landing your tech job! [https://yanamartens.com/first-tech-job-in-australia/](https://yanamartens.com/first-tech-job-in-australia/) Follow me on LinkedIn for more information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yana-martens/ Subscribe to YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ITCareerinAustralia