SAGO was born from a shared vision. It is the product of a passion for people, design and true collaboration.
A shared experience…
Brendan, Lachlan and Rosemary met as passionate architecture graduates on a design-build project in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 2007. The project brought together young architects from Australia and PNG working with a remote community to design and construct a rural aid post.
During this experience, they were able to realise the importance of placing a community at the centre of a project process and the impact that a holistic approach can have on improving lives. They also became great mates.
A shared vision…
From the ideas formed during this first project, and the help of some key mentors, the 3 mates formed the non-profit organisation SAGO Network in 2010 in order to continue their work in PNG. This time with the renewed focus on a critical need for countless PNG rural communities... the improvement of water and sanitation.
Why Sago?
The Sago Palm is a tree found all over PNG particularly in high water table coastal environments (a key area of focus for our community work).
Every part of the Sago Palm is used by rural communities of PNG. It is commonly referred to as the "tree of life". The leaves are carefully stitched together to become roofing for local houses whilst the stems of the branches are carefully split, dried and woven together to create sago blinds used as walls. Last of all the inside of the trunk of the tree is scraped, ground then pulped to become a staple food source for remote communities. Every part of Sago has something to contribute to the life of a PNG community.
The careful and precise craft of sago weaving reflects the careful practice of collaboration. The SAGO team believes that true collaboration harnesses every strength available and weaves it together in a clear manner to make a beautiful whole.
sago formed…
Building on the core values from community work in PNG, Brendan and Lachlan saw an opportunity to deepen their collaboration and created Sydney-based SAGO. This time, the focus was on residential design and construction whilst still underpinned by the belief in good design collaboration with the client at the centre of the process.
People are at the centre of the SAGO process, whether they are a villager in Gulf Province, PNG, or a family in Sydney's Inner West. It is SAGO's role to find real solutions for people's real needs.
SAGO is all about collaboration, professionalism and rigour, weaving together design services and building services to turn human needs into beautiful and liveable outcomes.
