People

Sandra Furtado and Peter Sullivan founded Furtado Sullivan around a shared belief that ambitious architecture should be both imaginative and grounded in how places are made.

Their skills are distinct but closely connected. Sandra brings a systems-based approach to design, finding the central idea within complex problems and establishing a clear vision across scales and disciplines. Peter brings a deep understanding of urban design, technical resolution and delivery, translating ideas into coherent, buildable outcomes.

Together, they challenge and strengthen each other’s thinking. Both remain directly involved in every project, maintaining the clarity, continuity and care that define the practice.

The best ideas emerge when different ways of seeing come together.

Sandra Furtado

M.Arch, Technical University of Lisbon
M.BE Sustainable Development, UNSW

NSW 9562 OA SRS 12147

Sandra is an architect and urban designer who leads the design thinking behind Furtado Sullivan’s work. She has a particular strength in finding the essential idea within complex problems, connecting people, place, environmental systems and competing demands into a clear and purposeful direction.

Born and educated in Portugal, Sandra lived and worked in Italy, the Netherlands, Cape Verde and China before settling in Australia. Her experience across cultures and climates continues to inform how she thinks about cities, architecture and belonging. Her work spans major urban transformations, mixed-use precincts, high-rise buildings, workplaces and public spaces.

While working on Barangaroo South, Sandra completed a Master of Built Environment in Sustainable Development at UNSW, driven by a desire to understand how carbon-neutral principles could operate at precinct scale. This continues to shape her systems-based approach, connecting environmental performance with design quality, public life and long-term resilience.

Sandra is a thoughtful and direct collaborator who enjoys challenging assumptions, bringing different disciplines into conversation and helping teams find clarity within complexity.

Beyond practice, she serves on the National Capital Design Review Panel and NSW State Design Review Panel, advises the Sustainability Summit, judges the Sustainability Awards and contributes regularly to industry conversations.

At Furtado Sullivan, Sandra brings vision, curiosity and an ability to connect ideas across scales and disciplines, helping complex projects become clearer, more generous and more meaningful for the people who inhabit them.

Director

Peter Sullivan

B.Arch, UNSW

NSW 8026 BAQ 5596. Design Practitioner DEP0001027
Principal Design Practitioner PDP0000332

Peter is an architect and urbanist with a particular ability to translate complex ideas into clear, buildable architecture. His career spans urban strategy, detailed design and delivery, giving him a deep understanding of how decisions made at city scale shape buildings, streets and public life.

At Barangaroo South, working with Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and later Lendlease, Peter led the International Towers podiums, lobbies and public domain from concept through delivery. At One Circular Quay, he led design development and helped coordinate a shared public-domain vision across a complex waterfront precinct.

Peter’s perspective is also grounded in public-sector urban design. At Planning NSW’s Urban Design Advisory Service, he contributed to the original SEPP 65 Residential Flat Design Code, the Darling Harbour Development Strategy and the City Foreshore Access Plan - work that influenced housing quality, waterfront access and urban transformation across Sydney.

His commitment to the profession extends beyond practice. Peter has taught design at UNSW and UTS, served as an AIA NSW Councillor, chaired its Built Environment and Sustainability Committees, and helped establish the Institute’s national Climate Action and Sustainability Taskforce. He currently serves on the National Capital Design Review Panel in Architecture and Urban Design.

At Furtado Sullivan, Peter brings rigour, practical intelligence and a commitment to making architecture that performs: technically, environmentally and in the experience of everyday life.

Director

Our team brings local knowledge, global experience and complementary skills into dialogue. We extend this thinking through close collaboration with clients, consultants and creative partners, challenging assumptions, revealing opportunities and shaping work that can endure and evolve.

Collaborators

A

Adrian Yau

Arne Heeres

Aqualand

Architectus

Arterra Interactive

ARUP

Assemble Communities

Atelier Ten

Australian Art Exhibitions

B

Balarinji

Barbara Flynn

Bianca Dobru

Bellringer

C

Clara Lorenzo

Coronation Property

Cundall

D

David Chipperfield Architects

Deicorp

DKO architecture

E

Elephants Foot

Enstruct

Ethos Urban

F

Felipe Torres

G

Geon Property

H

Honouring

I

Iliana Niu

Irene Burroni

J

Jacqueline Senior

James Karroum

Jason Twill

JHA

K

Kay Elliot

Kengo Kuma & Associates

L

LAHC - Land and Housing Corporation NSW

Lendlease

Liveable Australia

M

Made & Crafted

Marina De La Torre

Mark Jacques

MAKO Architecture

McGregor Coxall

Milligan Group

Mirvac

Moffitmoffit

Morris Going Access Consulting

Mott MacDonald

N

Natalie Ho

NDY

Neri & Hu Research and Design Office

Nicole Foreshew

O

Oculus Landscape Architecture

Openworks

P

Prism Facades

PTW

PTC Consulting

R

Realm Studio

RWDI

S

Sharon Hung

St Hilliers

Stack Studio

Stantec

Surface Design

T

Taylor Construction

TTW

Turf Design Studio

U

Urbis

Y

Yerrabingin