Katya Crema carves her way

Congratulations to Katya Crema (OW2006) who earlier in the year, together with her business, HIP V. HYPE, was announced as a finalist in the Built Environment category in the 2019 Premier’s Sustainability Awards for their apartment development, Nightingale 2.0.

Nightingale 2.0 in Fairfield is home to 20 deeply sustainable design-led apartments and three ground-floor retail tenancies. The project achieved an average 8.7 stars NatHERS thermal performance rating and is a totally electric, fossil fuel-free operation. Katya and her partner, Liam Wallis, own and run HIP V. HYPE, a property development and sustainability business that is pioneering more sustainable housing in Australia. With climate change having an impact on communities globally, HIP V. HYPE works with multidisciplinary visionaries and disruptors to create more sustainable buildings, businesses, regions and cities.

Before beginning her career in property, Katya spent 10 years as a professional athlete on the Australian National Ski Team and represented Australia at the Winter Olympics in Ski Cross in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014. Between Years 7 to 10 at Wesley, Katya spent her third school term skiing and studying via correspondence at Mount Buller. ‘Being supported by Wesley to pursue a career in elite sport while maintaining a high academic standard has instilled in me a dedication to perseverance, which continues to define the way I approach my work,’ she says.

After studying Architecture and a Masters of Property at the University of Melbourne, with not a little skiing and a few Olympic commitments as well, Katya went on to co-found Women of Architecture, Building and Planning, a networking group designed to support women in the built environment industries, in 2016. Katya started her working career in her family’s property and construction company, Crema Group, before accepting a role at PwC in the Real Estate Advisory team. Now a Development Director at HIP V. HYPE, she is working on highly sustainable projects, including four premium residences in Ruskin Street, Elwood, and three townhouses in Brunswick, run almost entirely off solar power.

The goal is to bring sustainable apartments south-side, with their latest project Ferrars + York. Says Katya, ‘We’re excited to take our learnings from our recently completed 20-apartment project in Fairfield to deliver further quality and higher sustainability outcomes for our future residents in South Melbourne. ‘The Ferrars + York development, our second collaboration with architects Six Degrees, will set a new benchmark in self-sufficient apartment living, being carbon neutral and net energy neutral.’

Having grown up in a family of builders with more than 65 years of experience in property development and construction, delivering on high-quality outcomes that she can be proud of is in her heritage.

Katya also continues to use her experience and profile as an elite athlete to encourage girls and young women to stay involved in sport throughout life. She is an active board member of the Victorian Olympic Council, and an ambassador for women’s cycling.

Multiple-award winning Nightingale 2.0 - by HIP V. HYPE and Six Degrees Architects. Image by Tess Kelly.

Read more about Katya's work at HIP V. HYPE