The business of architecture
The City of Melbourne has undertaken a review of the current design policies in the Melbourne Planning Scheme, and proposed Amendment C308 to introduce a new approach to urban design. This includes a new Design and Development Overlay Schedule 1, and is accompanied by the Central Melbourne design guide (CMDG) to support its use and interpretation. The... Continue Reading →
I penned an ArchiTeam media release opposing the development of an Apple concept store at Federation Square, it goes like this: ArchiTeam opposes the development of an Apple concept store at Federation Square. The demolition of the Yarra Building at Federation Square and construction of an Apple flagship store in its place disregards the built context of... Continue Reading →
On Friday evening ArchiTeam held its annual debate at No Vacancy, the gallery also exhibiting the 2017 ArchiTeam awards. The debate topic was, "Architecture... The smaller the better? Is the future of architecture small? Small living, small buildings, small practice... Debate!" Zoë Geyer of ZGA Studio, who facilitated the debate, journeyed across the world into... Continue Reading →
The City of Yarra recently undertook an engagement programme to canvass community opinion on future planning. The programme, Liveable Yarra, gathered local residents together for four half-day sessions to discuss and analyse the built environment, transport, housing and business. It asked participants to consider the shape of Yarra 20 years from now, by which time the local population is expected... Continue Reading →
Who is he? An italian architect and "urban change agent"[1] who divides his time between Carlo Ratti Associati, the innovation and design studio he runs from Torino, and SENSEable City Lab, the research laboratory he leads out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. Ratti's design and research work overlap significantly, both focussing on the transformative effect of new technologies on... Continue Reading →
What is it? An unsolicited project our architecture practice, Mihaly Slocombe, recently completed. We redesigned a segment of Drummond Street in Carlton North, the street where we live and practice. The project began with conversations with around two thirds of our neighbours, who helped us understand the cross section of the community for whom we were designing, as... Continue Reading →
A typical Carlton North green median strip We consider ourselves very lucky to live in Carlton North. Walkscore ranks its walkability in the top 20 of Melbourne's 346 suburbs, awarding it 88 out of 100 total points. The Walkscore summary states that "most errands can be accomplished on foot" while residents "can walk to an... Continue Reading →
Palace of the Soviets by Boras Iofan (1932) What is it? Michael Gurr wrote an opinion article in The Age recently condemning the Footscray Station Precinct development by SJB and McBride Charles Ryan as Stalinist. "If the communist bloc still existed, Footscray's apartment buildings are what their security headquarters would look like. These buildings are big,... Continue Reading →
Flinders Street Station from the northeast, courtesy of Major Projects Victoria What is it? An international design competition to redevelop Flinders Street Station, Melbourne's busiest train station and home to 200,000 passenger visits a day. With a site area of over 40,000sqm and a significant presence between the Hoddle grid and Yarra River, the competition... Continue Reading →
What was it? A seminar organised by Justine Clark on behalf of the Australian Institute of Architects recently that discussed Melbourne's suburbs and its disconcertedly low housing density. Rather than propose specific solutions, it sought to broadly articulate the scope of the issue and how our understanding of it might help us chart a course... Continue Reading →