Posts Tagged ‘urban design and built form’
The Housing We’d Choose: Grattan Report Launch
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on June 20th, 2011
| 27 June , 2011 | ||
| 5:45 pm | to | 7:00 pm |
Image: monkeyc.net via flickr CC
Ask Australians what kind of home they want, and odds are they will say a detached house on a big block. The new report from the Grattan Cities Program, The Housing We’d Choose, shows that when residents are asked to make real-world trade-offs between housing and location, the picture is far more varied. The report examines both what Australians say they want from housing in their cities, and the incentives that make it difficult for new construction to meet this demand. Come and hear Grattan Cities Program Director Jane-Frances Kelly in conversation with John Daley on the challenges to Australian cities and governments presented by The Housing We’d Choose.
Monday 27 June 2011
Registration at 5:45 pm Seminar 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
The Wheeler Centre 176 Little Lonsdale Street Melbourne VIC 3000
For further information please telephone 03 8344 3637 or visit our website at www.grattan.edu.au
—
Living Closer Together in Australian Cities
Posted in Movements, Opinion by Kate Archdeacon on June 14th, 2011
Source: The Age
Image: xenization via flickr CC
From “Love thy neighbour. Gen Y embraces closeness of urban living” by Tarsha Finney:
Research released last week entitled ”Why We Buy”, published by RAMS Home Loans and the market research firm, IPSOS, has shown that despite the increase in the value of residential property, young Australians still want to own their own home. But now, they are just as happy living in and buying apartments as they are houses. This is exciting news for a couple of reasons. The first is that it is the beginning of the de-coupling of our domestic fantasies from an economic pragmatism that sees wealth generation in the ownership of property. This is good for the city; it’s good for the production of housing, for the creation of density and for the making of public space.
With the loosening of the grip of this fantasy over our capacity to imagine a future, we can now as a community and as planning and design professionals start on the real work we need to do in our cities — to plan for two inevitables: population growth and climate change. Whacking a couple of solar panels on the roof doesn’t cut it (although I agree it makes some of us feel good). We need to fundamentally rethink our cities in terms of transport infrastructure and density. And to do that, we need to begin to rethink the issue of housing and what that means: how we organise our private space.
But, probably more importantly, this news of the beginnings of a shift from houses to apartments is indicative of what might seem like an astounding fact. Actually, most of the time, we really like each other and we like living together. We like being known by our neighbours, but also I would argue, we like the anonymity of the civilised urban crowd. Apartment living, despite the myth of isolation, is actually about less private space coupled with more collective urban living space. This is sociable space. Space where we get together in groups and hang out.
Gen X and Gen Y Australians know this. They know it from their experience as backpackers, not consumers of organised tour groups, who in their early 20s and 30s, have spent weeks if not months gloriously bumming around cities in Asia and Europe. There’s an exciting creative dynamism to this shared space and being together, where we get to look at each other and engage in civic life — even if it’s just for 20 minutes of lazy gossip while we get some sun on our backs and grab a coffee. But in a more profound sense, it’s this collective public space and environment in which we get together and look at each other; where we work out who ”we” are as a collective: as a neighbourhood, as communities of interest, as city dwellers and as citizens of a nation.
In small, but important moments, these informal meetings are known as the ”bump” factor. Interestingly bio-medical research institutions all over the country have examined these creative ”bump” scenarios. What these institutions have noticed is that some of the most important exchanges we make with each other happen in informal settings — over coffee, walking together up the stairs, over lunch, at the gym — they don’t happen at conferences or when we sit in our own private offices. These ideas have been harnessed by organisations such as the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland when building new research and work spaces.
Read the full article by Tarsha Finney in The Age.
—
Design for an Active City: Competition
Posted in Seeking, Visions by Kate Archdeacon on June 6th, 2011
Source: Australian Design Review
Victoria’s State of Design Festival has launched an urban design competition inviting Victorian designers to transform a major thoroughfare in central Melbourne. The Design for an Active City competition seeks “implementable, site-specific proposals to improve the pedestrian experience on the northern footpath side of Collins Street Bridge as it spans Wurundjeri Way, and thereby increase pedestrian activity.”
Proposals for the temporary installation should address a 50-metre stretch of the 350-metre bridge, which runs from Spencer Street to Batman’s Hill Drive. Shortlisted submissions, selected by a panel of experts, will be on show during the State of Design Festival, with the winner announced at a public panel discussion held on 25 July. The winning entry will then be constructed and installed as a temporary project from October to December 2011, serving as a short-term installation while the development of the bridge linking the CBD with Spencer Street Station and Docklands is still under construction.
Event partner VicUrban will provide $25,000 towards the development and construction of the project. The competition spotlights the role of design in stimulating increased physical activity through interventions in the built environment, and supports the 2011 Festival’s theme, Design That Moves.
Entries to the competition are now open.
Site visit 3.00pm June 8 2011
Submission deadline July 6 2011
Winner announced, exhibition opening and public panel discussion July 25 2011
Design for an Active City is run by State of Design in partnership with VicUrban and GHD. For full submission requirements and resources go to www.stateofdesign.com.au/dfac/
—
Starting an Asset Register for Water Sensitive Urban Design
Posted in Events, Movements by Kate Archdeacon on May 18th, 2011
| 3 June , 2011 | ||
| 9:00 am | to | 1:00 pm |
Image: Greywater Treatment System at Inkerman Oasis, St Kilda
Is your council keen to gain a better understanding of its Water Sensitive Urban Design assets? Are you interested in exploring ways of recording information necessary for effective WSUD management? Do you want to hear how local councils are starting asset registers to manage Water Sensitive Urban Design across departments?
This Clearwater Hot Topic is a terrific opportunity to hear about the importance of developing a WSUD asset register in council. Presentations throughout the day will be supported with facilitated discussion and workshop activities. Suitable for asset managers, open space managers, technology/communications staff, engineers, environment and maintenance staff.
As an attendee you will:
- Realise the value of starting an asset register that incorporates Water Sensitive Urban Design along with drainage infrastructure.
- View examples of WSUD asset registers developed by local councils and see how they are being used to share information, support maintenance and future planning.
- Have the opportunity to discuss different ways to capture, manage and use data for Water Sensitive Urban Design.
Government/not for profit – $ 80.00 (Inc. GST) Commerical – $ 90.00 (Inc. GST)
Inclusions: Arrival tea and coffee, morning tea and lunch
Friday 3rd June 2011 9:00AM – 1:00PM Fenix Restaurant, 680 Victoria Street, Richmond, 3121
RSVP: Friday 27th May 2011 through the website
This event is being jointly run in partnership with the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) and Melbourne Water.
—
Changing Cities: Landscape As An Integrated Perspective
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on May 5th, 2011
| 10 May , 2011 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
Landscape master plan and urban design for the fortifications surrounding Cartagena, Cartagena de Indias in Colombia, which is listed as a World Heritage site.
Melbourne School of Design: Dean’s Lecture Series 2011
Day after day people’s lives are affected by poor or inadequately planned development. The world is in flux: climate change, deforestation, floods, urbanization, the shifting weight of the developing world, and the rising shortage of resources are causing us to rethink the way we design places. The modern world presents both challenges and opportunities to those who design and shape built, natural and social environments. Using Colombia as a case study, leading landscape architect Martha Fajardo will give a Latin-American perspective into this global issue.
Martha is CEO of Grupo Verde Ltda, a firm dedicated to the professional practice of Landscape Architecture, Landscape Urbanism and Urban Design, based in Colombia and Latin America. In her illustrated lecture, Martha will detail the transformations which have recently occurred in Bogotá, Medellin and Cartagena in relation to transport, public spaces, art and culture, education, social urbanism and social inclusion. In this illustrated lecture, she will explain that by optimizing, diversifying and regenerating urban spaces, we have a unique opportunity to make a difference – to create affordable landscapes, landscapes of happiness. The quality of the environment is a key component of robust economic growth believes Fajardo.
“Remarkable, valuable, historical and beautiful landscapes are given sanctuary, but at present, the everyday landscape – the social, economic and physical context of our lives – has no champion. Fragmented into various components that are green, grey or blue, agricultural, historical or ecological, it is undervalued and neglected, seemingly belonging to everyone, but actually to no one.”
7.00pm – 8.00pm
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Carrillo Gantner Theatre
Basement, Sidney Myer Asia Centre
The University of Melbourne
Please RSVP at http://msd.unimelb.edu.au/events/deans-lectures/fajardo/index.html
—
Sharing Government and Community Facilities: BSL Lunchtime Seminar
Posted in Events, Movements, Research by Kate Archdeacon on April 20th, 2011
| 28 April , 2011 | ||
| 12:00 pm | to | 1:00 pm |
Image: iPostcodes.com.au via flickr CC
A Lunchtime Seminar presented by the Research & Policy Centre at The Brotherhood of St Laurence:
A public inquiry investigated the sharing of government and community facilities in Victoria, for example using school buildings after hours or local council neighbourhood houses. A cost/benefit framework was explored. Some 20,000 facilities exist in Victoria, but what is the role of government in managing benefits and costs? What governance and commercial principles apply? There is potential for increasing the sharing of facilities and the associated social inclusion benefits but control from the top would be unwise. The (then) government accepted most of the inquiry recommendations. The conclusions provide community organizations with a basis for pursuing their expectations of government.
Robert Kerr is an economist working as an Honorary Research Fellow at the Brotherhood of St Laurence. His career was in the Commonwealth Treasury and the Productivity Commission, and latterly as a Commissioner of the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission. He is a graduate of Cambridge University and the Royal College of Defence Studies.
Thursday 28 April 2011 12.00 pm – 1.00 pm
Brotherhood of St Laurence, Fr Tucker’s room 67 Brunswick Street Fitzroy
Visit the website for more details and to RSVP.
—
Suburban Water: Water Capture & Storage Trial in Kingston
Posted in Models, Research by Kate Archdeacon on April 13th, 2011
A Sustainable Melbourne report from the 2011 Water Innovation Day, co-hosted by the Smart Water Fund and Siemens:
© Suburban Water
From a presentation by Jim Townsend, CEO Suburban Water, “Remote Storm Water Management”
Introduction:
Suburban Water was established to actively test and develop storm water harvesting technology in Australian suburbs. The premise of the project is that captured storm water doesn’t need to be treated to potable levels – between 30 -35% of current urban water use could be directly replaced with storm water.
As the recipient of a Round 3 grant from the Smart Water Fund, the company was able to install a pilot harvesting system in the city of Kingston, Victoria. Using the local aquifer, telemetry and a combination of existing and new infrastructure, the system allows water to be captured and shared between two separate sites, and increases each site’s ability to prepare for and capture heavy rain.
The System:
Storm water captured at Southern Road Reserve is fed into concrete tanks, where it is treated and returned to the aquifer as part of a managed aquifer recharge system. It is held there until needed either at Southern Road Reserve or at Parkdale Secondary College, just over a kilometre away. Parkdale Secondary College captures its own storm water and stores it in rainwater tanks, which provide toilet flush water and irrigation for the grounds. When these tanks are nearly half-empty, a monitor alerts the remote control at Suburban Water in Adelaide. The subterranean tanks at Southern Road Reserve pump water up into the existing Melbourne Water drain, and the water arrives to be treated and pumped into the school’s tanks 90 minutes later.
When significant rainfall is expected, the tanks at Southern Road Reserve empty into the aquifer in order to capture as much new rainfall as possible.
Key Outcomes:
The project is well into its prototype and testing stage, and while there have been significant challenges, CEO Jim Townsend emphasised the importance of being able to put a price on storm water capture and reuse – excluding the cost of installation but including regular running costs such as pumping and monitoring, the price is approximately $0.4/kL.
Further information available through the Smart Water Fund
—
Food Sensitive Planning and Urban Design (FSPUD): Report
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on April 7th, 2011
Food sensitive planning and urban design (FSPUD) recognises that access to healthy, sustainable and equitable food is an essential part of achieving liveable communities.
VEIL and David Locke Associates were commissioned by the National Heart Foundation of Australia (Victorian Division) to develop a resource further articulating the idea of ‘Food Sensitive Planning and Urban Design’ (first articulated by VEIL in 2008 as Food Sensitive Urban Design). This new resource – Food Sensitive Planning and Urban Design: A conceptual framework for achieving a sustainable and just food system – is intended to raise the awareness of planners, architects, urban designers, engineers, policy makers, community members and elected representatives of the need to integrate food considerations into urban land use and development.
It outlines: key areas in planning legislation, policy and processes to realise this outcomes; how meeting people’s food needs contributes to the broader objectives of planning and urban design, including: health and fairness; sustainability and resilience; livelihoods and opportunity; and community and amenity; and a challenge to professionals and the broader community to take on a stronger role in ensuring that healthy, sustainable and equitable food is available for all Australians into the future.
The summary and the conceptual framework are available from the VEIL website: www.ecoinnovationlab.com
–
Urban Renewal, Urban Growth and Creative Opportunities: Melbourne Conversations
Posted in Events, Opinion, Policies by Kate Archdeacon on March 23rd, 2011
| 23 March , 2011 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 7:30 pm |
Photo of Fishermans Bend by novakreo via flickr CC
Parts of North and West Melbourne, Kensington, Fishermans Bend and Docklands have been identified for renewal, but will this relieve the strain on the metropolitan fringe? What forms could it take, and who might it provide for? Informed commentators will discuss the types of development, ‘up versus out’ and multi-centred cities, residential densities, appropriate business spaces, affordable spaces for artists and heritage in the city’s old industrial zones.
Panellists:
- Jeff Gilmore – Executive Director Strategic Policy, Research and Forecasting, Department of Planning and Community Development, Melbourne
- David Moloney – Industrial Historian, National Trust of Victoria
- Dr Kate Shaw – ARC Research Fellow, Architecture Building and Planning, University of Melbourne
- David Waldren – General Manager, Grocon Carlton Brewery Development
Moderator: Peter Mares – Journalist and Presenter ABC Radio National.
Discussant: Dr Ruth Fincher – Professor of Geography, University of Melbourne
6.00pm to 7.30pm. Entry from 5.30pm, Wednesday 23 March 2011
BMW Edge, Federation Square, Corner Swanston and Flinders Streets, Melbourne
More details: http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/conversations
—
Water Wise City Landscapes of the Future: Public Forum
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on March 23rd, 2011
| 23 March , 2011 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
This forum will examine a range of urban water issues such as urban water demand, sustainable water planning in urban landscapes, potable water for cities, city planning and greenscapes, irrigation of city gardens and the health of urban ecosystem and flows. This is part of our 2011 Water Security and Sustainability forum series.
Speakers:
Dr Chris Walsh, Resource Management and Geography, Melbourne School of Land and Environment
A/Prof Tim Fletcher, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University
Prof Chris Ryan, University of Melbourne, VEIL
6.30pm-8.00pm, Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Lower Lecture Theatre, B:01, Melbourne School of Land and Environment (Building 142), Tin Alley/Royal Parade, University of Melbourne
More details: the attached flyer, or this webpage: http://www.sustainable.unimelb.edu.au/content/pages/public-forum-water-wise-city-landscapes-future
Please send a simple RSVP email to: mssi-enquiries@unimelb.edu.au
—