Retrofitting and repurposing existing structures can achieve decarbonisation goals, enhance occupancy, attract investment, and rejuvenate cities – all while reducing environmental impact. No wonder our industry can't stop talking about it. 

It no longer makes sense to demolish unoccupied buildings, as it's neither cost-effective nor aligned with our circular economy aspirations.

In September 2023, Hassell sponsored the inaugural Retrofit & Repurpose Summit on Gadigal Country, Sydney, bringing together sustainability leaders, asset owners, investors, and sustainable building specialists come together to explore the opportunities and positive impacts of retrofit and repurpose strategies.

A recorded panel discussion 'Change Levers: Finding New Value in Net Zero Retrofit and Reuse Market', allows us to bring some of the summit's insights to the Hassell Talks audience. Featuring Principal Jeff Morgan; Green Building Council of Australia's Elham Monavari, Solar Victoria's Paul Corkill; Built's Jono Cottee, and hosted by Alison Scotland, Executive Director Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council.

We're pleased to be able to bring you this recording, and these insights. 

Our thanks to the Retrofit Summit for generously capturing and sharing this audio.

For more great insights from the summit, check out https://retrofitsummit.com.au/post-event-session-recordings/

Parkville, Melbourne — home to one of the world’s leading biomedical innovation communities.  Arden — the next stage of the expanding Parkville innovation ecosystem. These precincts serve as catalysts where ideas, industries, and investors converge — shaping the places that unite us.

In this episode we explore the threads that hold these precincts together in the context of future developments of major institutions spanning health, education, transport and research.

Melbourne's Lord Mayor Sally Capp was joined by Hassell Principal Alix Smith, Associate Adam Gardner as well as Helen Day, Principal Adviser, Strategic Masterplans Unit, Health Infrastructure Branch in the Department of Health in Victoria; Dr. Amy Hahs, Senior Lecturer in Urban Horticulture, University of Melbourne; Professor Dan Hill, Director, Melbourne School of Design and Mena Kubba, Director, Kubba.

Companies that have changed their offices and ways of working since the pandemic have a 17% higher satisfaction score among employees than those that haven’t. That's a big number - just one of many fascinating data points out of our 2023 Workplace Futures Survey.  We're calling this one Great Adaptations.

Our annual survey casts a light on the link between office transformation and employee satisfaction - and we're sharing some of the big take-outs with you on Hassell Talks.

Join the report's author, Senior Researcher Dr Daniel Davis together with Principal Ingrid Bakker, as they reveal valuable insights into the current state of the workplace and what it takes to create the ideal hybrid office.

On this episode of Hassell Talks, architect and urbanist Caroline Stalker joined retired Partner of Buro Happald Andrew Comer and architect, urbanist and Head of Design Ashley Munday to explore the potential mechanisms for creating a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy for Brisbane and SEQ.

London's approach was to look beyond 2012 - to 2057, with the hard decisions made at the very beginning resulting in transcendent change across the city.

Is Brisbane brave enough to do the same?

Recorded on Jagerra and Turbal Country, Meanjin, Brisbane.

Architect Julian Gitsham sat down with Professors Tim O'Brien and Teresa Anderson to record this conversation about designing the best campus environments for transformational learning.

And who better to quiz than the minds behind the bluedot festival? Located at the UNESCO listed Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, home to the Lovell Telescope, and the award-winning Hassell designed First Light Pavilion Visitors Centre, bluedot is a festival that defies categorisation, and if you're heading along in 2023, make sure you check out Hassell's Xavier de Kestelier's talk on interplanetary habitats and 3D printing in space.

This episode sees was originally recorded in 2022.

You asked, Kat answered! Get ready for our 'Epic Yarn' - Part 2. 

Part 1 saw Landscape Architect Hannah Galloway explore the topic of ​‘Listening’ with First Nations Consultant, Cultural Advisor and Storyteller Kat Rodwell. For the second half of this Epic Yarn, we asked listeners to send in questions to ask Kat - and boy, did you deliver.

No question was off-limits, and the prompt of 'get comfortable with being uncomfortable' saw questions about the dangers of 'fetishisation', about agriculture and contemporising culture, and the danger of Traditional Owners (TO’s) and First Nations consultant groups becoming overwhelmed and burnt-out.  You also asked questions about the design industry, on reconciling project timelines, and the ways we can regenerate Country. 

Part 1 explored the ​‘eggshells’ of engagement — the role of understanding that each project, situation and engagement is a unique opportunity to understand the land from the beginning. Exploring the nuances of cultural protocol and etiquette, Kat and Hannah also talked about the systems of Country that still speak loudly — even in crowded city centres — if we stop to listen.

These two episodes serve as a reminder and resource for designers, organisations, and individuals that we can listen and learn much – from Country – and each other.

Recorded on Lands of the Noongar Whadjuk people and the Wadawurrung people. Produced on the lands of the Wurundjeri people.

We pay our respects to the original custodians of the lands where we practice, and acknowledge their unique ability to care for country and their deep spiritual connection to it.

Are you ready for an 'Epic Yarn'?

Listening lies at the heart of so much of what designers do, but listening to what Country and Culture is telling us means connecting deeply and meaningfully with the land and its people.

How well are designers — and organisations, individuals and communities — listening to these voices?

Together with Landscape Architect Hannah Galloway, we wanted to explore the topic of ​‘Listening’ with First Nations Consultant, Cultural Advisor and Storyteller Kat Rodwell.

In Part 1 of this 'Epic Yarn', Kat and Hannah discuss the​‘eggshells’ of engagement — the role of understanding that each project, situation and engagement is a unique opportunity to understand the land from the beginning. They explore the nuances of cultural protocol and etiquette, and the systems of Country that still speak loudly — even in crowded city centres — if we stop to listen.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone wanting to deepen their understanding and to recalibrate how they listen to the voices of Country and Culture. In it, you'll hear the practical ways that individuals and organisations can better connect, support, and learn. 

Recorded on Lands of the Noongar Whadjuk people and the Wadawurrung people. Produced on the lands of the Wurundjeri people.

We pay our respects to the original custodians of the lands where we practice, and acknowledge their unique ability to care for country and their deep spiritual connection to it.

Perth in Western Australia has joined thousands of other cities around the world aiming for Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050. How will this unique city, facing unique climate challenges, meet the target? And how will designers help the city go beyond the standards to beat the clock and make a thriving, regenerative hub?

Hassell’s Sustainable Design Leader Karla Fox-Reynolds joined self-confessed 'sustainability nerd' the Hon. Dr. Brad Pettitt MLC and environmental scientist Prof. Josh Byrne for a conversation in our Perth studio on Whadjuk Country alongside peers from the design industry, and private and public organisations.

The conversation spanned commercial and residential, urban and public spaces and the potential for adaptive reuse in the transition to net zero.

With a housing crisis affecting cities and people, we're taking a look at the close ties between design and innovation in the residential sector.

How are emerging housing models responding to community needs? What role is design playing in ensuring projects can still succeed despite cost, supply and climate challenges? And what makes larger scale residential alternatives appealing to investors seeking a long-term revenue line?

In this episode you'll hear from one such investor in residential innovation. With projects in the UK, the US - and Australia - AustralianSuper is also an enthusiastic partner of pioneering build-to-rent-to-own housing developer, Assemble Communities, and quarter owner of the Assemble Futures.

Fiona Dunster, Senior Investment Director within the property team at AustralianSuper joined Residential sector co-lead Jeremy Schluter to explore why investing in quality, sustainable housing for people just makes good financial sense, and why elements like tool libraries, communal laundries, kitchen facilities, spaces for yoga, dog walking and book clubs are designed in from the start, to bring people together and encourage connection.

It is time to move on from the pursuit of iconic architecture.

The issues keeping our clients and collaborators up at night are the same things pushing our cities closer to the cusp of wholesale change.

Things like the competition around attracting and keeping great tenants, providing magnetic experiences and destination workplaces in uncertain times, dealing with 'great bones' in a building and delivering sustainable spaces are all complex, and often perplexing, challenges.

Challenging the building industry to create the momentum our cities will need for people and nature to thrive together, Senior Associate Razvan I. Ghilic-Micu spoke to a cross-industry audience of property owners, managers, developers and creators at TRANSFORM, the Green Building Council of Australia's event for sustainable built environments.

With insights from 'From Ordinary to Extraordinary: A New Iconicity', Razvan was joined by Samantha Peart to talk about the key ingredients needed for this evolution to take place.