MPavilion

Listen to experience masterplanners FreeState and guests have a conversation around the critical nature of co-design in the creation of better places. How does using a narrative structure help to define clear user journeys in public places and encourage transdisciplinary practices? Can it provide a catalyst for participatory programs and engender genuine diversity and inclusion?

This podcast is a conclusion of ‘The Excellent City Series’ hosted by the City of Melbourne.

The discussion reflects on the key themes explored in the series:

· Inclusivity and intersectionality (Designing Equity)

· Melbourne as an Aboriginal place (Design Yarning)

· Urban resilience in the context of the climate and biodiversity emergency (Designing Resilience)

An interdisciplinary panel discussion will unpack the role of designers, planners, government and thought leaders in influencing a great design culture. The panel will also consider what design excellence looks like for Melbourne.

Speakers include:

· Nicholas Reece – Deputy Lord Mayor at City of Melbourne & Chair of the Design Excellence Advisory Committee

· Bridget Smyth – Director City Design at City of Sydney

· Daniel Soussan – Principal Planner at Tract & Technical Expert for Melbourne Design Review Panel

· Karen Alcock – Owner/Principal MAArchitects

· Georgia Birks – Associate Editor at Architecture Media & Design Excellence Advisory Committee Member

· Karl Fender – Founding Partner at Fender Katsalidis Architects & Technical Advisor for Design Excellence Advisory Committee

· Philip Thalis – Principal at Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Planning

· Moderated by Jocelyn, Director of City Design at City of Melbourne

· Series reflection from previous event moderators Ella Gauci-Seddon, Skye Haldane and Danielle Jewson

The City of Melbourne’s Design Excellence Program reinforces the city’s commitment to enhance the function, liveability, sustainability and public contribution of our buildings and urban spaces. Further information on the Design Excellence Program can be found at the City of Melbourne website.

Hear the story of how five Melbourne female creatives have generated a studio space—churning out some of Melbourne’s most well-known goodies.

The panel discussion features the duo behind SISTER Studios, the pair responsible for Blazed Wax, the creator of Hello Sisi, Textile Designer Megan McNeill, and the brains behind Kannava Jewels will explore the importance of collaboration within their community.

Each at the helm of their own creative label, the group of friends and entrepreneurs chat about how important it is to share a space with like-minded women in business.

Working in industries spanning fashion, accessories, textiles and homewares, the studio is, at the core, all about fostering a space of constant collaboration. Women supporting women—teaching, learning and leaning on one another to encourage brand evolution.

Join Parlour for a special Seasonal Salon exploring what it means to make homes for others.

How do we, collectively, ensure that everyone has a home? What roles can different professions play in preventing homelessness and supporting women in accessing and making homes? What can we learn from each other, and how can we contribute?

The Salons are informal casual conversations on the topics that matter. Hear from architect Eloise Atkinson and community housing manager Charlotte Dillon as they share their experiences, expertise and strategies for the future.

Co-hosted by Readings, hear Omar Musa discuss his work and gift us a performance to take you into the moment.

Omar Musa, a Malaysian-Australian rapper, poet and author is one of Australia’s most important young voices. In his writing and music he confronts the dark realities of Australian history and culture. His latest release, Killernova, is a collection of poetry and wood cuts that burns blindingly bright. With equal parts swagger, humour and vulnerability, Musa charts a journey through the colonial history of South-East Asia, environmental destruction, oceans, bushfires, race in Australia, the isolation and addiction of COVID lockdown, family, lost love and, ultimately, recovery.

How do we design to survive? (Responding to a climate and biodiversity emergency)

In 2019, The City of Melbourne declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. The Declaration recognises that climate change and mass species extinction pose serious risks to the people of Melbourne and Australia and should be treated as an emergency.

How does the built environment of our city need to change to help us survive this emergency through hotter days, bushfire smoke, more intense storms and flooding as well as sea level rise?

Hear a deep dive exploring what Design Excellence looks like when responding to a climate and biodiversity emergency.

The City of Melbourne’s Design Excellence Program reinforces the city’s commitment to enhance the function, liveability, sustainability and public contribution of our buildings and urban spaces.

The Excellent City Series explores several key themes that shape Design Excellence in Melbourne.

Speakers include:

+ Tiffany Crawford – Director, Climate Change and City Resilience at City of Melbourne

+ Florian van den Corput – Senior Advisor, Circular Economy at Sustainability Victoria

+ Stephen Webb – Design Director and Architect at Design Inc

+ Johanna Trickett – Associate, Sustainability at ARUP

Introduction: Jocelyn Chiew – Director City Design, City of Melbourne

Moderators: Danielle Jewson – Design Manager & Principal Strategic Designer / Sarah Bell – City of Melbourne Chair in Urban Resilience and Innovation at University of Melbourne

How do we design for intersectionality?

Whether we are aware or not, the fundamental principles that shape our city are based on a preconceived idea of the ‘average’ person.

Our experience of cities is influenced by gender, ethnicity, physical ability, sexual orientation, age, and many other factors. By celebrating these unique experiences, we can shape our cities to allow everyone to thrive.

Hear a panel discussion addressing the importance of inclusivity and intersectionality in achieving Design Excellence.

Designing Equity addressed questions such as…What are your experiences of inclusion, equity, safety, and wellbeing in the city? How can we champion equity to influence change in our city? What does it mean to design for equity?

The City of Melbourne’s Design Excellence Program reinforces the city’s commitment to enhance the function, liveability, sustainability and public contribution of our buildings and urban spaces.

The Excellent City Series explores several key themes that shape Design Excellence in Melbourne.

Age-Friendly Design is a concept that’s increasingly being considered and applied across councils and cities both in Australia and internationally. A conversation that brings together multiple views, to interrogate whether AFD allows for expansion beyond older-age considerations to an all-age inclusive approach to urban design.

Curated by Young Seniors + Co, the invited speakers explore how the mixed needs of older-aged citizens overlap with the needs of other groups in our community.

In Australia, there is a growing interest in a collaborative design process that engages First Nations communities, Elders, consultants and designers. With the continued momentum of Indigenous engagement through design and beyond, how are we representing and acknowledging Indigenous voices in architectural projects after completion, in publications and in awards programs?

This discussion explores the progressive inclusivity of Indigenous voices across these two public platforms that promote and value “Australian” architecture.

MPavilion’s fifth annual BLAKitecture forum centralises Indigenous voices in conversations about architecture, the representation of histories, and the present and future states of our built environments. BLAKitecture is curated by MPavilion’s program consultant Sarah Lynn Rees.

The built environment industry is exploring how Country, community and culture can be embedded into their project outcomes.

It is imperative that we first listen to Traditional Custodians and knowledge holders to inform how we plan with Country, which forms the basis of this discussion.

MPavilion’s fifth annual BLAKitecture forum centralises Indigenous voices in conversations about architecture, the representation of histories, and the present and future states of our built environments. BLAKitecture is curated by MPavilion’s program consultant Sarah Lynn Rees.