DON'T WASTE BUILDINGS
Retrofitting and adaptive re-use in Melbourne's CBD

Presented by Australian Architects Declare in partnership with DesignInc Melbourne

DETAILS

DesignInc Melbourne Office
Level 2 GPO Building 350 Bourke Street, Melbourne 3000

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DATE

Wed 11th June, 6 – 7.30pm

ACCESS

Accessible bathroom - Yes
Assistance animals welcome
Seating available
Wheelchair accessible

Traditionally, buildings at the end of their use are being demolished and replaced. This often comes with significant carbon emissions, unnecessary cost, negative social impacts and biodiversity loss both on and off site.

Fundamentally, it represents the opposite of our commitment to reduce carbon emissions to address climate change. Don't Waste Buildings is an evening with case studies and expert insights on how retrofitting and adaptive reuse can lead the path to re-thinking how we design, construct and use our built environment.

Claire Bowles from Okana ANZ and Gavin Salt, both from i2C Architects will showcase their Make Room Housing project, which aims to provide secure supported residences for rough sleepers or people who are chronically unhoused. The refurbishment of the six-storey heritage office building owned by City of Melbourne created 50 self-contained studio apartments, common areas, a productive rooftop garden, recreation space and offices for visiting medical professionals and social support services.

Nigel Bertram, director of NMBW Architecture Studio will present research that analysed retrofitting of the 20-storey public housing tower in Fitzroy compared to a hypothetical equivalent new building. Overseas, similar post-war housing precincts have been updated and redeveloped in a very careful, considered way. Residents have even been able to stay in place while improvements were made.

Kieran Leong from DesignInc Melbourne will elaborate on their hypothetical Re-Growth research project that explores adaptive reuse and retrofit of a 9-storey Melbourne CBD tower to maximise regenerative design potential.

In the following panel and Q&A, moderated by Anna Lindstad, they will discuss further how we can rethink adaptive re-use, retrofitting and valuing the buildings we have in an era of climate crisis and prevalent waste of embodied carbon through demolition.

Presenters

Claire Bowles
is a director of Okana ANZ, a global built-environment consultancy, and a director at i2C Architects. She has extensive experience in regenerative design, data and digital processes, purpose-driven business strategy, and living-systems thinking. Passionate about sufficiency in design, Claire sees enormous potential in revitalising existing buildings, spaces, and places to provide essential social infrastructure.

Gavin Salt
is the residential lead at i2C Architects. Both an engineer and architect with over a decade experience in Australia and the UK, he has extensive expertise in the design and delivery of medium- to large-scale residential, mixed-use, childcare, aged care, and medical projects.

Nigel Bertram
is a Practice Professor of Architecture in the Faculty of Art Design & Architecture at Monash University and director of NMBW Architecture Studio in Melbourne, which he established with Marika Neustupny and Lucinda McLean in 1997. Their widely published architectural work includes single and multiple residential design, small public works, adaptive re-use of existing buildings and peripheral urban design strategies. .

Kieran Leong
is a director at DesignInc Melbourne. A committed sustainability advocate, he is dedicated to creating healthy, regenerative nature connected environments. Kieran brings a generous and collaborative approach to every project, working closely with stakeholders clients and consultants across health, community, education and residential sectors.

Introductions and panel discussion will be lead by Anna Lindstad.

Welcome and closure by
Steffen Welsch
Secretary Australian Architects Declare.

For registered architects, the event will attract 1.5 formal CPD points.
Light refreshments and drinks will be served.