Retrofit Forum

Stay informed at The Retrofit Forum... 

The Retrofit Forum, co hosted by The Retrofit Lab (The University of Melbourne) and the University of Technology Sydney, serves as an open platform to discuss the opportunities and challenges of retrofit in Australia. Held on the first Tuesday of each month beginning in May, this forum brings together industry, government, academia, and the public to share knowledge and stay updated about retrofitting practice and research.  

These forums aim to drive the sector forward by fostering a collaborative community dedicated to sharing best practices and insights. Each session will feature presentations by retrofit academics and industry professionals. By facilitating connections, these sessions will address key retrofit challenges and opportunities such as; 

• Commercial Buildings: How do we engage with developers, building owners and other stakeholders to make retrofit ‘business as usual’ for commercial entities?  
• Housing: The majority of Australian housing is ill-equipped to deal with unfolding climate, health and affordability challenges. What role does retrofit play in improving the existing housing stock in an equitable and sustainable way? 
• Landscapes: How does landscape retrofitting contribute to the development of more resilient, low-carbon cities by enhancing various ecosystem services? 
• Skills: What steps are necessary to equip the Australian workforce with the skills required for retrofitting? 
• Digital: How can digital technology contribute to promoting the retrofit agenda, including the use of technologies like digital twins? 

Conducted both in-person and online, with hosts alternating monthly between the University of Melbourne and Sydney- this forum fosters collaboration among industry, government, and academia, and aims to collectively address emerging challenges and solutions within the retrofitting landscape. The Retrofit Forum is organised by The Retrofit Lab, Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne. 

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If would like any further information on the Forum, please contact: the-retrofit-lab@unimelb.edu.au 

Next Forum:

Date: Tuesday 12th of November 
Location: Online via Zoom
Time: 4:00 – 5:00pm 
Theme: Bushfire Retrofit Toolkit - followed by a panel discussion

The 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, or Black Summer, was one of the most intense, catastrophic fire seasons on record. It included bushfires in many parts of Australia, which, due to its intensity, size, duration, and uncontrollable dimension, was considered a megafire at the time. A result was the Build Back Better programme to develop greater resilience in the built environment to bushfires. Our project; The Bushfire Retrofit Toolkit for Older Australians has developed, through community engagement, a series of tools to assist with informed decision making in retrofitting homes for greater bushfire protection.

Speakers:

• Dr Mona Abd Al Salam, University of Technology Sydney
• Iina Lohi, University of Canberra
  

Panel Discussion: 

• Ray Loveridge M.App.Sc (Research); M.FSEng; CPEng (Ret); FIEAust. Fire engineer
  Adjunct Professor - School of Built Environment UTS
• Nigel Bell – ECOdesign Architects + Consultant
• Irina Acosta Disaster Recovery Professional in Government