Kim Dovey, The University of Melbourne and Elek Pafka, The University of Melbourne
We’re still in the early days of understanding how cities work. But we do know that creative, healthy and productive cities have certain things in common – and it’s all to do with their ‘urban DMA’.
Since it began in London in 1992, the Open House movement has spread to 30 cities. Its events, which showcase everything from tiny apartments to grand homes, are cultivating a popular appreciation of architecture.
Donald Trump, if he takes the US presidency, will immediately start building a wall between Mexico and the US. What lessons can he take from that celebrated wall-builder, Chairman Mao?
Those opposed to the building of new mosques don’t recognise their long history here, or potential to support Australian ideals. Mosques are part of our suburban landscape and can help overcome fears about Islam.
Are terrorist attacks also an implicit design critique of our urban landscape? An architect and urban designer suggests we can fight terrorism by not building obvious targets.
Business Briefing: a better to design an office
The Conversation13.9 MB(download)
Research shows that many building codes don't designate the maximum number of people that should fit in an office, but that's not the only problem with standard office design.
The Sydney Opera House is getting an A $200 million upgrade. It’s a chance to rectify some glaring faults, but in our risk-averse times, the outcome will be decided by committees.
There is a growing trend of designing modernised replicas of traditional buildings for entertainment and tourism. That’s no way to salvage positive lessons from building traditions.
Might we enjoy our homes more if their rooms were characterised by their sense of loftiness or intimacy or cheerfulness or melancholy rather than lifeless labels such as ‘media room’ or ‘home office’?
Sydney’s Sirius building - a brutalist classic, providing public housing with waterfront views - will soon be gone. Its loss speaks volumes about our contemporary values and architecture’s shift away from utopianism.
An architect rides through the streets of Rio amidst a cacophony of drills and jackhammers. He wonders: Is it worth it? What will the legacy of all this construction be?
Breeze blocks are having a moment in the sun. Having been painfully hip in the architecture of the 1950s and 60s, they were used so extensively, in both houses and commercial buildings, that they became…
Professor of Architecture and SARChI: DST/NRF/SACN Research Chair in Spatial Transformation (Positive Change in the Built Environment), Tshwane University of Technology