Following the Victorian government’s announcement regarding the demolition of Melbourne’s 44 public towers, protests and initiatives led by locals, residents, and various industries have arisen questioning the scheme. Concerns such as the potential for retrofitting, the displacement of communities, and the lack of affordable and social housing in the city are among the factors opposing the plan.
Rethinking architecture through a reparative lens, the event is a panel discussion centered around the concept of care and repair in design and architecture. A conversation inviting participants to envision alternative futures for the public towers, the residents, and the possibilities of reconciliation with Country.
Join the conversation at Testing Grounds on May 27th at 6 PM, for an event hosted by ongoing collaborator Will Young, featuring guest speakers Bradley Kerr—architect and First Nations advisor–, architect James Henry from Housing Choices Australia, and urban geographer Dr Kate Shaw.
Participants
Will Young
Will Young is a creative and technical environmental consultant with a background in engineering and finance, bringing experience in projects at a precinct scale and with State and Local Government, from a master planning stage through to project delivery. Working with Finding Infinity for the past six years, Will’s key experience involves investigating the financial viability of a range of environmental initiatives through identifying impact on both capital and operational expenses and translating this information into strategies for precincts and buildings to minimize their environmental impact.
Bradley Kerr
A Quandamooka man and architect living, working and learning on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Country, Bradley is Director of architecture and design studio Winsor Kerr, and a member of the Australian Institute of Architects’ First Nations Advisory Committee and Victoria Chapter Council. He has contributed to the industry as a juror for the Institute’s awards program, guest university critic and studio leader, speaker and moderator on numerous panels, advisory and working groups and committees.
James Henry
James Henry is a registered architect and the general manager of assets and development at Housing Choices Australia (HCA). He is responsible for ensuring the strategic development and management of HCA’s national portfolio results in high quality, sustainable and innovative outcomes that will serve the needs of HCA tenants into the future.
Dr Kate Shaw
Dr Kate Shaw is a critical urban geographer at the University of Melbourne. She is interested in the cultures of cities and the political-economic and social processes that shape them, in particular, urban planning and policy practices and their capacity to deliver social equity and cultural diversity. She is co-editor with Libby Porter of Whose Urban Renaissance? An international comparison of urban regeneration policies (Routledge 2009) and author of the forthcoming Squander and salvage of global urban waterfronts, which looks at the redevelopment of the deindustrialised docks and harbours of London, Melbourne, Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver, Berlin, Hamburg and Copenhagen.
Following the Victorian government’s announcement regarding the demolition of Melbourne’s 44 public towers, protests and initiatives led by locals, residents, and various industries have arisen questioning the scheme. Concerns such as the potential for retrofitting, the displacement of communities, and the lack of affordable and social housing in the city are among the factors opposing the plan.
Rethinking architecture through a reparative lens, the event is a panel discussion centered around the concept of care and repair in design and architecture. A conversation inviting participants to envision alternative futures for the public towers, the residents, and the possibilities of reconciliation with Country.
Join the conversation at Testing Grounds on May 27th at 6 PM, for an event hosted by ongoing collaborator Will Young, featuring guest speakers Bradley Kerr—architect and First Nations advisor–, architect James Henry from Housing Choices Australia, and urban geographer Dr Kate Shaw.
Participants
Will Young
Will Young is a creative and technical environmental consultant with a background in engineering and finance, bringing experience in projects at a precinct scale and with State and Local Government, from a master planning stage through to project delivery. Working with Finding Infinity for the past six years, Will’s key experience involves investigating the financial viability of a range of environmental initiatives through identifying impact on both capital and operational expenses and translating this information into strategies for precincts and buildings to minimize their environmental impact.
Bradley Kerr
A Quandamooka man and architect living, working and learning on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Country, Bradley is Director of architecture and design studio Winsor Kerr, and a member of the Australian Institute of Architects’ First Nations Advisory Committee and Victoria Chapter Council. He has contributed to the industry as a juror for the Institute’s awards program, guest university critic and studio leader, speaker and moderator on numerous panels, advisory and working groups and committees.
James Henry
James Henry is a registered architect and the general manager of assets and development at Housing Choices Australia (HCA). He is responsible for ensuring the strategic development and management of HCA’s national portfolio results in high quality, sustainable and innovative outcomes that will serve the needs of HCA tenants into the future.
Dr Kate Shaw
Dr Kate Shaw is a critical urban geographer at the University of Melbourne. She is interested in the cultures of cities and the political-economic and social processes that shape them, in particular, urban planning and policy practices and their capacity to deliver social equity and cultural diversity. She is co-editor with Libby Porter of Whose Urban Renaissance? An international comparison of urban regeneration policies (Routledge 2009) and author of the forthcoming Squander and salvage of global urban waterfronts, which looks at the redevelopment of the deindustrialised docks and harbours of London, Melbourne, Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver, Berlin, Hamburg and Copenhagen.
