Australian Architects Declare have organised their next Melbourne event in partnership with DesignInc Melbourne:
DON'T WASTE BUILDINGS - Retrofitting and adaptive re-use in Melbourne's CBD
is on next Wednesday, 11 June, 18.00-19.30 local time.
There are still some tickets available HERE.
Traditionally, buildings at the end of their lifecycle 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 MSc , FRSA 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, LFA, 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.
For registered architects, the event will attract 1.5 formal CPD points.
There are still some tickets available HERE.