Conversations

Conversations

A legacy landscape

Designed as a rich, varied ‘collection of stories’, the new Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip in Perth celebrates the people and land that shape a place, from its early beginnings to modern day.

CONVERSATIONS

From source to sea, over 40 years

In 1979, Hassell and Land Systems started designing ‘Australia’s first fully-realised linear park’ along the River Torrens in Adelaide, South Australia. More than 40 years later, Adelaide’s residents tell us how it became - and has remained - one of the city’s best places.

CONVERSATION

High streets need to find their “appetite for design”

Humans experience urban space as theatre, and we describe that space with our bodies. Such spaces are vital – socially, meaningfully and sensually.

CONVERSATION

The New Methodology: The art of being together

If anything could ever have shown the extent of the role culture plays in placemaking, then it’s a virus that lives off the very thing that we most like doing: being together.

Conversations

What a master plan is supposed to do

The qualities that actually make something a “master plan” are consistently ill-defined. At best, a master plan is a precinct manager’s most valuable tool. At worst, they can potentially be a wasteful investment.

CONVERSATIONS

Planting for all the right reasons

A plant is better than no plants. But our city streets deserve more than a few groundcover species in a sea of mulch, which won’t bring us the well-researched benefits of immersion in dynamic nature.

CONVERSATIONS

Brutalist beauty of the Barbican’s gardens

In this age of curated experiences, the Barbican’s gardens give rise to the unique journeys that keep place-makers and modern designers awake at night.

PODCAST

How big data can challenge - and validate - the design process

It’s more important than ever for cities to understand how their spaces work and how to attract people back. One advantage city shapers have - but often don’t use to full effect in the design process - is big data.

Podcast

There‘s not much more to extract

CONVERSATIONS

Sowing virtual seeds

With advances in computing and 3D software, we can now create virtual plants that grow and change with the seasons.

Conversations

Are smarter parks also more attractive?

People are more likely to visit parks, and for longer, in ‘smart’ cities that incorporate innovative technology into their public spaces.

PODCAST

Workplace design, data and the era of COVID-19

How can data help organisations get the most out of their workplace experiments?

Podcast

The law of attraction: bringing people back (and back) to the corporate campus

How can corporate campuses lure us out of our homes (and pyjamas) and back to the office in a COVID-wary world? And how will they keep us coming back, with remote working more compelling or essential than ever?

Conversations

The future is quality housing with humanity

Office, gym, cinema, boardroom, classroom… In 2020 the humble home has done it all. What does this mean for the future of the residential development sector?

CONVERSATIONS

A decade for humility in design

We wouldn’t paint a neon moustache on the Mona Lisa. So why do we pave over beautiful and resilient natural systems?