The Victorian Sustainable Architecture Committee is hosting an exhibition of architectural thinking around the re-imaging and retrofitting of Melbourne’s public housing towers.

With wide public debate following the Victorian Government’s recently announced plans to demolish all 44 of Melbourne’s public housing towers, the exhibition will showcase recent architectural thinking and designs exploring how the towers could be retrofitted to extend their life for another 50 years. The exhibited work from BKK Architects, OFFICE and MSD thesis students considers how the existing structures could be retrofitted and extended to minimise the costs, social disruption and environmental impacts their demolition and replacement will entail.

Proposing solutions to current problems with the tower buildings, the exhibition considers the large amount of resources and carbon embodied in their towering forms, as well as their rich social history and the role they play in our urban fabric. Considering timescale out to 2050, the designs look at how the carbon emissions embodied in the concrete structures may be considered in an era that both government and industry are saying Australia needs to be delivering net zero emission buildings.

Launch event:  
Presentation of exhibited works followed by a panel discussion Chaired by Peter Elliot

Date: Monday 20 May 2024
Time: Arrive  6:15 pm for 6:30 start – 8:00 pm

Presenters:
Peter Elliott
Simon Knott - BKK Architects
Steve Mintern - OFFICE
Chris Barnett
MSD Design Studios  - George Avraam, Olivia Goodliffe, Nicholas Reyes Baltran, Kiara Rustaman
Archi/Eng Thesis - Isabelle Fyfe

Discussion panel:
Simon Knott
Isabelle Fyfe
Olivia Goodliffe
Chris Barnett
Brendon McNiven