Join us to explore the future of Australian suburbia
Welcome to the Architectural Design, Regulation and Production of the Australian Suburb Forum 2023, a free event supported by Cities Research Institute.
For the past three decades, the fascinating interplay between architecture and planning regulations in shaping our built environment has been a topic of intense interest. Think about this: Kenneth Frampton once said, "among the many aspects of the cultural enterprise, it may be claimed that architecture is, in fact, the least autonomous." He highlights how architects don't have complete freedom in their designs. This isn't just a concern for architects; it impacts all of us because it shapes the world we live in.
Consider your own neighbourhood. Have you ever wondered why buildings and spaces are the way they are? It's not just about aesthetics; it's about regulations and rules that architects must follow, often set by politicians, planners, and engineers. These rules affect everything, from the design of a single house to the layout of an entire suburb. In post-covid cities, the profession is at a crossroads where regulations are changing rapidly. Architects are not just designing beautiful structures; they're also being challenged to create spaces that are sustainable, innovative, and multifunctional, all while working within the constraints of planning legislation.
The Forum aims to uncover how these changing rules impact the work of architects and, in turn, how they affect the places we call home. It's not just about the architecture; it's about the future of our suburbs, especially in a world where sustainability and flexibility are paramount. The Forum will bring together architects, planners, economists, and geographers from Griffith University’s Cities Research Institute, national and international institutions, as well as leading practises located in SEQ, to initiate a conversation on the future of suburbia.
Register now to join us at Griffith University's Gold Coast Campus on the 20th and 21st of November 2023 for this free event with two days of lively discussion exploring the exciting evolution of our cities and suburbia and the role architects play in shaping them. Together, we can make our suburbs more beautiful, functional, and sustainable for generations to come.
Forum Details
Date | 20–21 November 2023 |
|---|---|
Venue | Building G51 Room 1.03, |
Price | It is free to attend, but registration is required. |
Who should attend? | The Evening Public Lecture welcomes registration from the wider community and will be of interest to people from a variety of industry and academic backgrounds and professional interests, including but not limited to: architecture, urban planning, policy, economics, and geography. The Forum's Day Sessions are limited to registrations from Griffith University academics and students from the disciplines of architecture, urban planning, economics, and geography. |
How do I register? |
Monday 20 November 2023
Forum Day Session | |
|---|---|
9:00 AM | Registration |
9:30 AM | Welcome Address |
9:45 AM | Forum Introduction: Professor Andrew Leach and Dr Peyman Akhgar |
10:15 AM | Morning Tea (refreshments provided) |
10:30 AM | Panel One Politics of Suburban Architecture & Design |
12:00 PM | Lunch Break |
1:00 - 2:30 PM | Panel Two Architectural Practise and Regulation |
Public Evening Lecture | |
5:00 PM | Lecture Registration and Networking (refreshments provided) |
5:30 - 7:00 PM | Dr Zuzana Kovar, Morgan Jenkins, Anna O'Gorman, and Matt Eagle discuss Australia's Future Suburbia |
Tuesday 21 November 2023
Forum Day Session | |
|---|---|
9:00 AM | Registration |
9:30 AM | Panel Three The Future of Suburbia |
11:00 - 11:30 AM | Morning Tea (refreshments provided) |
Public Evening Lecture
Hear from emerging South East Queensland architects and academics with a diverse portfolio of projects reflecting on the built environment regulations shaping the futures of Australian suburbia.
Speakers
- Dr Zuzana Kovar, Griffith University
- Morgan Jenkins, Neville Jenkins
- Anna O’Gorman, O’Gorman Architecture
- Matt Eagle, Bond University; ME
Panel 1: Politics of Suburban Architecture and Design
This panel brings together professionals with expertise in transport planning, housing, and urban politics to offer a comprehensive outlook on the current regulatory landscape of suburbia. It critically examines the constraints and possibilities that these regulations impose on the work of architects and urban designers and discusses strategies to improve the suburban built environment.
Panel
- Professor Matthew Burke Griffith University (chair)
- Dr Laurence Troy, University of Sydney
- Dr Chris Butler, Griffith University
- Sophie Gadaloff MPIA, Griffith University
Panel 2: Architectural practise and regulation
The panel investigates the entwinement between architectural practises and regulations and their impact on the formation of the built environment. It particularly delves into the effects of regulations on architects’ creative practises and design processes and explores architects’ critical position in shaping the present and future of Australian suburbs.
Panel
- Professor Andrew Leach, University of Sydney (chair)
- Dr Zuzana Kovar, Griffith University
- Dr Urs Bette, University of Adelaide
- Dr Kristy Volz, Queensland University of Technology
Panel 3: The future of suburbia
In this panel, planning professionals and policy experts convene to initiate a conversation on the future of suburbia, particularly in relation to the practise of architecture. The panel discusses the impediments and possible solutions to improve the suburban built environment through architecture, planning, and regulation.
Speakers
- Professor Paul Burton, Griffith University (chair)
- Dr Sara Alidoust, University of Queensland
- Dr Elizabeth Taylor, Monash University
- Dr Mark Limb, Queensland University of Technology
Our Presenters and Panellists
Dr Peyman Akhgar
A Lecturer in Architecture and Design at Griffith University, Peyman's research interest lies in the critical role of architecture as an ‘agent of change’ to create meaningful socio-political spaces in the Global South and Australia.
Dr Sara Alidoust
A Lecturer in Planning at UQ, Alidoust has academic and industry experience (public and private sectors) in Australia and internationally. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the interrelationships between policy, planning, design, and public health.
Dr Urs Bette
A Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide and Director of Urs Bette: Design, Bette's research reveals strategies that facilitate the poetics of architecture within a professional discourse dominated by expectations of quantifiable performance.
Prof Matthew Burke
Deputy Director of the Griffith University's Cities Research Institute, Burke is presently leading projects on demand-responsive transit, e-scooter regulation and ownership, community transport, and planning frameworks including Movement & Place.
Prof Paul Burton
UK trained, Burton is a Professor in Urban Planning at Griffith University. His research has focused on the relationship between research, policy and practice, and he a founding member of Regional Development Australia, Gold Coast group.
Dr Chris Butler
A Senior Lecturer in the Griffith Law School, Butler is focused on the research fields of social and legal theory, critical approaches to state power and urban political ecology.
Matt Eagle
Director and founder of architecture studio ME, Eagle is also a teacher at the Abedian School of Architecture at Bond University. A Gold Coast local, his inventive residential architecture brings the suburban fabric, an often-overlooked aspect of city-making, to the fore.
Sophie Gadaloff
With public and private sector industry experience, Gadaloff is a current PhD candidate in Cities Research Institute's Transport Group. Her research is focused on innovation diffusion in urban planning policy, with a focus on Movement and Place Frameworks.
Morgan Jenkins
Morgan Jenkins is co-director of Brisbane-based architecture studio Nielsen Jenkins. The work of the practice explores key ideas of landscape, subtraction, connections and materiality in order to achieve client specific outcomes responsive to context and place.
Dr Zuzana Kovar
A Lecturer in Design and Contemporary Theory at Griffith University, Kovar is co-director of the practice zuzana&nicholas. Her research focuses on the relations within and between bodies and spaces drawing on the philosophy of Kristeva, Deleuze and Guattari.
Prof Andrew Leach
A Professor of Architecture at the University of Sydney, Leach teaches architectural history. He writes on contemporary issues in the fields of architectural history, theory and criticism.
Dr Mark Limb
Dr Mark Limb is a Lecturer of Urban and Regional Planning at QUT, and is a qualified urban planner with more than a decade of experience in strategic and statutory land use planning.
Anna O’Gorman
Founder of AOG Architects, O'Gorman possesses an empathetic understanding of the relationship between people and place. Her work has won several national and state awards and exhibited at Museum of Brisbane.
Dr Elizabeth Taylor
A Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design at Monash University, Taylor’s research explores links between urban planning, housing markets and locational conflict, to develop understandings of long-term urban change and the role of policy settings in it.
Dr Laurence Troy
A Senior Lecturer in Urbanism at University of Syndey, Troy's research focuses on urban renewal, governance of urban change, economies of housing and urban development, and the role of urbanisation in shaping modern society.
Dr Kristy Volz
A Lecturer in Architecture at QUT, Volz advocates design-led solutions for housing, especially the role that architects must play in redesigning the way we live in, build and procure houses in Australia.
Registration
Register for the Forum Day Sessions or Public Evening Lecture by completing and submitting the form below.
Meet the Forum Organiser
Dr Peyman Akhgar is a Lecturer in Architecture and Design at Griffith University's School of Engineering and Built Environment.
Peyman studied architecture in Iran, Italy, and Australia, where he acquired deep knowledge about architecture and design. After completing his PhD in 2021, Peyman started his academic career at the University of Queensland, and then in 2023, he joined Griffith University.
Peyman’s research interest lies in the critical role of architecture as an ‘agent of change’ to create meaningful socio-political spaces in the Global South and Australia.