2012 has been an exhilarating year in ABP, as our project to create a landmark new education and research centre for the built environment gathers momentum.  It is exciting to witness the ‘breaking of ground’, as building enabling works occur around the Architecture building and the construction phase is scheduled to commence this month.

This year has also seen the arrival of several new academic staff, many of whom are connected to industry and share our vision for the continued integration of research and practice.

In 2013 our programs and research will continue to evolve with advances in industry practices and technology. As we engage with the University's new building construction process enhanced learning opportunities for our students emerge and it is clear that exciting times lie ahead.

We wish you and yours all the very best over the festive season.
Have a very merry Christmas.

We are delighted to announce the new Director of the Melbourne School of Design, Professor Alan Pert.

Alan is an acclaimed architect, researcher and teacher who also heads up his own design practice, NORD (Northern Office of Research and Design). A passion for materials, craftmanship and technological innovation underpins NORD's work. Since forming in 1992, NORD have been awarded many prizes including a RIBA Award for their Primary Substation for the 2012 Olympics and the Young British Architect of the Year Award (YAYA) in 2006.

NORD's most recent project just opened in London: a spectacular new gallery for The Victoria and Albert Museum’s furniture collection. As the first ever V&A gallery dedicated to furniture, the space displays over 200 extraordinary pieces from the Middle Ages to the present day.

In considering the design of the gallery, NORD were intrigued by the progression of the Grand Salon of a Guild Hall. “With this association, comes an opportunity to reappraise the role of detail and materiality, decoration and ornament, in response to the range of technique and craft on display,” says Alan.

“Content is divided between a linear chronology along a central axis and a series of pocketed displays along the perimeter of the gallery carrying content sections illustrating technique and craft.”

Fresh from Glasgow and a senior role at the University of Strathclyde, Alan is excited to join ABP, and embraces the challenge of connecting our MSD programs to the needs of industry and forging partnerships between research and practice.

Read more about NORD.

It is with some sadness that we farewelled the Architecture building on November 23. But, oh what a way to go! The Final Show party attracted over 1000 ABP staff, students, alumni and friends, who gathered on a balmy spring night to celebrate and reminisce and to view the final exhibition in the Wunderlich Gallery - Six Degrees Architects' Greatest Hits 1992-2012 survey show.

Cocktails and canapes were shared over friendly chat and lively debate. Music cemented the party atmosphere with cult classics such as 'Another brick in the wall' and 'We built this city' and Alex Selenitch's band, Suns of Suction, wowed with some original compositions. The Six Degrees exhibition provided a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our alumni who are shaping the built landscape and an ideal way to mark the 'end of an era'.

Professor Philip Goad, Chair of Architecture, delivered a speech on the night and spoke of the Faculty's rich history in a building he described as having seen "talent developed, policy advanced and many a late night."

Get updates of our new building project on the new building blog.

If you are an alumnus of ABP why not join our community on LinkedIn. Share your profile with other alumni and join the conversation. Find us at ABP@UoM.

As ABP's home for over 40 years, the Architecture building held many stories within its walls.  On the eve of its demolition, we asked several staff and students what the building meant to them. From artwork in stairwells and concrete poems on office doors, we got some intriguing responses.

For Sarah Rees, a Bachelor of Environments graduate, the Joseph Reed Facade holds particular meaning.

“Walking home after many a late night studying at uni and seeing the Old Commerce building facade lit up always reminded me that what we design can become reality and that the pages of the history books we read do exist in real life.”

Read about more favourite spaces in the December edition of Atrium, which will be available here from Monday 17 December.

Graduating classes of 2012 from the Master of Architecture, Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Urban Design showcased their work at a special exhibition in the Sidney Myer Asia Centre.  Co-ordinated by a student committee, Gradex 2012 saw hundreds of visitors share in the enthusiasm, vision and drive of our students, who talked guests through their design projects.                      

A wide range of topics were on display, from the concept of an Australian Castle to potential entries for the Flinders Street Design Competition and a challenging design brief for the Supreme Court of Victoria. Demonstrating the Faculty's strong international bonds and student opportunities, a number of travelling studio and overseas projects were displayed, including the design of a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Haiti, a reactivation project for the old town of Jakarta and an exploration of urban design approaches for preservation and large scale and urban renewal as part of the Nanjing Travelling Studio.

Keep reading or browse through the Gradex 2012 Catalogue.

Jefa Greenaway, together with Rueben Berg, is leading an Indigenous Architecture Victoria initiative to offer indigenous Victorians between 15 and 21 information about pursuing a career in architecture.

The summer school will take place on Wednesday 23 January at the Koori Heritage Trust and is free to attend.

"Participants will gain an understanding of how to become an architect, what skills and knowledge you use as an Architect and how Architecture can help continue our culture," said Jefa, who is one of only about ten indigenous Architects / architectural graduates in Australia. 

Applications for the summer school close on 16 December.

For more information and to download the application form visit Indigenous Architecture Victoria's website.

“To enrich the built environment, economically, culturally and aesthetically, but more importantly, with great social manners.”

This is the goal of SIBLING, a Melbourne based practice, made up of University of Melbourne alumni with an expansive range of skills and experience.

After spending their University years sharing a space to work sleep and eat, Amelia Borg, Nicholas Braun, Jonathan Brener, Jessica Brent, Jane Caught, Qianyi Lim, Timothy Moore and Alan Ting decided to work together on larger scale projects. Soon after SIBLING was formed.

We caught up with Timothy Moore to find out more.

The pop up market designed by Kristina Taranto and Steven Vidovic was launched at its Stanley Street location in Collingwood last weekend. Kristina and Steven won a national design competition for their pop up market design in July, which called for a 1100 square-metre market site that was sustainable and adaptable.

The resulting design was constructed in five months and is now home to an ecclectic mix of retailers and food and beverage vendors.

We caught up with Kristina and Steven, who have since launched their own practice, Emerge Studio.

Read more.

Ella Leoncio graduated from ABP in 2006 and is a successful architect at Chamberlain Javens Architects. Ella's passion for design extends to her hobbies. She is a design blogger, an artist and a dancer. Recently she was approached by Dulux to do some styling for their 2013 Colour Forecast Campaign.

Having discovered me through my blog, Dulux asked me to style three colour palettes, as selected by their trend forecasters.

The first palette, "Seek", explores ideas of gathering and collecting. Objects from disparate times and places are pieced together to create a new, personal story. The second palette, "Merge", is about the meeting of new and old. Aesthetic influences of the past are re-interpreted for the present context. The final palette, "Blur", is inspired by the constant flux of the technologically driven world. It talks about visual bombardment of today's world and the way this feeds constant new desires.

Although outside of my usual field of work, I was thrilled to be invited to work with Dulux.

Check out Ella's blog, Pages from my moleskin.