As we move into February, the count-down to semester one begins. 2013 is already looking like a huge year, with new MA studio subjects, post-professional programs, and a diverse line-up of public events showcasing the work and ideas of top practitioners and talented designers. You can read about some of these events and exhibitions in this edition of e-news.

A reminder to all that the Faculty is now located at 757 Swanston Street.  We relocated to these temporary premises in November, to make way for the construction of our new landmark building. That's where you will find most ABP academic and professional staff - with our research groups in 33 Lincoln Sqaure South and the the Environments and Design Student Centre remaining in the Baldwin Spencer building.

You can follow the demolition of our old buildings and the construction process of our future building on the new building blog and via the time-lapse company website, which features progress photos every hour. Main construction works begin in April this year

We are enjoying our new facilities which have been renovated by hip Melbourne architects 'Six Degrees'.  The building features our  new gallery space - Wunderlich @ 757 Swanston - and some spacious and flexbile teaching and theatre spaces. We look forward to seeing you at one of our exhibitions, events or special programs this year.

Thursday 21 February @ 7pm, Sidney Myer Asia Centre

Iconic British Architect, Professor Sir Peter Cook will launch the Dean's Lecture Series 2013 with his free public lecture, From Archigram to CRAB: Nosing Forward.

Peter Cook has been a pivotal figure within the global architecture world for over half a century.  In his only Melbourne lecture, Peter will discuss his journey from Archigram, the avant-garde architectural group formed in the 1960s, to CRAB, the innovative practive he established just six years ago.

A graduate of Bournemouth and London's Architectural Association, Peter has developed a successful academic career and is currently Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy.

He will conduct a Masterclass for Melbourne School of Design students, in conjunction with the Victorian Department of Transport, from 12 - 21 February.

Register now to attend Sir Peter Cook's FREE public lecture

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Thursday 7 March @ 7pm, Sidney Myer Asia Centre

We are excited to launch a brand new event series in 2013, profiling the people and practices transforming our modern world.

ABP AGENDA kicks off in March with a special forum featuring the New York design critic and blogger, Alexandra Lange. The event will explore the function and evolution of architecture writing and how digital media has opened up a new and seductive space for design criticism. 

Alexandra Lange has made a name for herself as a critic and writer on the influential Design Observer website. She is author of the acclaimed Writing About Architecture (2012), and her lucid and entertaining critiques have appeared in The Architect's Newspaper, Architectural Record, Dwell, Metropolis, Print, New York Magazine and The New York Times.

Leading figures in Australian architectural media will join Lange to explore the challenges and potential of critical discourse, the built environment and digital media. The panel line-up includes: Justine Clark (architectural writer, editor of Parlour and former editor of Architecture Australia), Michael Holt (editor of Architectural Review Asia Pacific), Dr Rory Hyde (broadcaster, blogger and author of Future Practice, 2012), and academic Dr Karen Burns (University of Melbourne).

Registrations essential - register online now.

Media Partner: Architectural Review Asia Pacific

Alan March launched his first book, The Democratic Plan: Analysis and Diagnosis, at a special event in the Alan Gilbert Building on 31 January.

The book was officially launched by Vice Chancellor, Professor Glyn Davis and commentary was provided by Jane Monk, Director of Planning Statutory Services, DPCD.

This seminal text considers positive pathways for change in urban planning and development, using the past 15 years in Victoria's urban planning history as a practical case study.

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It's sustainable, biodegradable and edible.

What are we talking about? Hats off to anyone who guessed stage design, because before PhD student Tanja Beer began her research there was  little concern for eco-friendly performance spaces.

The Living Stage, to be lauched at the Castletmaine State Festival on the 16 March, introduces a new methodology for the design of performance spaces. Avoiding the environmental pit falls of bespoke stage design, The Living Stage offers an opportunity for community engagement and education, as well as an entertainment venue that literally feeds back into the community. Its physical structures will become their garden beds, its plants will become their food, and its waste will become their compost.

Described by Stage Whispers (2010) as ‘one of Melbourne’s hottest and most inventive designers,’ Tanja Beer is taking her progressive design style oversea and is engaging in a number of University exchanges, workshops and projects in America, Canada and the UK over the next year. Tanja hopes to develop a methodology for sustainable stage design that will become a 'best practice' international framework.

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Find out more about The Living Stage

Can’t wait until March? Why not check out Tanja’s work at The Arts Centre, Melbourne, next Thursday. Tanja has designed a special performance installation, as part of her PhD research, to demonstrate the potential of recycled material in performance and space. The performance takes place in Hamer Hall, The Arts Centre on Thursday 14 February from 12.30 to 1.30.

'Write what you know' is the maxim Dik Jarman lives by. "If you don't know what you know; find out!"

This is the mantra he employs in his career as a commercial film maker and animator. An architecture graduate, Dik was introduced to animation by a friend who asked him to sculpt characters for a puppet animation show. With a strong skill base and creativity in his corner, Dik started to design and make sets for film and television in conjunction with working as an architect.

A creative mind behind many well-known animations such as 'Dad's Clock' and 'Mary and Max', Dik has also enjoyed a successful architecture career. Most recently he worked as Chief Representative Officer at Studio 505 in China and was involved in a number of key projects, such as the Australian Pavilion for World Expo in Japan, the Lotus Building in Wujin, China, and Pixel, the world's greenest office building.

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Dr Rory Hyde - architect, broadcaster, blogger and author of Future Practice - reveals his favourite building in Melbourne:

City Edge, Daryl Jackson Evan Walker Architects, 1972-76.

City Edge is kind of ugly. The palette of tan bricks, brown-painted timber, and exposed concrete is not as desirable as it once might have been. But as a model of planning, density, amenity and sustainability, it has a lot to offer us today.

Built in the brief period in the '60s and '70s when Australian architects were experimenting with new ways of living collectively, City Edge represents an alternative to the binary choice of free-standing house or high-rise apartment. Each of the 180 units have their own front doors, balcony or garden, ample natural light, and access to a shared garden with mature natives trees. There's a generosity here that you rarely find in the market today, dominated as it is by individualism and return on investment. Robin Boyd viewed this as the future of housing, endorsing this and other developments like it in his last book Living and Partly Living (1971), but unfortunately died too young to see it through.