May in ABP is a month of exciting public events and significant progress in our new building project.

Practitioners from New York and Helsinki, who are pushing the boundaries of strategic design, fly into ABP this month to present two free lectures. Check out the event details below.

Denton Corker Marshall, renowned for their site-specific architecture, will present the first exhibition in the ABP Alumni Survey Series for 2013 in our new gallery space Wunderlich@757. This highly anticipated series has seen many of our alumni firms present their exceptional projects and design ideas including PHOOEY, ARM and Lyons. Don't miss DCM's stunning show - Land Art: Nine Small Buildings - and check out their design for the 2015 Venice Biennale Australian Pavilion, amongst other featured projects.

April 25, 2013 marked a milestone in ABP's new building project when piling began on site, signalling the commencement of main works.  Due to the excellent progress of the demolition works on site over summer, we are currently on schedule from a "whole of project" perspective, and will now soon witness our new building taking form. "This is a demonstration of excellent project management by all parties," said ABP Dean Tom Kvan, "especially by the two contractors who now share the site so we can keep to our challenging schedule." Check out our new building blog for regular updates and timelapse vision of the project.

2 May @ 6pm, The Open Stage, 757 Swanston St.

Helsinki Design Lab is an initiative of Sitra to advance strategic design as a way to re-examine, re-think and re-design the systems we've inherited in the past.

Leading innovators, Bryan Boyer and Justin W. Cook, join us from Helsinki Design Lab to discuss two exciting projects; Brickstarter, a book which considers how crowd sourcing and crowd funding could be applied to the built environment, and Low2No, a sustainable urban development project. Further information.

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Out of Practice
14 May @ 7pm, Carrillo Gantner Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre

Regiser now for this exciting Dean's Lecture by American Architect and founding partner of SHoP Architects (New York) Gregg Pasquarelli.

SHoP has pushed the Architect's realm past form making and into software design, real estate development, emergent construction research and the co-development of new sustainable technologies.

SHoP's recent work includes the Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, a two-mile esplanade and park along the East River Waterfront, the Innovation Hub government complex in Botswana, Africa, the South Street Seaport redevelopment, a new Major League Soccer stadium in New York and projects for google in Mountain View, CA.

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30 May, 9am - 5.30pm, Spring St. Conference Centre (Shell Building).

Taking a revolutionary look at the architecture industry, Transform will see a host of experts debate gender, agency and remaking the profession.

The key note address will be given by architect and artist, Lori Brown. Lori sits at the intersections of art, architecture geography, and women’s studies, and is involved in architectural practice, research and teaching. All her work emerges from the belief that architecture can participate in and impact people’s everyday lives.

The line up will see architects, academics, policy makers and critics debate these pressing topics. So who are they? Visit Parlour.com.au to find out more about the speakers for this exciting event.

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28 May @ 6.30pm, Harold White Theatre, 757 Swanston Street.

Lori Brown, noted architect and artist, will present an exciting lecture in advance of her key note address at Transform.

On 28 May, Lori will present Discipling Identities, looking at the historical representations of the discipline of architecture and the associated gender identities perpertuated and why they must be broadened.

Drawing from research focusing on the broader implications of gender on the advancement of women's careers, Lori will discuss what it means to be a woman within the broader workforce where social and cultural constraints continue to prevent more women from reaching leadership positions. This will be contextualised with a few current events to demonstrate how gender regularly impacts one's daily life.

Don't miss the opportunity to catch this free public lecture, which is part of the ABP Agenda series.

Further Information

Land Art: Nine Small Buildings
17 May - 14 June 2013, Wunderlich@757

This exciting exhibition gives a rare insight into the design process of architectural practice Denton Corker Marshall. The show is part of ABP's Alumni Survey Series which celebrates the exceptional contribution our alumni make to Australia's and the world's design culture and built environment.

Denton Corker Marshall has made a significant contribution to the global architectural scene. But, from time to time, the practice enjoys the opportunity to design houses, and this lesser-known story is showcased forms the basis of this exhibition.

Denton Corker Marshall - Land Art: Nine Small Buildings will feature photographs, sketches and models from seven residential houses and two small buildings - the Australian Pavilion for the Venice Biennale, Italy, and the Stonehenge Visitor Centre and Interpretation Museum, UK.

The exhibition officially opens on Friday 17 May and will run until 14 June. Find out more about the buildings on display.

Nathan Su is the worthy winner of the Bachelor of Environments medal at the 2013 Dean's Honours Award. Awarded to the top performing student from the Bachelor of Environments program, the medal acknowledges Nathan's commitment and drive throughout his degree.

Nathan is now taking a year out to gain some industry experience before commencing his Master of Architecture at Melbourne School of Design. We caught up with Nathan. Read more.

Writing and Practice: Mihaly Slocombe

The definition of architecture continually comes into question as we see graduate and registered architects using their creativity and holistic world view to diversify into aligned and complimentary fields of practice. The blog is one such avenue which has provided an outlet for the architecture community to analyse, critique and converse about the built environment.

Mihaly Slocombe principles Warwick Mihaly and Erica Slocombe use their blog, Panfilocastaldi, as a discursive space for built environment issues, debates and projects. We spoke to Warwick about his architectural writing and practice. Read interview.

Alan Pert, Director of Melbourne School of Design talks about his favourite building in Melbourne.

17 Landcox Street ‘Excavating ideas’

First impressions have a lasting effect and my arrival in Melbourne at the end of January this year started 11 k/m from the heart of Melbourne in the South East Suburbs. 17 Landcox Street or ‘Brighton on the park’ is advertised as “just six spacious apartments set in three quarters of an acre of landscaped gardens. No two apartments are the same. Each has its own layout and character."

Before unpacking and, like an excited ‘tourist’, I filled an iPhone full of the ruins of modernism. Like the scene of a crime I had gathered a collection of images of the apartments which, when uploaded, told the story of a single idea for a house rather than a grouping of individual apartments. Over the space of a few days I managed to unravel the layers of occupation; visually removing the various alterations, additions, subdivisions and infill’s to reveal a large modernist villa planned around a central swimming pool. Original staircases still exist, bathrooms remain intact with fixtures and fittings, aluminum glazing sets are fully operational and bonded glass corner windows are still sharp. Only one piece of built in furniture remains to accompany the original carpets and this hints at the grandeur of the original house as well as the level of detail invested by the architect.

Most significantly the quality and control of light is still evident amongst the numerous obstructions that unconsciously block its path as it moves round the courtyards. This use of light was clearly considered and orchestrated to animate the daily domestic life of the house but it is now a compromised experience lost while the subdivision as apartments remains. There is a burning desire to knock down walls, open up infill’s, release sliding panels hidden in walls, connect views in, out and through the plan, strip out the layers of compromise and piece back together the origins of the architects intentions. Finally one week in I am fed a clue by the gardener and the name Neil Clerehan now takes me on another journey through a rich period in the history of Australian modernism.

Made in Melbourne 1971