Cities Shaped by Art: Rob Adams

Professor Rob Adams AM, Director of City Design and Projects at the City of Melbourne will discuss the art of urban choreography, and how good design has been key to Melbourne’s urban development, in a public lecture at ACCA on 20 June, 2016.

In this lecture, part of ACCA’s ongoing Grand Tour: Cities Shaped by Art series, Adams will look at some of the influences and ideas that drove Melbourne’s transformation from a business-centre to a twenty-four hour, financially vibrant, socially cohesive and sustainable city. He will also explore ways Melbourne can continue to reinvent itself in light of future challenges such as climate change and rapid urbanisation.

“Over the last 30 years Melbourne appears to have reinvented itself from a dying city in the 1980’s to a vibrant city on the world stage sought out by travellers and regularly covered in magazines such as Monocle. Has this process been one of luck, or the natural process of city change, or is this transformation a careful act of urban choreography?” Adams says.

Rob Adams is a champion of both the arts and environmental sustainability, and has made a significant contribution to the rejuvenation of central Melbourne.

Currently the Director City Design and Projects at the City of Melbourne and a member of the Cities of the Future Council of the World Economic Forum, Rob has over 40 years experience as an Architect and Urban Designer and 33 years at the City of Melbourne.

He was awarded the Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year Award in 2008 and the Order of Australia in 2007 for his contribution to Architecture and Urban Design. His current focus is on how cities could be used to accommodate and mitigate rapid population growth and the onset of climate change. He has published and presented extensively on the subject of transforming cities for a sustainable future.

The Grand Tour series offers an itinerary of international art destinations led by ACCA’s intrepid team and special guest speakers, each exploring the best galleries, art events, cafes architecture and people that have shaped the unique culture of each city.

Others in the series include:

Monday 25 July: New York with Chris McAuliffe
Monday 15 August: Sao Paulo with Rebecca Coates
Monday 12 September: Yekatarinburg with Lisa Radford
Monday 24 October: Los Angeles with Annika Kristensen

Tickets $35 – www.accaonline.org.au