Open House Melbourne launches This is Public podcast

A new podcast series of interviews with the thinkers, doers and advocates who are shaping our city.
Open House Melbourne has launched a new bi-monthly podcast series that asks big questions about the future of our city, with a special focus on built and natural environments and the people who shape them.

Hosts Emma Telfer (Open House Executive Director) and Sally McPhee (Open House program collaborator) saw the opportunity to make more public the stories, ideas and issues that are being addressed by Open House Melbourne’s expanded program.

“As a city, Melbourne is undergoing radical growth and transformation, but to plan for its full potential, we need to understand its past and realise collective ownership over its future,” Emma said.

“This is Public responds to our mission by making critical city issues more public, providing a thought- provoking resource about the future of our city.”

The podcast is brought to life by the Metro Tunnel Creative Program, which is dedicated to enhancing city life alongside the Metro Tunnel.

Metro Tunnel spokesperson Michael Scanlan said: “We’ve chosen ‘Storytelling’ as the 2019 theme for the Metro Tunnel Creative Program, as it allows us to look for ways to tell the story of this city as it undergoes disruption that is a necessity for improvements for years to come. This is Public is an apt response to this theme, as it considers people in place, unlocks the surprising or forgotten histories of the city, and looks to Melbourne’s future.”

This is Public is recorded at and supported by The Espy, one of Melbourne’s most cherished and significant public meeting houses.

ABOUT THE FIRST EPISODE: WATERFRONT
The first episode of This is Public documents Open House Melbourne’s special Waterfront program for Melbourne Design Week 2019.

Open House took a deep dive into the role design could play in reframing our relationship with water, with a special focus on urban waterways and Birrarung (the Yarra river). All the guests interviewed on the podcast participated in the Waterfront program.

This is Public Waterfront interviews include

• Dr Melissa Neave from RMIT University and Andrew Kelly, the Yarra Riverkeeper explore the flow-on effects of past urban design decisions, current challenges and possible futures for the river
• Paul Thomas from Rail Projects Victoria explains how the Metro Tunnel Project navigates complex tunnelling under the Yarra and
• Michael O’Neill from Yarra Swim Co and Andre Bonice from WOWOWA Architecture share how the Yarra Pools proposal encourages connection and contact with the river.

For more information and to listen visit openhousemelbourne.org/this-is-public