The Architecture Symposium Sydney 2019

The second annual Architecture Symposium in Sydney will bring together Australia’s world-class architects to explore projects that are making “explicit and lyrical” contributions to the public realm. Curated by Laura Harding of Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects and Adam Haddow of SJB, the one-day symposium will see sixteen speakers from around the country investigate various conceptions of “responsive urbanism.”

Harding and Haddow explain that the impetus for the conference was the rise of monolithic developments taking over large urban parcels – developments that prioritise simplicity and efficiency “at the expense of the city’s finer grain, specificity and richness.”

“We want to expose modes of working that involve a collection of smaller, episodic moments of architectural intervention, by multiple architects, artists, landscape architects … situations where a more engaging and responsive civic conversation is being staged.”

Discussion will be organised around a number of themes to illustrate different approaches to engaging with the city. Under the theme “urban ensembles,” Victoria Reeves of Kennedy Nolan will discuss her practice’s contribution to the much-hyped Nightingale Village project in Melbourne, and Penny Fuller of Silvester Fuller will present the luxury Sydney Harbour apartment project Loftus Lane – another project involving multiple architecture practices.

Speaking to the theme of “civic catalysts” will be Tai Ropiha of Chrofi, whose award-winning Maitland Riverlink project has been credited with helping to revitalise the regional New South Wales city, and Rodney Eggleston of March Studio, who will present Kingborough Community Hub, a “future town square” for a Tasmanian town that doesn’t yet exist.

Angelo Candalepas, the highly regarded Sydney architect who co-curated the sold-out 2018 symposium with Wendy Lewin, is returning this year to speak to the theme of “civic evocation.” Other themes include “urban campus,” “aggregate urbanism,” “accretive architecture” and “urban punctuation.”

Harding and Haddow say the themes will help to frame a discussion that will cover all types of responsive urbanism, from urban and landscape design, large-scale city quarters and infrastructure, to the architectural definition of streets, parks and arcades, down to the intimacy of the city’s finer grain.

The symposium will be held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Tuesday 24 September. To see the full symposium program, purchase tickets and explore other design events: designspeaks.com.au