Melbourne, a city transformed
Published on Fri 12 Feb 2016
Professor Ian Gilzean, the Chief Architect from the Scottish Government will be visiting CECHR on Tuesday 22nd March and will be delivering a lecture followed by a discussion from 4-5.30 pm titled ‘Melbourne, a city transformed’.
The lecture will take place in 3G05, LT2 in the Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee and will be followed by a reception giving guests the opportunity to meet Ian in a more informal setting. If you would like to attend this lecture please register through Eventbrite.
Abstract: The city of Melbourne made it three years in a row as the world's most livable city, according to the 2013 Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Global Liveability Survey. In contrast in the 1978 the architectural commentator Norman Day described Melbourne as ‘an empty useless city centre’ with retail in decline and a small residential population. What then has brought about such a remarkable change in the city’s fortunes over the past 30 years? In 2015, Professor Ian Gilzean FRIAS, Chief Architect for the Scottish Government spent a 3 month secondment at the Melbourne School of Design (MSD) in Melbourne University. Ian will give a presentation of his experience of living and working in Melbourne, covering the factors that have led to the positive transformation of Melbourne which now has a world leading, vibrant, commercially successful city centre, renowned for its quality of public space and life. Ian will also consider and reflect upon the relevant lessons that the placemaking approach adopted in Melbourne may have for Scotland.
Bio: Ian Gilzean is Chief Architect for the Scottish Government working within Planning and Architecture Division and has responsibility for the development and implementation of ‘Creating Places’ the Scottish Government's policy on architecture and place. He advises Scottish Ministers on architecture and the built environment and liaises with other Directorates in the Scottish Government, the architecture profession and external agencies. Ian has been involved in architecture education for 25 years and is currently a Visiting Professor at the Department of Architecture at the University of Strathclyde. He also works as an External Examiner for the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and has been an External Examiner at the Canterbury School of Architecture. In early 2015 Ian spent a 3 month secondment at the Melbourne School of Design at Melbourne University as a Visiting Fellow working on an initiative to develop a Housing Expo for Melbourne.