Living Cities Forum 2019
Living Cities Forum 2019
The third annual Living Cities Forum in Melbourne and Sydney invited a cohort of internationally renowned speakers to interrogate the theme Future Needs, addressing the challenges imminently facing our cities, from climate change and population density to social inequality. The forum posed the question: How do we transform overwhelming predictions into decisive action and build better cities for our future? Helmed by Australia’s only Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate Glenn Murcutt AO, the forum presented provocative and thoughtful practices across four continents, focusing on localised projects and movements away from global-scale thinking.
Living Cities Forum is an annual gathering of a select group of visionary international speakers who help us transform architecture and urbanism perspectives into decisive action.
By connecting out to industry and policymakers, the foundation brings the world’s foremost creatives and thought-leaders into local discussions around urban planning and civic life.
In 2019 the Naomi Milgrom Foundation focused on how our future needs outweigh the opportunities and concerns of the present day.
Building upon the learnings and insights of previous editions, the Foundation created a parallel program in Sydney on May 28th at Carriageworks greatly enhancing the ability of the organisers to attract the world’s leading thinkers and practitioners to visit Australia. The extended stay in Australia also provided further opportunity to realise a broader program of satellite events and media engagements, delivering more outcomes across the week. The synergy between the speakers was also realised over the week as relationships developed and the connections between their practices were identified and amplified.
On behalf of all at the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and our many stakeholders and collaborators we thank the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and Development Victoria and the New South Wales Government through Create NSW for their visionary support of this unique and important initiative. We also thank our partners and sponsors who all contributed significantly to the realisation of the Living Cities Forum 2019.
Professor Adrian Lahoud Royal College of Art & Creative Director, Sharjah Triennial
“It was one of the most well supported, professional and ambitious events I have participated in — testament to your hard work and commitment.”
The Living Cities Forum is a day-long cross-disciplinary assembly of education, government and community leaders who come together to join six international guests as they present keynote presentations and participate in panel discussions.
Presented in two parts, this day of intense exchange of ideas and generation of new knowledge is a catalyst for our week of unique encounters in the local context that apply these insights and offer multiple opportunities for direct engagement. The morning session, Tomorrow’s City, featured Glenn Murcutt AO in conversation with Shelley Penn followed by presentations by Christopher Hawthorne and Rachaporn Choochuey. These three unique and very different design experts presented postcards from tomorrow’s city.
Over the afternoon session, Latent Conditions, presentations by Mabel O Wilson, Adrian Lahoud and Catherine Mosbach presented keynotes then came together with Diego Ramirez-Lovering in a panel discussion. After the speakers and audience engaged in informal discussion before our speakers joined key stakeholders over dinner for an in-depth discussion about the day’s talks, their international practices and local considerations. From Wednesday 23rd May through to Wednesday 29th May we staged a series of other events and media engagements ensuring a lasting legacy was achieved
Outcomes
With the goal of fostering connections between big thinkers and local doers—from design and urban planning experts, to social activists and academics—a primary objective of the Living Cities Forum was to highlight the role of architecture as a shaping force in our cities, towns and local communities, and to inspire civic engagement with questions of place, design and liveability. Curated in collaboration with a series of cultural, creative and educational partners, the Living Cities Forum delivered upon the Naomi Milgrom Foundation’s proposal to strengthen the Creative Industries Ecosystem by bridging various industries, cultural organisations, creative and academic disciplines and parties from private/public sectors, with the hope of encouraging important conversations about the function of design within society into the mainstream dialogue.
2
Largest cities in Australia
700
Attendees
7+
Hours of panels, presentations, and discussions
40+
National and international articles featuring speakers and raising public awareness
2
Highly focused workshops
FREE
Lectures at Melbourne, Monash, RMIT Universities and the University of Technology Sydney
Collaborative
Outcomes
Assemble Papers
Assemble Papers Issue #11 – Transitions: Featured article about NMF and the Living Cities Forum, “Nurturing Collective Creativity” released at LCF and provided to all attendees. Assemble Papers Issue #12 – Future (Legacies): Developed in partnership with the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and MPavilion, Issue #12 of Assemble Papers spotlighted the international guests of giving Cities Forum 2019 and engaged with discussions that arose from the Forum, contextualising globally reaching issues inside Australia’s architectural and design community. The issue extended and archived the ideas set out in the Forum, providing them an even broader audience, with focused interviews and features. Launched on the opening weekend of MPavilion.
Australian Financial Review Magazine
In collaboration with the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and the Living Cities Forum 2019, the Australian Financial Review Magazine published a national feature article on the Living Cities Forum and international guest speakers, written by journalist Stephen Todd. AFR also presented Living Cities Forum 2019 delegates with over 600 gift bags containing the magazine.
Housing Choices Australia
Following on from our collaboration with the national not-for-profit housing providers Housing Choices Australia in 2018 advocates from the communities supported by their work were given complimentary tickets and joined us for the duration of the Living Cities Forum in Melbourne.