The business of architecture
Paradigm Hill, Merricks What is it? An idea as yet largely untested within the architecture profession, but well practiced in other industries. One such industry is winemaking, no better exemplified than by the Mornington Peninsula region in southern Victoria. Comprising a large number of very small wineries run by ex-city professionals who have relocated to the... Continue Reading →
What is it? The State Government released a media statement a couple of weeks ago announcing a new metropolitan planning strategy for Melbourne and Victoria. According to the statement, it "will be focused on land use and transport options that respond to and integrate social, economic and environmental issues facing the metropolitan region. The strategy will take... Continue Reading →
What is it? A proposal is currently before the Victorian State government that recommends abandoning mandatory 6-star thermal efficiency requirements for housing as part of a broader agenda to cut government red tape. Documents obtained by The Age newspaper reveal state Treasurer Kim Wells has suggested that "consideration could be given to a voluntary thermal... Continue Reading →
What is it? The population of Alexandra, a small town in central Victoria, and the new home of friends of ours recently returned from 7 years living in Hong Kong. It is also the population of their apartment tower in Hong Kong, where as many as three generations of a family were housed in each... Continue Reading →
What is it? Gaming censorship in Australia currently offers no equivalent of the R18+ rating that exists for film and television, meaning that computer games containing high levels of violence like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Left 4 Dead II and Grand Theft Auto IV have been awarded an MA15+ rating and others, like... Continue Reading →
Once upon a time, many years ago, the town planning process in Victoria was treated like every other legal proceeding - planning applications were submitted for approval, planning departments had sufficient autonomy to make decisions without referring to elected officials, and objections were only permitted if they could point to areas in which an application... Continue Reading →