The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has announced a new Living Cities Forum to take place in Melbourne in July. The forum will see architects, designers and urbanists brought together to discuss liveability as a concept and the ways in which design can offer solutions to the problems faced by Australia’s rapidly growing cities.
The internationally-focused list of speakers includes OMA managing partner-architect David Gianotten, who, along with Rem Koolhaas, will design the 2017 MPavilion; Mimi Zeiger, critic, editor and curator; Benedetta Tagliabue, Pritzker Prize jury member and Miralles Tagliabue EMBT founder; Dan Hill, Arup digital design studio assistant director; Marisa Yiu, Eskyiu founder and Rory Hyde, architecture and urbanism curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
More than half of the world’s population live in cities, with the figure expected to rise dramatically in the next few decades, according the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Australia’s capital cities, particularly Melbourne and Sydney, are experiencing rapid growth and questions about urban density and housing affordability are being asked with more urgency and frequency.
Naomi Milgrom said, “Design impacts the way we live and has the creative power to solve real-world problems.”
Melbourne will be a particular focus of the forum, with an aim to “gather global insights” to inform “Melbourne’s current position and future trajectory.”
The Living Cities Forum will take place at Deakin Edge, Federation Square on 27 July. For more information, visit the Naomi Milgrom Foundation website.
