Drawing on her background in suburban Sydney and her work leading major regeneration projects as an urban planner in London, Jo Negrini will deliver a keynote address in Sydney at the Australian Urban Design Awards on 25 October.
Titled “Design is always political,” the keynote will “look at the importance of design in signaling what we think about the culture and heritage of a place and what we are saying about how we want them to be in the future.” Negrini will also explore the role of urban design as a catalyst to connect communities and create cities where people feel connected and valued, using her work on Windrush Square and the Black Cultural Archives, designed by Pringle Richards Sharratt, in London’s Brixton to illustrate this in action.
In her position as chief executive of the Borough of Croydon, Negrini has done much work to redefine the perception of public places in the rapidly growing area. She was named New Londoner of the Year at the 2018 New London Awards. Negrini was previously the Director of Regeneration for Lambeth Council, and Chief Borough Planning Officer for Newham London Borough Council.
The Australian Urban Design Awards, originally the Australia Award for Urban Design, was created by former prime minister Paul Keating’s Urban Task Force in 1996. The awards patrons are former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Lucy Turnbull, chief commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission.
The program recognizes contemporary Australian urban design projects of the highest quality and aims to encourage cities, towns and communities across the country to strive for best practice in all projects. Entries are open to both built projects and design concepts and plans.
The full shortlist can be found here.
The Australian Urban Design Awards are organized by Architecture Media and convened by the Planning Institute of Australia with the support of the following organizations: Australian Institute of Architects, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, Green Building Council of Australia, Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, Consult Australia, Engineers Australia, and Urban Design Forum and the Government Architects Network Australia.
The awards are supported by principal partner Cement and Concrete Aggregates Australia and supporting partners Cosentino and Holcim.
Limited tickets remaining. Book here.
