The annual Open House Speaker Series will open with Design City: Built Melbourne! on 27 July at the Melbourne School of Design Auditorium at the University of Melbourne.

The talk presents a diverse cross section of design disciplines and building typologies that form the built fabric of Melbourne. Projects to be discussed include commercial, education and heritage buildings, the humble home and landscape.

The second talk will take place at RMIT’s Storey Hall and connects with the key themes of RMIT’s Design Hub exhibition Occupied. The discussion will explore the need for creative thinkers to find space for an ever-growing population within a finite and decaying urban fabric.

Open House Melbourne has partnered with Open Journal to present two panel discussions on the topic of High Density Happiness. On 13 July in High Density Happiness: Elevating apartment standards, the culture of apartment living will be discussed.

On 21 July High Density Happiness: Curbing urban sprawl will see a discussion take place on how to prevent excessive movement towards the urban fringe and what changes the inner city will need to undergo to address this. Jewell Station will be used as the key example in this discussion, and the talk will focus on finding a balance between affordability and liveability, with apartment quality rather than size being a key consideration.

For further information visit the Open House Melbourne website.