SOLD OUT - Join waitlist here: www.ernmalley.com.au/symposium
“Modern man is born in hospital and dies in hospital-hence he should also live in a place like a hospital.-This maxim had just been formulated by a leading architect…” Robert Musil, The Man Without Qualities pt. 1 (1930)
UNBREAKING ADELAIDE is an urban planning & architecture symposium that hopes to figure out exactly why, when we hear about a new housing development, city tower or just about any new redevelopment in this state, we immediately sigh, shake our heads, and presume the worst?
Something about our planning code, building industry, architectural norms and general attitudes to urban planning is amiss. We no longer create beautiful spaces or buildings that give rise to inspiration, community and longevity, but cheap, soul crushing partitions, expected to be replaced in a generation.
But people are starting to wake up to the problem and this symposium hopes to give a space and voice to those who sense that surely something can be done about it.
Like all good buildings or urban development, we are starting small with this event and hope to grow each year organically with all proceeds from ticket sales go toward bringing the speakers to Ern Malley.
This symposium is as much about an opportunity to hear from those who are working and thinking in the space of architecture, planning and design as it is to get together with like-minded citizens so that we can forge a hopeful path together.
A Short History of Everything That Went Wrong
presented by Paul Gallasch
1 - 1.45pm
Paul doesn’t have any qualifications in architecture or urban planning which is precisely what makes him think he is qualified to have an opinion. Paul will give a brief introduction to the symposium, a short history of urban planning and architectural practises, and his vision for what may be done about it.
Paul Gallasch is the owner of Ern Malley Est. 1943 and is a previous winner of the Australian Documentary Prize. He currently lives in Stepney with his wife and (almost) 4 children.
An Introduction to Classical Architecture
presented by Margot Blanch
2 - 2.45pm
Margot Blanch is an Australian architectural graduate specialising in classical design. Shaped by her strong European heritage and growing up surrounded by the quaint 19th century architecture of Adelaide, she first considered a career in structural heritage remediation, studying structural engineering at the University of Adelaide. Realising that beauty should not be relegated to buildings of the past, she later pursued a Master of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame in the US, the world’s leading institution in classical and traditional design, with the support of a Ramsay Centre scholarship. Her studies included time in Athens and Rome, where she engaged directly with the architectural legacy of antiquity. Margot recently completed her degree with a thesis redesigning the Adelaide Festival Centre as a Royal South Australian Opera House.
Building Well, Cheaply
presented by Jiri Lev
3 - 3.45pm
Hear about one man’s journey to self-build a three-bedroom family home that at once fits and honours its place, is beautiful and healthy to live in… and yet costs less than a nice caravan. Jiri will share his insights into how best to plan, design and build new homes and communities that reinforce unique local identity and genius loci (the spirit of the place), drawing both new residents and visitors alike.
Last year, Jiri Lev captured national headlines when he designed and hand-built his own house for just $150,000. A Tasmanian architect, Jiri has designed close to 200 houses, making his design and construction drawings freely available online. His plans, including for his famous $150,000 self-built home, have been downloaded by over 22,000 people, with many new homes currently under construction. Jiri is interested in traditional, classical and vernacular architecture, not standing out but fitting in its context. In his work he seeks to build on and reinforce unique local identity and the genius loci (the spirit of the place). He believes sprawling suburbia or characterless high rise are harmful to every aspect of human experience.
Ugly sh*tboxes!
presented by James Howe
4 - 4.45pm
We seem to be waking up to the fact we now are erecting some of the nastiest, trashiest, eye-assaultingly ugly sh*tboxes known to man. But why? When did it start, and who’s to blame? Was it the modernists or soulless, profiteering developer fat-cats? James Howe will give all the answers… Including to the all-important question: “how can we fix it?”
James Howe is a former journalist with nearly a decade of experience writing for international newspapers and magazines. He has built a strong reputation in the design industry as a self-taught furniture designer, and pontificates daily about architecture on Instagram to an audience of 200,000. His message loosely revolves around the idea that knocking down cool old houses to build shit, ugly new ones ones is a really dumb idea.
Dinner Break
The Grand Panel Discussion
6.15 - 7.30pm
Chair of the SA Planning Commission, Craig Holden and SA Member for Dunstan, Cressida O’Hanlon will join Paul Gallasch and James Howe on stage to discuss the current state of architecture and urban planning in South Australia and try to find out some answers from those ‘in the know’. We will provide a significant portion of time for a public Q&A, so please come with your own questions (though we will cut you off if they are uninterestingly specific or nonsensical). This is our chance to look under the hood and see how the sausage is made (I couldn’t decide which metaphor I preferred).
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