13th May 2016
How soon is now?
The National Architecture Conference in Adelaide 2016 This year’s conference was two days of intense and insightful debate about what architects are doing now, and what their role is for the future. The theme may have been ‘How soon is now?’ but the conference expanded with more questions such as ‘What exactly are we trying to achieve as a profession?’ and ‘How little do we need to get on with it?’ It dealt with architect roles in growing urban cities, the importance of design in meeting people’s basic needs, and confronting the changing needs of the globalised culture as it evolves. All over the world, the rapid growth of cities mean that architects are playing major roles in them. Many of the architects who spoke at the conference are involved in connecting communities – in London, through urban infrastructure design, green power initiatives and high speed networks for remote communities; Barcelona is implementing reactivation programs for under-utilised public spaces; while architects in Colombia are challenging the restrictive use of public space to create better places for gathering. Every architect has strong ambitions, and many have already made amazing achievements. Kevin Low (Small Projects) presented a suite of projects that embodied…