How Melbourne is upping its design game

You can get free design advice in Melbourne – this is one of the many initiatives introduced as part of the city’s Design Excellence Programme. One of the champions of the programme, Bronwen Hamilton, Design Manager and Principal Urban Designer of the City of Melbourne, tell us how the programme is helping to elevate better design outcomes for the city.

Writer: Serene Tng

Why was the Design Excellence Programme (2019-2030) introduced?

Bronwen: The programme is a continuation and extension of our focus on Melbourne as a capital city of design, with well-designed streets, beautiful parks and interesting contemporary buildings. Good design is one of the reasons that attracts people to the Melbourne.

Melbourne has been ranked consistently as one of the most liveable cities in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index. © David Hannah

The programme is multi-faceted in seeking to build up more design leaders and champions, recognise good designs and put in place multidisciplinary and collaborative platforms and processes that can influence good design outcomes. It is a long-term commitment where initiatives will be implemented incrementally over time.

Investing in good design is crucial for us in enhancing our liveability, attracting and retaining talents and building up a strong design culture.

As part of the programme, there is now a dedicated platform for the industry and community to actively contribute to policies and efforts shaping Melbourne. Tell us more.

Bronwen: The Design Excellence Advisory Committee provides a platform for industry, academia, and community members to engage with a range of design challenges and opportunities in Melbourne. The committee also advises the city council on the development and implementation of the Design Excellence Programme and explores opportunities to strengthen collaboration across award programmes and design events.

The Yarra River, one of Melbourne’s iconic waterways that has contributed to Melbourne as a design city. © City of Melbourne

Some of the issues and topics discussed by the committee are on emerging design issues and precinct opportunities for Melbourne’s tunnel projects, the future of housing, sustainable building designs and design competition guidelines.

An example of a project that the committee shared feedback on was how we could transform the underused space under the Kings Way overpass. Located in one of our most densely populated suburbs, this could be turned into 5,000 square metres of usable public space for recreation and art.

Apart from the design committee, you also have a separate design panel that provides free design advice for the industry.

Bronwen: The setup of the Melbourne Design Review Panel is a major milestone. It is made up of 16 experienced architects, landscape architects and urban designers. They have provided independent design inputs and market advice on significant development proposals before and during the planning approval process and other city-shaping projects.

An example of how good design can transform an area – an arterial road was converted into five new civic spaces in one of Melbourne’s densely populated suburbs, the Southbank Boulevard. 22,000 square metres of public spaces have been created for all to enjoy. © City of Melbourne

A further nine members can be called on to provide technical expertise on topics such as heritage, sustainability and environmental design, development feasibility and Aboriginal cultural heritage.

We are seeing a significant improvement in building designs because of the panel’s contributions. This new process also helps to build industry capabilities and a stronger culture amongst designers and building owners that emphasises design excellence.

Wesley Place is an example of a well-designed project. It is one of the largest urban renewal projects in Melbourne, creating a new active urban precinct to connect the rich history of the Wesley Church with the next-generation workplace with curated retail and other lifestyle offerings. © Urban Redevelopment Authority

For projects that are reviewed by the panel, it is not about knocking down project designs but is about getting a wider, more collaborative and suitable advice that is tailored to the different stages of the design process from the early to the more detailed phases.

What is unique about this panel is the design advice is provided free of charge and is open and available to the industry and public. Beyond the more strategic and significant projects that the panel provides inputs on, building owners and architects can voluntarily submit their projects for design input too.

Under the programme, how do you engage and inspire communities in building a stronger design-conscious culture?

Bronwen: We curate and organise many events and activities to cover a diverse range of urban and design-related topics shaping Melbourne for people to be engaged and inspired. We try to introduce fresh voices, perspectives and new ideas each time. Many of these activities are done in collaboration with different organisations.

One of the extensions of the programme is the Open House Melbourne which is organised every year over several weekends. Walking tours and visits are organised to different buildings from private homes to infrastructure such as the Melbourne Arts precinct transformation.

This helps people to rediscover and reconnect with places that are well loved, explore new offerings and gain a richer understanding of the city from different perspectives. It helps to build up a stronger awareness and appreciation on how good design can make our city and lives better. For the 2024 run, over 63,000 people participated in about 170 events and 870 tours, talks, workshops and exhibitions.

The 2023 MPavilion by Tadao Ando. © Urban Redevelopment Authority

Another project that has inspired and excited many beyond Melbourne is the MPavilion since 2014. What has been its value and impact on championing good design?

Bronwen: The MPavilion seeks to celebrate design in many ways. The Naomi Milgrom Foundation commissions architects from Australia and around the world every year to design a temporary pavilion, an informal community meeting place for the Queen Victoria Gardens in the heart of Melbourne. Beyond the beautiful pavilion designs created for each edition, the five-month design festival of free events organised within and around these pavilions inspire locals and visitors to reflect on how architecture, art and design has shaped the city.

The 2023 MPavilion 10 (extended in 2025) designed by Japanese architect and Pritzker Prize Laureate, Tadao Ando, has inspired many interesting programming. This ranges from interactive design workshops for kids, to performances and even a greyscale gelato ice cream flavour created to reflect the pavilion’s concrete structure design.

When each season draws to a close, each MPavilion is relocated to a local area where further programming is organised as catalysts for more design-related conversations.

Bronwen Hamilton is the Design Manager and Principal Urban Designer of the City of Melbourne. As an urban designer and a landscape architect, she has over 20 years’ experience working in all levels of government, providing urban design advice on projects shaping the city. She leads the Melbourne Design Review Panel and is an expert adviser on the Victorian Design Review Panels.