Hassell Talks – Details, episodes & analysis

Retrofitting and repurposing existing structures can achieve decarbonisation goals, enhance occupancy, attract investment, and rejuvenate cities – all while reducing environmental impact. No wonder our industry can't stop talking about it. 

It no longer makes sense to demolish unoccupied buildings, as it's neither cost-effective nor aligned with our circular economy aspirations.

In September 2023, Hassell sponsored the inaugural Retrofit & Repurpose Summit on Gadigal Country, Sydney, bringing together sustainability leaders, asset owners, investors, and sustainable building specialists come together to explore the opportunities and positive impacts of retrofit and repurpose strategies.

A recorded panel discussion 'Change Levers: Finding New Value in Net Zero Retrofit and Reuse Market', allows us to bring some of the summit's insights to the Hassell Talks audience. Featuring Principal Jeff Morgan; Green Building Council of Australia's Elham Monavari, Solar Victoria's Paul Corkill; Built's Jono Cottee, and hosted by Alison Scotland, Executive Director Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council.

We're pleased to be able to bring you this recording, and these insights. 

Our thanks to the Retrofit Summit for generously capturing and sharing this audio.

For more great insights from the summit, check out https://retrofitsummit.com.au/post-event-session-recordings/

Parkville, Melbourne — home to one of the world’s leading biomedical innovation communities.  Arden — the next stage of the expanding Parkville innovation ecosystem. These precincts serve as catalysts where ideas, industries, and investors converge — shaping the places that unite us.

In this episode we explore the threads that hold these precincts together in the context of future developments of major institutions spanning health, education, transport and research.

Melbourne's Lord Mayor Sally Capp was joined by Hassell Principal Alix Smith, Associate Adam Gardner as well as Helen Day, Principal Adviser, Strategic Masterplans Unit, Health Infrastructure Branch in the Department of Health in Victoria; Dr. Amy Hahs, Senior Lecturer in Urban Horticulture, University of Melbourne; Professor Dan Hill, Director, Melbourne School of Design and Mena Kubba, Director, Kubba.

The 15 Minute City has become a hot topic - gaining traction in corners of the internet not typically involved in the dialogue around city planning and urban living.

With forward-thinking conversations threatened to be overtaken by conspiracy theories, we wanted to share an episode we recorded with London-based research lead Camilla Siggaard Andersen in 2022 on the topic of 15 Minute Cities. Specifically looking at the research she conducted, and the challenges she discovered are facing cities in Ireland and elsewhere as they grapple with climate change, urban sprawl and wellbeing.

In this episode you'll hear from:

Pat Farrell, CEO, Irish Institutional Property Brian Moran, Senior Managing Director, Hines Niamh Moore Cherry, Associate Professor, School of Geography, University College Dublin; and Ali Grehan, former City of Dublin Architect

As Hassell’s ​“Close to Home” report shows, 15-minute cities provide opportunities for more convenient living, more equitable communities and more sustainable development. What's not to like?

In Europe, Australia, the US and Asia - there's not enough quality housing stock to go around, and limited affordable choice in the types of homes available.

The current generation of renters and buyers are connected, design-savvy and socially aware. They are driving the demand for homes that challenge traditional models of living.

They’ve also lived through the pandemic, so they need to be able to work comfortably from home with a supportive community around them. They desire access to green space, and amenities and convenience. They want quality homes suited to a changing climate.

The market's crying out for change.

So – could we be on the cusp of a whole new range of housing alternatives?

It's looking like we could be. There are quality alternatives and ideas that turn traditional ideas of housing on its head and the industry and market are mature enough to support those trying to make a difference.

To explore this we invited Michael McCormack co-founder behind small but mighty development firm Milieu to join co-lead of the residential sector, Jeremy Schluter.

Michael is a passionate advocate for improved urban design and is also Deputy Chair and a member of the Board at the Centre for Contemporary Photography. Milieu are a certified B Corp™, a global community of for-profit leaders who pledge to use business as a force for good.

Milieu’s reputation for crafting beautifully conceived apartments driven by progressive urban design and exemplary architecture, such as Otter Place has resulted in a following in Melbourne and Sydney, with Milieu’s buildings gaining fans, awards and accolades. Just don't call them a 'luxury developer'!

The episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, acknowledge the custodianship of its people and the privilege and responsibility to Connect with Country.

How did Sydney, London, and Barcelona pull off Olympic-sized events that delivered enduring, generational change?

In 2032, southeast Queensland - a region with the city of Brisbane at its heart - will host the summer Olympics and Paralympics. The Games create extraordinary opportunities for communities, economies, and cultures to design legacies for future generations.

The most important discussions in the city and the region around design are only just beginning - and this episode is one of them.

Urbanist, city-shaper, and Hassell Principal Caroline Stalker explores the opportunities for Brisbane and Southeast Queensland - beyond 2032 - with Hassell Fellow Ken Maher AO and Emeritus Professor of Architecture and Urbanism, Helen Lochhead in this first episode in the fifth season of Hassell Talks.

Feeling overwhelmed in the face of climate and sustainability challenges? Have we got the episode for you.

With the built environment contributing to around 40% of global emissions, our industry has a critical – and pivotal - role to play to limit the projected impacts of climate change to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. So we held an event to hear from the people making the changes in our industry that we all want to see more of, in the world.

The event, in November 2022, was run by a passionate group of female designers, championing equity and change in our industry.

They invited leaders in sustainability, waste, Passivhaus and community to come together in a Yarning circle, where designers and guests were able hear the motivations, failures, successes, and ideas for inspiring everyday action in environmental and social sustainability.

Great ideas deserve to be shared, and we recorded the event so you, too, can feel the optimism and motivation to keep going on a path toward Regeneration.

Hosted by Senior Architect Mia Willemsen, in this episode you'll hear from:

Kat Rodwell, Aboriginal Engagement Consultant, Balert Mura Consulting Maree Marshall, Director, Waste Management & Circular Economy, WSP;  Clare Parry, Sustainability Manager, Development Victoria;  Sam Peart, Head of Sustainability, Hassell Daniel Tatton, Senior Project Officer, Creative Victoria

Thanks to our WomenIN event organisers Sarah Mair, Maddie Gundry, Hannah Green, Chloe Gleeson, Mia Willemsen, Megan Boyle, Emily Shaw, Lauren Geschke, Ingrid Bakker, and Sam Peart.

This episode was recorded on Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country in Naarm (Melbourne).

*ENCORE EPISODE* Nature in our cities.  If you're paying attention you'll notice the effect it's having on you. The slowed heart rate, a stolen moment to notice flickering leaves, buzzing insects, birds landing.

Those designed-for, natural moments in our cities aren't in stasis - they're constantly changing and also spontaneous, influencing how we move through our cities, how we use them - and how they give back to us.

In this season of Hassell Talks we've heard how spontaneous experiences are often behind the connections that bring people together; how designing in response to the perceptions of safety in rail precincts can help to encourage greater use by women, girls and the gender diverse; what workplaces need to do to become more 'magnetic'; and how listening, reflecting and learning from First Nations partners creates more inclusive experiences and connections.

In this encore episode we revisit one of our most loved conversations from earlier in our catalogue, exploring a topic that's just as relevant as ever: the significance of our emotional connections to nature in cities - and the power it has to bring people together.

Episode host, the Landscape designer, writer and gardener Jon Hazelwood is joined by writer, garden designer and TV presenter Michael McCoy as well as Professor Nigel Dunnett, responsible for some of the UK’s most spectacular planted environments like the Barbican, Buckingham Palace’s Diamond Garden and the planting designs for the London Olympic park (with his colleague James Hitchmough).

We know you'll enjoy hearing how the creation of magical experiences in our cities has the power to profoundly move, connect and bring people together.

Parts of this episode were recorded on the lands of the Gadigal people, and produced on Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung land, in Naarm.

"What you create as an organisation has to be something that pushes the boundaries everywhere," said Co-Director of Danjoo Koorliny, Carol Innes AM to a gathering of designers, government representatives clients and First Nations collaborators.

This gathering, as part of Hassell's Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) journey aimed to listen and learn from First Nations partners better ways to engage on projects. The resulting conversation was rich, provocative and full of lessons, and in this episode of Hassell Talks we are sharing an edited recording of that conversation, because the insights shared by Dr Richard Walley OAM, Karen Jacobs and Carol Innes AM, will resonate beyond our practice.

This episode was recorded on Whadjuk Country with additional production on Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung land. Recording by Periscope Pictures.

When it comes to how workers feel about their workplace, it's hard to mount an argument against three years' worth of data and insights into possibly the most disruptive period for workers in memory. Senior Researcher Daniel Davis has been studying the effects and challenges facing workplaces in our Annual Workplace Futures Survey since 2020, and this year the survey grew to include 2,500 office workers across Australia, China, Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom.

And while foot traffic is returning to central business districts on the weekends — weekday activity remains far below pre-pandemic levels. People are returning to the city but not to work. So how do we attract people back to the workplace and — after over two years of remote and hybrid working — is there reason enough for them to even be there?

In this episode of Hassell Talks, join Daniel and Principal Domino Risch as they share some behind the scenes insights and explore the top three takeouts from our latest annual workplace survey. To find out more, and download your own copy of the report, visit The Magnetic Workplace: 2022 Workplace Futures Survey

Rail precincts don't always feel like the safest places to be for women, girls and the gender diverse, particularly after dark.

Alert and constantly on guard, it's a relentless navigation of sightlines, lighting, exposure, surveillance and positioning for safety.

As designers, we believe we can do more than simply meet the governing standards and technical requirements demanded of rail stations - we can change the way people feel while using them, creating a more equitable and prosperous society.

Hassell partnered with the team at Monash University's XYX Lab to gather data and a better understanding of the design elements that shape women's perceptions of safety. What we discovered was that through materiality, better lighting design, wayfinding, sightlines and even access to toilets - we can make a big difference into how safe many parts of our population feel.

To explore the findings and see how Hassell is embedding them into our design process on our projects, we brought Principles Alix Smith and Chris Lamborn together with Associate Professor Nicole Kalms for an episode of Hassell Talks.

This episode was recorded in Naarm, on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land we live and work on.

This episode was produced by Prue Vincent, Julia Mahony and Annie Scapetis.