Re-imagining Fitzroy: University of Melbourne students with big plans for Atherton Gardens

Media Release, Thursday 1 May 2008

Eight Masters of Architecture students at the University of Melbourne will be displaying their ideas for the future of the Atherton Gardens estate and Town Hall precinct in Fitzroy in an exhibition starting from today.

The exhibition, to be held at the Reading Room of Fitzroy Town Hall, will run from Thursday 1 May until Sunday 4 May (daytime). The students will host a community feedback forum on Sunday from 3-5pm in the Reading Room to explain their ideas and get direct feedback from the local community.

Ian Woodcock, a Research Fellow at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning says the the impetus behind the students’ work relates to sustainable cities.

“The future sustainability of sprawling cities like Melbourne relies on urban intensification focused on better utilization of public transport and new types of pedestrian-friendly, non-car dependent urban planning and design.”

The students ideas investigate the possibilities for the re-urbanization of the Atherton Gardens/Town Hall precinct – one of the designated Major Activity Centres under Melbourne 2030 - with the aim of engaging community stakeholders in a discussion about its future.

“Fitzroy has some of the best access to the public transport system in Melbourne and is one of the city’s most sought-after places to live,” continues Mr Woodcock. “It currently accommodates half the population it did in the early 20th century, a third of its residents living on the Atherton Gardens public housing estate, which contains the only significant open space in the area. Increasingly, this public asset has become an enclave – socially and spatially. “

A final exhibition of the students work will be held from 27 May to 3 June, in the main hall of the Fitzroy Town Hall.