Conference Agenda

09:00 - 09:30

Speed Networking

This speed networking session will allow delegates to introduce themselves and swap business cards with other conference attendees.

09:30 - 09:40

Welcome Address from City of Melbourne

09:40 - 10:00

License to Play: How to Fast-Track Placemaking, Get Stakeholder Buy-In and Boost Creativity

• Discover how Burwood’s innovative “License to Play” initiative has redefined placemaking by cutting red tape and fuelling community creativity
• This session explores how streamlined processes and flexible policies empower residents and businesses to rapidly activate public spaces with innovative ideas
• By fast-tracking projects and enhancing creative freedom, Burwood’s approach shows how placemaking can be transformed into a dynamic, community-driven force for lasting urban change

Miriam Wassef, Executive Manager – Place Management & Communication, Burwood Council

10:00 - 10:30

Transforming Infrastructure Through Embedding First Nations Culture on Victoria’s Largest Infrastructure Project, North East Link

• The North East Link Project pioneered meaningful Indigenous engagement by collaborating directly with Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Traditional Owners throughout the project
• Multiple design elements (including bridges, noise walls, landscapes and underpasses) were co-designed to reflect Indigenous cultural narratives through materiality, form, and ecological connections
• The co-design process prioritised Indigenous self-determination, amplifying Traditional Owner voices and ensuring cultural integrity
• Landscape and infrastructure elements were conceived as dynamic cultural systems, not just functional constructions
• Project demonstrates how infrastructure can serve as a tool for cultural recognition, environmental respect, and social healing
• Collaborative design approach invited deeper public understanding and appreciation of local First Nations cultures

Kaylee Anderson, Director, The Ingenuity Lab
Tim Black, Director, BKK Architects

10:30 - 11:00

Regenerative Placemaking: The New Wave of Placemaking – A Call to Action

Regenerative Placemaking is a call to action for our times. Given we are in a time of multiple tipping points, the next five years are crucial to create change. We are looking to transform our cultures from business as usual to a story that nourishes life. In this keynote, we will unpack how we can embrace the innovations of our time to help strengthen our places and bring joy, meaning and beauty to our places and communities.

Through exploring five meta-trends, we will look at how Regenerative Placemaking can help us think and act in much more integral and holistic ways. With the aim to mobilise hearts and minds, this approach brings in people power to mobilise local action and systemic change, creating more Regenerative cultures, behaviours and rituals of place.

Gilbert Rochecouste, Founder and Director, Village Well

11:30 - 12:00

Putting Placemaking at the Heart of Designing Public Infrastructure such as Stadia

• Planning for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games
• Opportunities and impacts that the Games can have on a city and country over the long term

Shaun Gallagher, Senior Principal/Architect, Populous

12:00 - 12:40

Panel Discussion
NSW Uptown District Accelerator Program

• The Uptown Grant Program is designed to fast-track the formation of local business communities and facilitate the growth of their districts into vibrant going-out hubs in line with the NSW Government's 24-Hour Economy Strategy

Andrew Coward, Co-Founder/ Director - Reactivate Consulting, Chair - ULI Australia Sydney District Council

12:40 - 13:00

Beyond the Initial Buzz: Fostering Vibrant Sustainable Places

Bursting with energy, the hum of local street life can transform a precinct from mundane to magical. But how do we keep that spark alive after the initial buzz, ensuring a vibrant future for our beloved main streets? This presentation will:

• Explore how to foster dynamic, stakeholder-driven environments that flourish over time
• Unearth the pitfalls of top-down models or single vision-driven solutions that stifle collaboration and innovation, and discover how a successful place-governance approach can assist with capacity building and foster sustainable engagement

Drawing from global examples and real-life successes, we’ll examine how storytelling, culture, art, and everyday activities interweave to leverage a precinct’s unique identity. Learn how to align research, strategy, and activation to create a legacy that resonates with locals, businesses, and visitors alike.

Brooke Williams, Director, Fourfold Studio

14:00 - 14:25

Creating Great Places for Perth: Delivering a Coherent, Vibrant Place with a Sense of Community

• This presentation explores five diverse placemaking case studies from Perth and regional Western Australia, highlighting their characteristics and key lessons
• Each case study highlights the perspectives of practitioners, businesses, the community, and the local government, and how the placemaking initiatives and outcomes have fostered positive transformation
• The analysis examines the features, challenges, successes, and strategies that shaped these places, to help provide practical insights into design, policy, and collaborative approaches

Ben De Marchi, Director, Taylor Burrell Barnett

14:25 - 15:00

Panel Discussion 
Role of Landscaping in the Placemaking Process

• Landscape Design and its key role in urban placemaking
• Designing for the public realm

15:00 - 15:30

Chaos or Chemistry? The Structures that Shape Innovation Precincts

• When we think of innovation, our minds often jump to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak tinkering away in a garage, or the scrappy beginnings of the next big tech startup. But economy-shifting innovation doesn’t just emerge from isolated spaces—it requires scale, infrastructure, and a thriving ecosystem. This session explores Innovation Precincts; where research is commercialised, engineering breakthroughs take shape, and collaboration between universities, industry, and government fuels economic and social transformation

Across Australia, these precincts are on the rise. But why do some flourish while others struggle to find their identity? We’ll discuss the intricacies between top-down frameworks and grassroots energy, unpacking how a precinct’s identity—beyond just branding—becomes a magnet for businesses, researchers, and talent. 

• More than just a name or a logo, a strong identity shapes who engages, who benefits, and who stays for the long haul. But what conditions allow this chemistry to spark? And how do economic models influence participation and long-term impact? 
• Drawing insights from three major health and innovation precincts—the Health Translation Hub (Randwick Innovation Precinct), Flinders University’s Health Medical Research Building (Flinders Village), and Liverpool Health and Education Research Hub (Liverpool Health and Academic Precinct)—we’ll examine: - The Push and Pull of Identity – How governance structures, industry partnerships, and grassroots initiatives define a precinct’s character and success. - Financing Models That Drive Growth – Examining public-private funding, anchor institutions, and real estate-led approaches—and the trade-offs they create. - Community Engagement and Co-Design in Action – Ensuring precincts serve more than just big business, fostering genuine collaboration and long-term impact
• Join us for real-world insights, candid reflections, and actionable strategies on how innovation precincts can move beyond vision to become true engines of place, culture, and economic transformation

Mark van den Enden, Principal, Group Director Communities, Architectus
Michele McSharry, Principal, Architectus

16:00 - 16:20

Retail and Towncentres Placemaking 

• Strengthening the connection between people and place
• Human-centric placemaking for retail and towncentres

16:20 - 16:50

Chapel Street Transformation

• Chapel Street is one of Melbourne’s most iconic destinations – famous for its abundance of vibrant and diverse retail, dining and entertainment offerings
• The City of Stonnington is looking to create a vision for Chapel Street that can restore the diversity and energy of what was once a world-class destination street
• Chapel Street will be transformed into a vibrant, thriving, creative and unique cultural destination, celebrating the distinctive identity of Chapel Street, and connecting people to place
• The Chapel Street transformation project provides a significant opportunity to reimagine this iconic commercial strip. With changing retail patterns, a booming night-time economy and major projects now under construction (Jam Factory), it is timely to consider its future state and what can be done to influence and steer improvements for the benefit of the various communities who visit, shop, work and live in the precinct

Georgie Birch, Manager – Economic and Place Development, City of Stonnington

09:20 - 09:50

Speed Networking

Introduce yourself, swap business cards, and form new and lasting business connections during a series of one-on-one exchanges with fellow conference delegates.

09:50 - 10:20

Melton Town Centre Revitalisation Projects

• Melton’s town centre will undergo a revitalisation with a redesign of civic spaces, a program of events and a campaign to engage with local businesses, supported by a $3.277 million boost from the State Government’s Suburban Revitalisation program
• Overview of the Melton Town Centre Revitalisation Plan

10:20 - 10:40

More Than Just a Place to Rest: Reimagining Cemeteries as Public Spaces

• The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT)’s new site at Harkness seeks to reimagine how a public memorial park can best serve a 21st century social and environmental context
• Breaking ground in mid-2025, the memorial park at Harkness will be more than a final resting place. Located in Melbourne’s west, it will be a versatile space where the community can gather, reflect and celebrate life

James Reid, Chief Built Environment Officer, The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust

10:40 - 11:00

City of Hobart’s Placemaking Journey 

• Creating a People-Centric Place
• Exploring public realm development and place-based projects across Hobart

11:30 - 12:00

Panel Discussion
Equitable and Inclusive Placemaking

• Fostering public life through the built environment
• Role of urban designers in creating spaces that are safe, welcoming, inclusive and accessible
• Gender-sensitive urban design

James Reid, Chief Built Environment Officer, The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust

12:00 - 12:25

Waterfront Placemaking

• Creating an active waterfront destination
• Waterfront regeneration and successful placemaking

12:25 - 12:50

Placemaking Guide for Local Governments – South Australia

• Placemaking benchmarks that give councils specific, actionable advice for strategic and operational planning of public spaces, and fosters continuous improvement

13:50 - 14:10

What Are The Most Important Ingredients to Making a Successful Public Place?

Stephen Burton is the host of Spotify's only dedicated placemaking podcast - The Placemakers. He is also Founder and Design Director of POMO, a creative placemaking practice working at the intersection of art, design and storytelling in public places. He will share with us the top 10 insights from guests on his podcast, each of whom answers the question "what are the most important ingredients to making a successful public place?" In doing so, we will discover some of the keys to successful placemaking, as told by leaders and practitioners in the field here in Australia and overseas.

Stephen Burton, Design Director, POMO

14:10 - 14:40

Panel Discussion
Placemaking and Property Development

• Creative Placemaking in the Real Estate Industry
• Analysing social and economic impacts of placemaking in real estate

14:40 - 15:00

Placemaking and Transport Infrastructure

• Maximising the benefits of transport infrastructure via good urban design
• How to bring placemaking into transport projects
• Case Studies

15:30 - 16:30

Workshop/Masterclass

16:30 - 16:50

Placemaking in Geelong

• Exploring urban design and placemaking in Geelong
• Embracing innovation and creativity to create a world-class liveable city