Concrete architecture: beauty or beast?

If you can look beyond the harsh exterior of brutalist architecture, you may find there is a little bit of beauty in buildings made of concrete.

COVID-19 could accelerate the rise of smart cities

The dramatic changes to the workforce brought about by organisational responses to COVID-19 are only likely to accelerate the shift to smart cities, say experts at UNSW Sydney.

Beware cost hikes in megaprojects

A Grattan Institute report released today finds Australian governments spent A$34 billion, or 21%, more on transport projects completed since 2001 than they first told taxpayers they would. And as we enter the era of megaprojects in Australia, costs continue to blow out.

The future of offices in post-COVID Melbourne

As we work to get the economy and employment back on track, to what extent will workers return to offices and what could that mean for Melbourne’s CBD?

Truck crashes demand better safety standards

Relying on regulation through licensing alone will not combat unsafe trucking practices, says UNSW’s Dr Christopher Walker.

On ‘yer cargo bike

Sales of bikes have been booming, but as well as indulging our fantasies of riding in the Tour de France on a new sports machine, less glamorous cargo bikes can help people move packages and shopping.

Learning from the West Gate Bridge collapse

Fifty years after 35 men died in the West Gate Bridge disaster, not all of the lessons have been learned.

A plan for social housing

The Community Housing Industry Association’s Social Housing Acceleration and Renovation Program (SHARP) would deliver an extra 30,000 homes and renovate thousands more over four years.

Food for thought

The time is ripe for bringing food production back into urban life through our use of public space.

Countering terrorism through architecture?

In the fight against global terrorism, architecture has a surprisingly important role to play.

Repairing the housing market

The fallout from COVID-19 for housing and homelessness just adds to the urgency of fixing the long-standing ills of the housing market. The well-being of Australia’s economy and people depends on it.

Why all new buildings look the same

Architecture today suffers not from copycats, but from originality syndrome. When it comes to architecture, imitation could be the sincerest – and most sensible – form of flattery.