Blots & Bouquets Panel – SOLD OUT

The Robin Boyd Foundation has invited students and recent graduates for an in-depth conversation on student publishing and design criticism today.

Convened by Rory Hyde, this ‘Design Matters’ panel will use Robin Boyd’s spirited authorship of a ‘Blot’ and ‘Bouquet’ in the Students Society of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects’ publication Smudges as a step-off for discussion. Through these monthly awards, Boyd honed his ability to deliver a mastery of phrase, insight, and wit. He formed a distinctive voice amongst architectural critics going on to write scholarly and popular books, newspaper columns, and TV and radio programmes over twenty-five years – including his most famous work, The Australian Ugliness.

Expect a wide-ranging discussion exploring the contemporary experience as a student writer, editor and publisher, including new media, collaborative publishing models, and maintaining a critical writing practice beyond university.

Following the conversation, attendees can explore the Walsh Street House – the iconic modernist residence designed by Robin Boyd in 1957 – and mix and mingle with fellow students and industry peers.

Speakers

Aurelia Tasha Handoko
Aurelia Tasha Handoko is a graduate of the Master of Architecture program at the Melbourne School of Design. Currently, she works at Cera Stribley Architects as an Architectural Graduate. In 2022, she was an editor of Inflection Journal Vol. 09 and a SONA Representative for the University of Melbourne. Inflection is an internationally distributed annual student-run journal from the Melbourne School of Design that explores contemporary architectural discourse through the contributions of students, scholars, and practitioners. Founded in 2013, Inflection is a home for provocative writing, a place to share ideas and advocate the importance of the printed word. 

Common-sens
Common-sens is the collective design, research and publication archive of longtime collaborators Nicola Cortese, Lauren Crockett and Stephanie Pahnis. In 2017, as students at RMIT University, they established Caliper Journal an independent architecture journal. Caliper was born out of a desire to have a messier and more meaningful discussion about architecture and its place in the world. There have been 10 issues published to date: Agency, Identity, Power, Sample, Collapse, Love, Shift and Time, Faith, Permission. In 2021, they presented Reading Space: The Common Room, as part of the exhibition Who’s Afraid of Public Space, which extended their editorial and teaching agendas into the design of a temporary, participatory public library.

Madi Lo-Booth
Madi Lo-Booth is an architecture school (MADA Monash) dropout currently studying journalism (RMIT University). She founded The 411, a hyper-local print newsletter and website, as part of a desire to create opportunities for neighbourly interactions and to revive local history in Abbotsford. She has previously written on the aesthetics of the tv programme ‘The Block’ for Paradise Journal (University of Technology Sydney), on the psychology of ‘peace walls’ in Belfast for The Melbourne Arts Journal (University of Melbourne) and an architect’s manifesto for No More Poetry Magazine. 

Rory Hyde
Rory Hyde is a designer, curator and writer based in Melbourne. His work is focused on new forms of design practice for the public good, and redefining the role of the designer today. He is Associate Professor in Architecture (Curatorial Design and Practice) at the Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne.

This event is part of Melbourne Design Week 2023, an initiative of the Victorian Government in collaboration with the NGV.

Detail: Smudges. vol. 1, no. 5 (1939).
Royal Victorian Institute of Architects. Students’ Society. © The authors, 1939. Image courtesy of the University of Melbourne Collections and Archives.

This event is generously supported by Konpira Maru Wines and Molly Rose Brewing.

We offer discounted tickets to our RBF Friends and Boyd Circle members.

Prior to your visit, please note:
– Attendees must be 16 years and over.
– No external food or drink may be brought into the house.
– Large bags and backpacks will need to be checked in at entry.
– Stiletto heels cannot be worn in the house due to our cork flooring.
– If you are experiencing Covid symptoms or test positive Covid prior to the event, please contact us.