NMBW: Observation Matters

RESCHEDULED & REBOOTED: Robin Boyd Annual Keynote Lecture Melbourne Design Week 2020, live streamed on Wednesday 16 December 2020.

Introduction including audio of Robin Boyd from a lecture he recorded in 1960
Prerecorded lecture, featuring the work of NMBW in a beautifully scripted montage, produced by the Robin Boyd Foundation
Conversation between NMBW, Philip Goad & Pia Ednie-Brown, facilitated by Timothy Moore, from the courtyard of Robin Boyd’s Walsh Street house

Introduction by Robin Boyd, 1960

In 1960, Boyd recorded a 20 minute audio lecture in which he offers a strong argument for architects to develop their philosophical theory for their practice. We’ve edited this to serve as a 6 minute ‘pre-show’ to help frame the annual Robin Boyd keynote lecture.

NMBW: Observation Matters

In an era of global sameness, can architectural processes create the time and space to engage meaningfully with local traditions and enrich the culture of the everyday? This lecture breaks down Melbourne practice NMBW’s projects into a series of tangible pieces that articulate how decisions have been made and values embedded.

NMBW Founding Directors

Marika Neustupny
Marika Neustupny’s research and project work emphasises a strong understanding of social and cultural rituals of urban life. She has a Master of Architecture from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan) and a PhD from the University of Queensland. She has authored Curtain Call: Melbourne’s Mid-century Curtain Walls and co-authored By-Product-Tokyo with Nigel Bertram and Shane Murray.

Lucinda McLean
Lucinda McLean explores the possibilities for design to shape relationships between architectural, urban and landscape strategies that work to increase landscape specificity and local identity. She has twenty years’ experience teaching design and urban research at RMIT University, holds a Master of Architecture from Stäedelschule (Germany) and is a PhD candidate at RMIT University. Currently she sits on the Design Review Panel for the Office of the Victorian Government Architect.

Nigel Bertram
Nigel Bertram has a range of experience working with government and university bodies at different scales on NMBW’s urban and institutional projects. He is a Practice Professor in Architecture at Monash University, and holds a Master of Architecture and a PhD from RMIT University. He has authored several research publications, including In Time with Water: Design Studies of 3 Australian Cities, edited with Catherine Murphy, and Suburbia Reimagined: Ageing and Increasing Populations in the Low-Rise City with Leon Van Schaik. He is currently a Design Review Panel member for the Office of the Victorian Government Architect.

NMBW: In Conversation

Recording of a live streamed discussion from Robin Boyd’s Walsh Street courtyard – 16 December 2020.

Joining the three NMBW founders in conversation are:

Philip Goad
Professor Philip Goad is internationally known for his research and is an authority on modern Australian architecture. He has worked extensively as an architect, conservation consultant, and curator. He is an expert on the life and work of Robin Boyd, and has held visiting positions at Columbia University, Bartlett School of Architecture (London), UCLA (Los Angeles) and University of Edinburgh. In 2019-2020 he was the Gough Whitlam Malcolm Fraser Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University. He is Chair of Architecture and Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor at the University of Melbourne.

Pia Ednie-Brown
An architectural theorist, researcher and creative practitioner, Professor Pia Ednie-Brown’s provocative work encourages people to reconsider how they interact with their built and social environments. As Professor of Architecture at the University of Newcastle, NSW, she holds the role of Creative Practice Research Director in the School of Architecture and Built Environment.

Timothy Moore
Lecturer, Monash Art, Design & Architecture & curator of Melbourne Design Week.

The Robin Boyd Foundation thanks our event partners