Melbourne Design Week: Architectus reimagines a forgotten city ‘Underpass’

An often forgotten and marginalised part of every city, underpasses form a backdrop to a layered world of experiences, places, and people. But recent interventions addressing this neglected typology have been designed for a singular public, rather than the diversity of people who find their place beneath the arches. 
 
At Melbourne Design Week, Architectus designers and thinkers will come together in conversation with guest architects and urban design leaders at Customs Square – an underpass at the edge of Melbourne’s CBD and a case study in its own right.  
 
Championing both expert and emerging voices, the lineup led by Architectus includes Senior Associates Mary Pappioannou and Vivian Sin, Associate Jessica Heald and Graduate Mia Fleming with guest speakers Sarah Mair (Hassel), Weston Howell (Jackson Clement Burrows Architects), Eilidh Ross (Workshop Architects), Olivia O’Donnell (Urbis), Matthew Tibballs (Edition) and Liam Oxlade (NH Architecture). 

As a steady stream of cars, trams, trains, cyclists, and pedestrians move around the very space being discussed, the group will question how designers approach these spaces – and how we can make a greater impact. 
 
Find out more on the Melbourne Design Week website here.  
 
Public event: Wednesday 24 May 2023 
Location: Customs Square, 401 Flinders St, Melbourne 
Time: 6:00-7:00pm
Free, no bookings required