A group collaborative effort has birthed Melbourne Architours: guided architectural tours in the Melbourne CBD by those in the industry. It is run by myself, Mark Skiba – landscape architect with Tract Consultants, and Andy Fergus – urban designer at Hansen Partnership and current architectural student. We have banded together to showcase all that Melbourne has to offer by devising 3 different tours within the Melbourne CBD:

• Settlement to Marvellous Melbourne
• Federation to Art Deco
• Modernism to Contemporary

These will be run monthly at $30 a pop per tour, with a coffee or a beer (depending on the time of the tour!) at the end to discuss the built environment with tour attendees. This, for me, is the most valuable time to engage with the public and hear their thoughts about the evolution of the city and the discourse of architecture.

Check us out at Melbourne Architours.

I’m doing these tours for a reason, and you need to know where I’m coming from. I’m a big proponent of the architectural profession and the value of its services to produce shelter that exceeds the client brief and is responsible for the sustainability of the planet, housing affordability through clever design (not excessive specification of products), education to the client about new models of housing and possibilities of social/familial interaction for a changing demographic. I believe good architecture should address social, environmental and economic factors simultaneously.

For this reason, I am appalled to think that 3% of all new housing in Australia is designed by architects. I was taken aback to learn that the average Australian house size is 216sqm. In saying this, I was pleased to witness the amount of people that flooded through the doors of Lyons, Hassell, Bates Smart and other architectural offices during Melbourne Open House earlier in the year. People are interested in architecture, yet the average person still views it as a luxury profession for the elite. These tours, in the simplest way, are intended to bridge the gap of architecture by communicating it to the general public, making it accessible, relatable and understandable. I don’t believe this is dumbing it down or discrediting the intellectual thought that has gone into each building design. If more people are aware of the value of architects, then more people would be inclined to use them. The discussion at the end of the tour is the real gem.