AILA VIC is proud to support the eight Victorian landscape architecture practices contributing to this significant exhibition, Reimagining Birrarung: Design Concepts for 2070, presented by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in association with the Birrarung Council.  
 
In 2017 the Victorian Government passed the Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017, Australian-first legislation that identifies the Birrarung (the Yarra River) and its corridor as a single living and integrated natural entity. This landmark Act is a gamechanger for how we view our waterways and recognises the knowledge and leadership of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong people as Traditional Custodians.  
 
Created for a national landscape architecture audience, this event includes an exhibition discussion with NGV, Birrarung Council and the design teams that invites us as a profession to explore this model of change and how landscape architectural practice, government institutions, legislation and community-driven governance can intersect to achieve transformative outcomes.  
 
Landscape practices include ASPECT Studios, Bush Projects, McGregor Coxall, OFFICE, Openwork, REALMstudios, SBLA and TCL. 

Speakers and panellists include Mitra Anderson-Oliver, Dr Erin O'Donnell, Alexandra Lee, Sarah Hicks, Kirsten Bauer, Naomi Barun and representatives from the exhibiting landscape practices. If possible, please visit the exhibition beforehand to make the most of the evening. 

Drinks to connect and collaborate will be held afterwards at the Time Out Cafe + Bar, Fed Square and hosted by AILA VIC Major Partner, ecoDynamics.

Selected Speakers

Dr Erin O’Donnell – Birrarung Council Member

Erin has worked in water law and policy since 2002, in both the private and public sectors. She is recognised internationally for her research into the ground-breaking new field of legal rights for rivers, and the challenges and opportunities these new rights create for protecting the multiple social, cultural, and natural values of rivers. She is currently a Senior Lecturer and ARC Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School.

Alexandra Lee RLA – Birrarung Council Member

Alexandra is a Registered Landscape Architect with over 25 years’ experience in the private and public sectors. Her career has a strong focus on urban water management and exploring the importance of the community’s connection to place through water. She is a member of the City of Melbourne Parks and Gardens Committee and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects ‘Connection to Country’ Victorian Sub-committee

Mitra Anderson-Oliver – Manager Urban Waterways, DEECA

Mitra is a senior public servant, passionate about driving public policy that delivers for people and place. She has held senior roles in infrastructure, strategic planning and design, sustainable cities and housing policy, leading reform projects on new regulation for affordable housing; Victoria's first apartment standards; landmark legislation for protection of urban waterways and the reshaping of Melbourne’s creative and urban renewal precincts.

Mitra was a founding member of Yarra Pools, a community-led association focused on enhancing access to recreation and water-play to the lower Yarra, and is on the Swimmable Birrarung advisory board.

Event contact

[email protected] 

Important information

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