These are examples from his 2001 series: Žižkov.

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Discover Scotland’s greatest modernist ruin, St Peter’s Seminary, transformed by light and music. Fifty years on since the building opened, you can explore this architectural masterpiece reanimated at night for the first time by public art company NVA. From 18 – 27 March, Hinterland will reveal the full glory of the towering concrete ruin, combining moving light installations and projection with a haunting choral soundscape.

Tickets on sale now at www.hinterland.org

Photo credit: James Johnston

Find more events in our weekly bulletin here.

EDGEcondition is a bi-monthly online architectural journal focused around the work of those on the fringe of the formal architecture sector. Created by Senior Lecturer Gem Barton and writer/curator Cara Courage, the four volumes so far include a mixture of open letters, features, op-eds and photo essays. Future issues will focus on “placemaking” (January) and “heritage” (March) with pitches accepted for the March issue until 15 February. To learn more about the cover images be sure to check out the process behind each one here. All volumes of the journal are available to read online here.

Read the current issue here:

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Melbourne is the antithesis of the Bilbao effect although there are plenty of its recent buildings by local architects shouting for some attention. Unlike its New South Wales neighbour with its postcard ready Opera House image, Melbourne is a city of ‘Ten Thousand Things’. It is the archeology of smaller scale spaces that are the ballast of the city. The laneways carving through the grid of the CBD are strangely familiar to a Glaswegian but in Melbourne they are an example of what can happen with a growing population and forward thinking licensing laws. Inside the laneways there is confetti of independent retailers, galleries, cafes, restaurants, kiosks and connections to rooftop bars and basements clubs. These are pedestrian focused spaces that create a human scale to a big city and which is predicted to double its current 4m population over the next 40 years. You will find wedding shoots down graffiti laneways and a backcourt culture, which has spread out from the city to the inner suburbs although with a bit more grit. It is a pluralist’s city with a diversity of cultures, food, fashion, architecture, art and music shaping a heterogeneous landscape of things to do.

Laneway bar

Melbourne was initially dominated by British and Irish settlers up until the 1950s when the first wave of Greeks and Italians arrived en masse and pockets of the city still feel characteristically Italian or Greek. Asian migration was disallowed under the White Australia policy, which wasn’t dismantled until the 70s. The first Asian migration wave was from Vietnam, but soon others arrived from Malaysia, The Philippines, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Brunei, Hong Kong and, most recently, in very large numbers and often as students, from China. This fusion of cultures is having a unique impact on the evolving identity of the city. Common ground between East and West is where we are beginning to find a distinctive language in Melbourne whether it be with food, fashion, design or architecture. The work of the local architect Sean Godsell who has just completed the new MPavilion is an example where he has looked for an expression in his work that places him in the region, in Australia and in Asia, using devices common to both East and West. He has abandoned the corridor in most of his work, which immediately de-Westernized his plans, and developed instead his own versions of the Eastern divided plan, where space is articulated by sliding walls and doors.

MPavilion by Sean Godsell

The universities play a huge part in the cultural and social life of the city but unlike many other cities they are physically helping to reshape the city. RMIT University is in the heart of the city, spread across streets and laneways it has over 150 buildings that are part of the life of the city. Huge investment into this infrastructure over the last 30 years has seen a commitment to design with each new facility procured with a focus on design quality and enhancing the public realm. In other words this is not an introverted world of learning but an integrated urban campus where university and city trade off each other. The top end of Swanston Street in and around the state library of Victoria is a great place to start to explore the architecture of RMIT and the dispersed amenities for the students. Sean Godsell’s new RMIT Design Hub is the backdrop for “Predestination”, a sci-fi thriller starring Ethan Hawke and just released in Australia. There is usually an exhibition to be found in the Hub building or next door at the archive where the legacy of RMIT graduates work is being collected.

Melbourne University has typically been North of the RMIT campus. The origins of the campus are more European in its layout but it is expanding beyond its traditional boundaries to become a significant part of the North of the City with huge investment into a new sustainable technology research and development precinct around the Parkville Campus. Like the University’s biomedical precinct where biomedical scientists work with hospitals to translate research progress into useful and sometimes life saving applications – the Carlton Connect Initiative will provide a place where researchers can work with industry and Government to translate research in areas such as water, energy and urban futures. In addition, the new Melbourne School of Design opens its doors on 1 December; a building designed by local architect John Wardell in collaboration with Boston based NADAAA. The building houses the best architectural collection of books in Australia, a new digital fabrication lab on the ground floor and a major new public gallery space which will launch a curatorial programme in March 2015.

Melbourne School of Design by John Wardell and NADAAA

Melbourne University also includes the Victorian College of the Arts VCA on the Southbank of the CBD. This is part of the arts precinct which is renowned as being one of the very best in the world with on the highest concentrations of top-class venues including the Arts Centre, Melbourne Theatre Company, Australian Ballet, Hamer Hall, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Melbourne Recital Centre all located within a stone’s throw of one another. The VCA announced its expansion earlier this year as part of the Arts precinct redevelopment, which would further open the college campus to the community of the city.

Just outside of the City at the Caulfield campus of Monash University you can also find MADA (Monash University Art Design & Architecture) while in Prahran you have Swinburne University offering yet more design related courses. It is as such not difficult to see how ‘design’ has become imbedded in the cultural life of the city. Many graduates continue to live in Melbourne or work with established designers and as such the city is bursting with creative talent and work to show. With a city looking to cater for a rapidly increasing population it is obvious what role design and young designers can play in shaping the future of the city.

PLACES TO EXPLORE

The Melbourne Arts Precinct
Just South of the Yarra River (also referred to as Ngargee, which is a Bunurong word for describing “gathering for celebration”) groups together, The Arts Centre including the recently refurbished Hamer Hall, The MTC Theatre, Melbourne Recital Centre, The National Gallery of Victoria, Malthouse Theatre, The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) Iwaki Auditorium and Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

MPavilion
A more recent addition to the Arts Precinct portfolio is the MPavilion situated in the Queen Victoria Gardens. Conceived by its patron, Naomi Milgrom, the pavilion takes its cue from the Serpentine Pavilion in London and will host a series of curated events over the summer in Melbourne. The pavilion has been designed by Melbourne architect, Sean Godsell.

Coffee Houses
Long, short, black, white, filter, cold drip, single origin or house blend, are all part of a shared language amongst one of the world’s most culturally diverse populations. Coffee and cafés are part of the DNA of Melbourne. The quality and craft in coffee roasting, blending and serving has chased away the global brands and what remains and continues to grow is a coffee culture, which has shaped a new social infrastructure for the city. It is a culture, which has been actively encouraged and used in government policy to breathe life back into the inner city following the 1990s recession. They are a layer cake of carefully considered typography, signage, raw interiors, furniture, breakfast choices, sculpted beards and tattooed staff. In a world of homogenized streetscapes and retail offerings Melbourne’s café culture creates a unique atmosphere of originality, individuality and good taste.

There are too many to list and I would recommend browsing through www.broadsheet.com.au, which is an encyclopedia of things to do in Melbourne. Also watch out for Melbourne International Coffee Expo 13-15 March 2015.

Inner Suburbs
The inner suburbs of Fitzroy and Collingwood are also worth exploring; Gertrude Street, Brunswick Street, Johnston Street and Smith Street, connect together in a large urban promenade of small gallery spaces, local fashion designers, furniture makers, independent bookshops, 21st century furniture shops, food outlets and coffee shops.

St Kilda
St Kilda sits adjacent to the bay and is home to the cultural institution that is Luna Park, a 100-year old amusement park. You can catch a tram from the CBD and it is worth allocating a day to explore the bayside around St Kilda.

The Wilde, Fitzroy
The vibe is a bit British gastro pub but a good place to start a night out in Collingwood and Fitzroy. Complete with roast dinners, G&Ts, house-made tomato sauce and hand pumped English Ale. Plus they have a colonial themed function room called the Explorer’s Club that fits 60 people and comes with a projector and a free pool table.

RMIT Business School by Lyons Architect | photo by Nils Koenning

Swanston Street – Architecture
Walk the length of Swanston Street, from Melbourne University at the North and the recently completed Melbourne School of Design down through the city campus of RMIT University with its new Design Hub by Sean Godsell, Business School by Lyons Architect and Building 8 by Peter Corrigan, past the state Library and the offices of the City of Melbourne and you will get a sense of the diversity of the architectural offerings.

Federation Square
At the foot of Swanston Street you will find Federation Square a somewhat controversial addition to the city when it first completed just over 10-years ago. Now the square is at the heart of the social life of the city. Federation Square hasn’t been the site of any great political event, civic turmoil or ritual like other major squares around the world but it filled a huge gap in a city that had no real gathering space for its citizens. It fulfills a unique offering – the opportunity to accommodate 15,000 people smack bang in the heart of the city.

GALLERIES / MUSEUMS

The Lyon Housemuseum
The Lyon Housemuseum is a private house and private art collection located eight kilometres east of Melbourne in the residential suburb of Kew. The Housemuseum displays selected works from the Lyon Collection of contemporary art, which includes paintings, sculpture, video work and installations by many of Australia’s leading contemporary artists. The Housemuseum and the Lyon Collection are open for public viewing by appointment on designated visiting days each year.

Heide Museum of Modern Art
A short drive away from the city but a fantastic modernist house set in sprawling gardens and a Sculpture Park, once owned by art collectors John and Sunday Reed, this is both an important piece of Australian art history and a vital contemporary art gallery.

Gertrude Contemporary
Showcases up and coming Melbourne and international artists, but allows for development before the big reveal. Quite often you will find large-scale sculptures of mixed media.

TarraWarra Museum of Art
This is a bit of a drive but the scenery (both in the gallery and outside) is nothing short of amazing. The not-for-profit gallery features work from the Australian modernists to the current day; notables from the collection are John Brack and John Olsen.

Seventh Gallery
This multi-room, not-for-profit gallery is artist-run and features young, contemporary local artists from a range of disciplines and levels. Seventh is an ambitious gallery, which is growing in reputation.

The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)
Catch the overnight ferry to Tasmania from Port Melbourne: Don’t come all this way and miss a trip to MONA in Tasmania. The experience starts in Hobart with the ferry ride from the wharf to the museum – the only way to arrive. Perched on a promontory of land the museum rises like a rusted ancient temple. After disembarking you climb a colossal staircase to the entrance of the museum, all angles and mirrored surfaces. You enter one of two Roy Grounds listed modernist buildings built in the 1950s and descend down into the cliff as part of a wonderful immersive, sensory experience.

DON’T MISS

White Night Festival | 21 February 2015 (7PM – 7AM)
White Night Melbourne is Australia’s most celebrated cultural event. Inspired by the international Nuit Blanche movement, White Night Melbourne is an all-night, free cultural event with visual art, illuminations, music, food, theatre, sport, fashion, film, design and performances on display. The event runs from 7pm to 7am, and is held within the centre of Melbourne, with activities in city streets, parklands, laneways, public spaces and cultural institutions.

This article is part of the Melbourne by Design takeover on Central Station. For more Melbourne themed features, please visit here.

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My Creative Scene is an insight into different creative & cultural happenings in cities where our members and readers live. Browse through more insider guides here or contact us to write about the arts scene where you are.

The Culture Trip is a website which details the best art, food, culture and travel found in every country. Based in London, the site also recommends books and films for each destination. With contributors from over seventy countries, Culture Trip focuses on getting inside information whether it’s architecture, local galleries or traditional food.

From local news to cultural calendars, the site is a one-stop comprehensive guide that works as a source of information before and during travels. For those filled with wanderlust, it’s also an excellent source of inspiration for future holidays.

Before going on your next trip, take a look at the Culture Trip here.

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Konstantina Tsirogianni is a Glasgow based interior designer. UNSEEN is her interpretation of a building functioning as a network of movement.

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See work from the Digital Design Studio and International Heritage Visualisation programme and be transported to various different worlds from the inside of present-day Barlinnie Prison (Eddie Beggan) to the Finnieston Crane and Queen’s Docks of Glasgow in the 1930s (Nichola McCabe) and beyond to the Scottish Parliament House in the late 17^th Century (Annette Whitelaw).

Annette Whitelaw

Medical innovation meets digital technology in mobile and education applications which facilitate learning created by Medical Visualisation graduates. Their work explores such diverse themes as jaw surgery (Yeshwanth Pulijala) and asthma (Kirsty Jordan).

Charlotte Craig

Moths (Charlotte Craig), Greek Philosophy (Mi Lin) and creation through destruction (Atsuko Nakano) take centre stage in the illustration, graphics and photography students’ works on show in the Reid Gallery.

Graduate Mi Lin explores the idea of breath as a life force

MLitt Fine Art graduate Teresa Malaney focuses on loss in this the life-size latex representation of the doors to the Mackintosh Building

In the MLitt in Fine Art, see work from painting, printmaking, sculpture and fine art photography graduates over three different spaces in the McLellan Galleries focusing on a wide variety of themes.

Sculptural work by MLitt Fine Art graduate Jasper Coppes

MLitt Fine Art graduate Edwina Bracken combines oil paintings with gallery benches

The GSA Graduate Degree show runs in the Reid Building and McLellan Galleries until 12 September. For more information see the GSA website.

MDes Fashion Promenades are at 7 & 8pm on Friday 12 September.

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Browse through our event bulletin to find more events.

Design and Architecture Degree Shows will be held in the newly opened Reid Building where the public will be allowed access for the first time since its opening. These shows will feature work from jewellery & silversmithing, textiles and fashion, communication design, product design, product design engineering and interior design. The MFA Degree Show will run at the Glue Factory from 12 – 22 June.

Due to recent tragic events at the Mackintosh building, Fine Art students will postpone their degree show. They will be represented in a specially-curated group exhibition at the McLellan Galleries featuring digital prints. A book will be available for purchase, featuring the prints and other works by GSA graduates.

The GSA Degree Show will run 14 – 21 June.

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The Lighthouse is currently accepting proposals from early-career architects and designers for an exhibition of work in October. The exhibition will take place on level one of the Lighthouse in the Review Gallery showcasing emerging talent and the impact of design and architecture on the everyday. Proposals from individuals, institutions or collectives are encouraged.

For more details see the Lighthouse website.

Deadline: 27 June

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Over 500 graduating artists, film makers, designers and architects will show work as part of the Edinburgh College of Art’s 2014 Degree Show which is on display until 1 June. You can peruse work online from the schools of art, design, the Reid School of Music, and the architecture and landscape schools on the degree show website. With previous graduates now BAFTA and Turner Prize winners, there’s no time like the present to scope out new talent.

Here are some highlights:

In the sculpture studio are the 16 clay busts of Lionel Ritchie, which are Dylan McCaughtry’s playful response to the music video of the singer’s hit song, Hello. To create the work, he blindfolded himself and made the busts while listening to the 1984 song on repeat.

Elsewhere, Leah Pendleton has filled a studio with multi-coloured worm-like creatures, inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights. Jack Wrigley has placed several life-size puppets in formal wear around ECA, gazing upon proceedings. Faith Elliott has created a beautiful, glowing miniature universe inside a dark, ramshackle shed.

Painter Sophie Hopkins has taken strips of deliberately ugly wallpaper and made beautiful objects using only its edges. Beverley Hughes has created a tactile, reptilian surface by painstakingly attaching 100,000 individual grains of rice to a canvas.

Several students have produced work that creatively addresses everyday issues. In textiles, Jenny Ellery has worked with unusual materials to produce tactile products for fidgeters. Product designer Henry Collingham has devised a way to create a refrigerator from car parts cheaply available in the developing world.

Other students have created swimming goggles for the visually impaired and bird houses from waste carpet fibre. In Architecture, students show their designs – and some remarkable models – for their plans to transform neighbourhoods in Manchester, the Venetian lagoon and Japan.

Many students have looked to their own families for inspiration. Matilda Craston has brought to life the forgotten poetry of her great-uncle, who died in 1937 aged 17, using graphic design. In Film and Television, Stuart Edwards’ documentary, A Wee Night In, is about his 95 year-old gran finding love with a 90 year-old boyfriend who comes to stay at weekends. Jewellery and Silversmithing student Hazel Thorn has experimented with base and precious metals to create objects that look fragile but are deceptively strong.

Suzanne van der Lingen’s work in the Masters of Contemporary Art section splices together footage from 1950s adventure films set in jungles – such as The African Queen – to question the depiction of women and indigenous cultures.

Last minute preparations for the ECA degree show 2013

The ECA degree show is currently on display until 1 June. For more information see the degree show website.

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