Hassell Talks

Parkville, Melbourne — home to one of the world’s leading biomedical innovation communities.  Arden — the next stage of the expanding Parkville innovation ecosystem. These precincts serve as catalysts where ideas, industries, and investors converge — shaping the places that unite us.

In this episode we explore the threads that hold these precincts together in the context of future developments of major institutions spanning health,...

Companies that have changed their offices and ways of working since the pandemic have a 17% higher satisfaction score among employees than those that haven’t. That's a big number - just one of many fascinating data points out of our 2023 Workplace Futures Survey.  We're calling this one Great Adaptations.

Our annual survey casts a light on the link between office transformation and employee satisfaction - and we're sharing some of ...

On this episode of Hassell Talks, architect and urbanist Caroline Stalker joined retired Partner of Buro Happald Andrew Comer and architect, urbanist and Head of Design Ashley Munday to explore the potential mechanisms for creating a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy for Brisbane and SEQ.

London's approach was to look beyond 2012 - to 2057, with the hard decisions made at the very beginning resulting in transcendent ch...

Architect Julian Gitsham sat down with Professors Tim O'Brien and Teresa Anderson to record this conversation about designing the best campus environments for transformational learning.

And who better to quiz than the minds behind the bluedot festival? Located at the UNESCO listed Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, home to the Lovell Telescope, and the award-winning Hassell designed First Light Pavilion Visitors Centre, bluedot ...

You asked, Kat answered! Get ready for our 'Epic Yarn' - Part 2. 

Part 1 saw Landscape Architect Hannah Galloway explore the topic of ​‘Listening’ with First Nations Consultant, Cultural Advisor and Storyteller Kat Rodwell. For the second half of this Epic Yarn, we asked listeners to send in questions to ask Kat - and boy, did you deliver.

No question was off-limits, and the prompt of 'get comfortable with being uncomfortable' saw ...

Are you ready for an 'Epic Yarn'?

Listening lies at the heart of so much of what designers do, but listening to what Country and Culture is telling us means connecting deeply and meaningfully with the land and its people.

How well are designers — and organisations, individuals and communities — listening to these voices?

Together with Landscape Architect Hannah Galloway, we wanted to explore the topic of ​‘Listening’ with First Nat...

Perth in Western Australia has joined thousands of other cities around the world aiming for Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050. How will this unique city, facing unique climate challenges, meet the target? And how will designers help the city go beyond the standards to beat the clock and make a thriving, regenerative hub?

Hassell’s Sustainable Design Leader Karla Fox-Reynolds joined self-confessed 'sustainability nerd' the Hon. Dr. ...

With a housing crisis affecting cities and people, we're taking a look at the close ties between design and innovation in the residential sector.

How are emerging housing models responding to community needs? What role is design playing in ensuring projects can still succeed despite cost, supply and climate challenges? And what makes larger scale residential alternatives appealing to investors seeking a long-term revenue line?

In t...

It is time to move on from the pursuit of iconic architecture.

The issues keeping our clients and collaborators up at night are the same things pushing our cities closer to the cusp of wholesale change.

Things like the competition around attracting and keeping great tenants, providing magnetic experiences and destination workplaces in uncertain times, dealing with 'great bones' in a building and delivering sustainable spaces are al...

The 15 Minute City has become a hot topic - gaining traction in corners of the internet not typically involved in the dialogue around city planning and urban living.

With forward-thinking conversations threatened to be overtaken by conspiracy theories, we wanted to share an episode we recorded with London-based research lead Camilla Siggaard Andersen in 2022 on the topic of 15 Minute Cities. Specifically looking at the research she...

In Europe, Australia, the US and Asia - there's not enough quality housing stock to go around, and limited affordable choice in the types of homes available.

The current generation of renters and buyers are connected, design-savvy and socially aware. They are driving the demand for homes that challenge traditional models of living.

They’ve also lived through the pandemic, so they need to be able...

How did Sydney, London, and Barcelona pull off Olympic-sized events that delivered enduring, generational change?

In 2032, southeast Queensland - a region with the city of Brisbane at its heart - will host the summer Olympics and Paralympics. The Games create extraordinary opportunities for communities, economies, and cultures to design legacies for future generations.

The most important discussions in the city and the region aroun...

Feeling overwhelmed in the face of climate and sustainability challenges? Have we got the episode for you.

With the built environment contributing to around 40% of global emissions, our industry has a critical – and pivotal - role to play to limit the projected impacts of climate change to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. So we held an event to hear from the people making the changes in our industry that...

*ENCORE EPISODE* Nature in our cities.  If you're paying attention you'll notice the effect it's having on you. The slowed heart rate, a stolen moment to notice flickering leaves, buzzing insects, birds landing.

Those designed-for, natural moments in our cities aren't in stasis - they're constantly changing and also spontaneous, influencing how we move through our cities, how we use them - and how they give back to us.

In this se...

"What you create as an organisation has to be something that pushes the boundaries everywhere," said Co-Director of Danjoo Koorliny, Carol Innes AM to a gathering of designers, government representatives clients and First Nations collaborators.

This gathering, as part of Hassell's Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) journey aimed to listen and learn from First Nations partners better ways to engage on projects. The resulting conversat...

When it comes to how workers feel about their workplace, it's hard to mount an argument against three years' worth of data and insights into possibly the most disruptive period for workers in memory. Senior Researcher Daniel Davis has been studying the effects and challenges facing workplaces in our Annual Workplace Futures Survey since 2020, and this year the survey grew to include 2,500 office workers across Australia, China, Sin...

Rail precincts don't always feel like the safest places to be for women, girls and the gender diverse, particularly after dark.

Alert and constantly on guard, it's a relentless navigation of sightlines, lighting, exposure, surveillance and positioning for safety.

As designers, we believe we can do more than simply meet the governing standards and technical requirements demanded of rail stations - we can change the way people feel w...

Welcome back to Season 4 of Hassell Talks! This season we're taking a look at Designing for a New State of Togetherness.

We believe good things - great things - can happen when people come together through seemingly spontaneous experiences.

The emotional response we get when we’re surprised or delighted is hugely powerful. It can help us feel more connected to others, and our cities. It can inspire and move us toward great change -...

While technology rapidly advances — people, by contrast, remain constant.

Creatures of habit, we need others to survive. We are the sum of our skin, our organs and body parts. Our minds distinguish us, and our intelligence is key to survival but it's our ability to work together that tells the true story of our potential.

The team behind the Herston Biofabrication Institute in Brisbane, Australia knew this, and deliberately removed...