Join us for the Festival of Architecture official opening event with the Ockham Residential Lecture Series panel discussion - Other Urbanisms.

A lively panel discussion featuring architects, urbanists and media commentators steered by comedian, columnist and urban enthusiast Alice Snedden. 

Hubert de Cronin Hastings writes in his 1971 book "Civilia: the end of sub urban man; a challenge to semidetsia" that the practice of urban planning is fundamentally for freedom. "The millon dollar question is which kind of freedom, Is it Freedom-for or Freedom-from"

Hastings concludes the question is regrettably not of concern, that, in fact urban design functions only to "release citizens from the restrictions, frustrations, obstructions, injunctions, objections, restraints, vetoes, bans, barriers, embargoes, and bloody-mindedness which prevents him or her from bothering with the 'freedom-for' in the first place."

Join us for a night of debate and laughter, as panellists battle out ideas of freedom-for vs. freedom-from, in search of a contemporary urbanism that finds value in the profundity of experiences in the built environment, and the potential of prioritising that which is most common and ordinary, and most often repeated. "Only by using spaces several times over can the city fulfil itself, any public space should have a use for each hour of the day - market place, picnic spot, cuddling corner, dos house."

Followed by live music by the indomitable Courtroom Brown. This is a free event, hospitality provided,  Places are limited, please book online here.