KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Jan Gehl
Jan Gehl, Architect, Professor and Consultant on urban design has focused his career on improving the quality of urban life, by reorienting the design of the city towards the pedestrian, public life and cyclists.
40 years of research and teachings at the School of Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen have resulted in a number of, by now, classic books. "Life Between Buildings" (1971), was written as a reaction against the new suburbs that lacked public space and shared life among buildings. A later book "Cities for the People" (2010), has become one of the most referenced resources in city planning. Published in 37 languages.
In 2000, with the architect Helle Søholt, he established Gehl Architects, with the purpose of applying the theories into practical planning of cities for people. Major improvement projects have been carried out for Copenhagen, Melbourne, Sydney, London, New York and Moscow.
Jan Gehl has been awarded honorary Doctor Degrees from the Universities in Edinburgh, Toronto, Varna and Halifax and is honorary fellow of the Architectural Institutes in Denmark, UK (RIBA), USA, Canada, Scotland and the Planning Institutes in Australia and Ireland.
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Mat Santamouris
Mat Santamouris is the professor of high-performance architecture at the University of New South Wales. He is also professor of Energy Physics at the University of Athens, in Greece and visiting professor at the Cyprus Institute, Metropolitan University of London, Tokyo Polytechnic University, Bolzano University, Brunnel University and National University of Singapore.
Professor Santamouris is a past President of the National Centre of Renewable and Energy Savings of Greece and scientific coordinator of many international research programs. He is also an editor and author of various scientific journals. He is the Editor in Chief of the Energy and Buildings, Past Editor in Chief of the Journal of Advances in Building Energy Research, Associate Editor of the Solar Energy Journal and actual or past Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Solar Energy, Journal of Buildings and Environment, Journal of Sustainable Energy, Journal of Low Carbon Technologies, Journal of Open Construction and Building Technology, Sustainable Cities and Society and of the Journal of Ventilation. He is also Editor of a number of Books on Buildings, Energy, heat island and Solar Technologies.
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Jill Garner
Jill Garner is the Victorian Government Architect. She joined the Office of the Victorian Government Architect as Associate Government Architect in 2010, before becoming Government Architect in 2015. She is one of the first graduates of the Masters by Design program offered at RMIT, and her firm received early recognition through winning an international design competition in 1994.
She has consistently advocated for the importance of architectural design and innovation. Jill's architectural background includes an apprenticeship over ten years with several of Melbourne's influential design practices. She went on to co-found Garner Davis Architects, a St Kilda based studio, whose work has received numerous industry awards in over twenty five years of practice.
Based on her built and unbuilt work she was one of the early graduates of the innovative practice-based Masters by Design at RMIT. She has taught at both RMIT and the University of Melbourne in design, contemporary history and architectural theory. She is a regular contributor to architectural events, awards juries, publications and journals, seminars, and local and interstate lectures. Over a career of thirty years she has been a visible and active contributor to the discourse of architecture and a passionate advocate for design excellence.
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