Sydney Design Festival 2016 will once again create a platform for a convergence of people, ideas and activities across creative industry sectors. This year will mark the festival’s 19^th year, and will run between 2 and 11 September.

The theme this year is Make or Break, examining the tension between success and failure and exploring how designers are creatively using and deconstructing production methods and design histories to create solutions.

The program content provides visitors with an opportunity to unpack design in all its forms.

Here are a few of our favourites to get you started:

LUMINOCITY: UNSW BUILT ENVIRONMENT EXHIBITION

When: 2 – 11 September, 10am – 6pm

Where: Gallery, UNSW Built Environment, Ground floor, Red Centre West Wing, High St, Kensington

Luminocity is an exhibition organised by UNSW Built Environment that showcases student works and projects. Works range from the various disciplines including architecture, interior architecture, city planning, computational design, landscape architecture, industrial design and construction and project management.

On 3 September, during UNSW Open Day, visitors will be able to view the exhibition and talk to students and staff about careers in the design, planning and construction industries as well as questions specific to the degrees on offer. A series of hands-on workshops will also be available for high school students, TAFE and/or private colleges to have a go at design and to see what it would be like to study with at the university.

ARCHITECTURAL TOURS OF SYDNEY OBSERVATORY

When: 3 and 10 September, 2 – 3pm

Where: Sydney Observatory, 1003 Upper Fort St, Millers Point

Join volunteers from the Australian Architecture Association (AAA) on an architectural tour of one of Sydney’s most significant historic sites – Sydney Observatory.

The Observatory was built from stone with distinctive copper telescope domes between 1857 and 1859. It is recognised as an item of ‘state significance’ by the New South Wales Government, and is also heritage listed.

Beginning as the centre of scientific research for the colony of New South Wales, the Observatory has a seminal role in the history of timekeeping, meteorology, navigation and astronomy in Australia.

NOT BY ACCIDENT: DESIGNING SYDNEY’S FUTURE

When: 6 September, 5.30 – 7pm

Where: National Art School, Corner of Forbes St and Burton St, Darlinghurst

The Committee for Sydney will bring together a panel of high-profile Sydneysiders to discuss their favourite places in Sydney at this event. It will contribute to the Committee’s ongoing research into ‘Density Done Well’ – examining what the ingredients for success are in creating good quality liveable and loveable density.

Looking at both well-known suburbs and under-appreciated gems, this talk is the chance to hear from the people who are shaping Sydney. Expect to gain a new appreciation of areas you walk through every day and insights into places you’ll have to visit.

WINNERS FROM THE 2016 AIDA

When: 7 September, 6 – 8.30pm

Where: Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street, Ultimo

The Australian Interior Design Awards (AIDA) recognise and celebrate interior design excellence via a prestigious, industry-based program, which is supported by DIA – the peak professional body representing Australian designers. Awards and commendations for this years’ competition were announced on 10 June 2016.

The evening is an opportunity to feel inspired with three of the winning designers who will explore their recent projects. This event will interest professionals and students working in interior architecture, design and decoration; industrial, furniture and exterior design; and design education and management.

THE EVOLVING WAYS OF LIVING IN SYDNEY

When: 8 September, 5.30 – 8.30pm

Where: Brickworks Design Studio, 50 Carrington Street, Sydney

Architects face new social responsibilities such as ensuring equitable access to amenities, and considering the current housing affordability issue and the trend for people to move further out from the Sydney CBD to achieve the great Australian dream. There is also an increase in high-rise vertical living.

This event will explore recent shifts in thinking about how to design apartment buildings.

Directors from PTW will present the various projects they have worked on over the years and the unique design considerations they faced.

JOHN GOLLINGS: THE HERO IMAGE

When: 8 September, 6 – 8pm

Where: Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, 16 – 20 Goodhope St, Paddington

John Gollings is one of Australia’s leading architectural photographers. For nearly 50 years he has recorded the progress of modern and contemporary architecture and the evolution of the built environment in Australia.

Gollings will present The Hero Image – a visual collection of what he believes are defining hero images from a range of work around the world, both ancient and current – at the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation.

DEMOCRATISING DESIGN

When: 8 September, 6 – 7.30pm

Where: Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, Wilkinson Building G04, 148 City Rd, The University of Sydney

Open to anyone interested in architecture and 3D fabrication, digital and interaction design, and the intersection between these fields, the event will look at how design thinking and technological advancements are changing design and built environment industries.

This session will feature a conversation between academics and practitioners from architecture and design. Speakers include Mathew Aitchison, Chair of Innovation in Applied Design at the University of Sydney, and Martin Tomitsch, Head of Design at the University of Sydney.

COLOUR AND TRENDS FORECAST 2017

When: 9 September, 10.30am – 12.30pm

Where: Space Furniture Showroom, 84 O’Riordan St, Alexandria

Key industry leaders will provide a comprehensive overview of colour and trends direction and influences at this event. The forecast will offer seasonal inspiration and key colour direction in interior design. It will also inspire designers to introduce new ideas into their creative repertoire.

The presentation will interest professionals and students working in interior architecture, design and decoration; jewellery, textile, industrial, furniture and colour design; and design education and management.

THE ROCKS WALK WITH THE AAA

When: 10 September, 10am – 12pm

Where: The Rocks, 140 George Street, Sydney

This two-hour walking tour of Sydney oldest suburb, The Rocks, goes beyond what the tourism industry has to offer.

Stroll through the hilly terrain and see how heritage and contemporary architecture co-exists in harmony. Discover the marks left on the district by the plague of 1900 and by major infrastructure projects such as the wharves and the Harbour Bridge. See how Barangaroo has been developed and hear about how the architecture shapes the foreshores of the city of Sydney.

The meeting point is at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Harbourside Forecourt entrance (Circular Quay side).

DESIGN, THINK, MAKE, BREAK, REPEAT

When: 10 September, 2 – 4pm

Where: Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, Level 1 Studio, Wilkinson Building G04, 148 City Rd, The University of Sydney

This session will explore the role and value of making and breaking as part of the design thinking process. It will include short talks and hands-on activities, using exercises from a design thinking toolkit developed at the University of Sydney.

The University of Sydney has been teaching design thinking for 15 years as part of their programs on interaction and digital design in the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning.

Images: Sydney Design Festival

Nicholas Rider

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