Housing, artificial intelligence and the future of Australian cities will take center stage at this year’s Melbourne Design Week, where researchers from Monash University plan to explore how emerging technologies and urban planning reforms could reshape everyday life.

The 11-day festival, running May 14–24, will feature 28 exhibitions, workshops and talks presented by research labs from Monash Art, Design and Architecture, known as MADA. Events will be held at venues including the National Gallery of Victoria, the Victorian Pride Centre and Monash University’s Caulfield campus.

Several programs will focus on the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and its implications for creative and industrial sectors.

In “Future Building: Making Buildings Better,” Associate Professor Duncan Maxwell will examine how AI is being used to improve construction quality while helping reduce carbon emissions in the building sector.

Another showcase, “Designing Quantum Futures,” led by Associate Professor Leah Heiss, Professor Sarah Pink and Dr. Debora Lanzeni, will explore how quantum technologies could influence industries including healthcare, banking, transport and employment over the next decade.

The growing role of generative AI in the arts and design industries will also be a central theme. Professor Jon McCormack and Dr. Rowan Page will lead “Design, Creativity and AI,” a program examining how machine-generated images, films, music and designs are reshaping creative practice.

“With the introduction of AI, we’ve entered a new phase of human history,” McCormack said. “Machines can now act more independently, creating images, designs, films and music, and that’s pushing us to rethink what creativity means and what a creative practice is.”

“No one knows exactly where this is headed,” he adds, “but by the end of this panel, we hope you’ll have a clearer sense of what the future might hold.”

Housing and transport challenges facing Melbourne’s expanding population will also feature prominently throughout the festival.

Senior Lecturer Katherine Sundermann will lead “Beyond Rezoning: Delivering Liveable Neighbourhoods,” a workshop exploring whether higher-density housing near public transit can be delivered while maintaining healthy and livable communities.

Associate Professor Robbie Napper will host a panel discussion focused on the future of Melbourne’s transportation systems as the city continues to grow and urban development spreads outward.

Professor Mel Dodd, dean of Monash Art, Design and Architecture, says the university’s researchers are using creative practice and emerging technologies to address some of Australia’s most pressing urban and social issues.

“At MADA, our research is focused on the big issues shaping Australia’s future, from AI and housing to transport and liveability,” Dodd says. “Melbourne Design Week provides a powerful platform to showcase how architecture, design and creative research can inform policy, industry and everyday life.”

Melbourne Design Week is curated by the National Gallery of Victoria and supported by the Victorian government.

Image: Dean Norton, Between Planes, Render of Gold Mirrored Installation. Image courtesy of the designer.

Architecture & Design Team

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