Some of the world’s most inspiring destinations will be the subject of discussion at the new lecture series recently launched at an Mpavilion Mtalks forum in Melbourne.

Hosted by the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) in Melbourne, the lecture series will explore the recent architectural, urban and cultural history of eight world cities. The series, titled Cities of Architecture, will feature nine speakers over the coming months. The list of cities includes Tokyo, Venice, Houston, Madrid, Shanghai, Barcelona, Isfahan and Guadalajara.

Launched on 16 February at an Mpavilion Mtalks forum, the lecture series began with a presentation by Diego Ramírez-Lovering, head of the Monash University architecture department and co-founding managing director of Monash Architecture Studio, together with John Denton, joint managing director of Denton Corker Marshall, and Qianyi Lim, founding partner of Sibling.

The Cities of Architecture lectures will take place once a month, with a complimentary cocktail inspired by each city and created by the Melbourne Gin Company and Starward Whisky.

Cities of Architecture - Full Program

Tokyo, Monday 20 March

Presented by Marika Neustupny, director of NMBW Architecture Studio.

Venice, Monday 10 April

Presented by Stuart Harrison, co-founder and co-host of ‘The Architects’ on Melbourne 3RRR and director of Melbourne architecture practice HAW.

Houston, Monday 15 May

Presented by Don Bates, director of LAB Architecture Studio and chair of architectural design at the University of Melbourne.

Madrid, Monday 19 June

Presented by Qianyi Lim, founding partner and architect at SIBLING.

Shanghai, Monday 17 July

Presented by James Brearley, partner at Brearley Architects and Urbanists (BAU).

Barcelona, Monday 14 August

Presented by Mark Burry, executive architect and researcher at the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona and professor of urban futures at the Melbourne School of Design at The University of Melbourne.

Isfahan, Monday 18 September

Presented by Justine Clark, editor, writer and honorary senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne and Maryam Gusheh, lecturer in architecture at the Faculty of the Built Environment at The University of New South Wales.

Guadalajara, Monday 16 October

Presented by Diego Ramírez-Lovering, head of department (architecture) of Monash Art, Design and Architecture and co-founding managing director of Monash Architecture Studio (MAS).

Tickets can be booked online on the ACCA website.

Image: Mercado Libertad in Guadalajara, the largest indoor market of Latin America, designed by Mexican architect and Holocaust survivor Alejandro Zohn. The building will be discussed in the Tokyo talk with Marika Neustupny, director of NMBW Architecture Studio. Image: Courtesy ACCA