Rob Adams (architect)
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Robert John Adams AM | |
---|---|
Born | 1948 (age 75–76) Zimbabwe |
Nationality | Zimbabwean, Australian |
Occupation | Architect |
Practice | Adams Urban, City of Melbourne |
Projects | Urban Design and Delivery City of Melbourne (1985—2020), CH2 building |
Robert John Adams
Early life and education
Adams grew up in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)[3] and gained a B.Arch at the University of Cape Town (1966-1971), South Africa. He later did a Masters in Urban Design from Oxford Brookes University in England (1974-1977).[4]
Career
He helped establish an urban design course in Zimbabwe in 1978-80, before moving to Australia. From 1983 he worked at the City of Melbourne, going part time from 2020. He is a regular lecturer at
Urban design in Melbourne
In 1985 the city centre of Melbourne was in need of revitalisation, with retail trading and cultural activities lagging behind its counterparts elsewhere in Australia and in Europe. Adams helped to write, and to put in place, the first comprehensive urban design strategy for the City, based on the idea of creating a vibrant and well-populated streetscape profiting from the city's multi-mode transport system. He guided the strategy's implementation in several projects, which took place as the city recovered from economic recession in the late 1980s and was prepared to invest in the built environment. These included
Adams' urban revitalisation work in the urban core has assisted Melbourne to become one of the world's
In the latter years of his tenure at the City of Melbourne he turned to accommodating over a million extra people within the existing metropolitan boundary. He advocated medium density, 5+storey development for housing and commercial uses along the major tram and bus corridors leading out of the centre, but only in locations with rear access to properties. Accommodating these numbers in new residential developments and existing suburbs would avoid further urban sprawl. Significant greening and reorientation of roadscapes would accompany these measures, which were outlined in the 'Transforming Cities' report of 2010.[12][13] In 2020 he also argued the pandemic would leave central city office space also available for conversion for housing.
Awards
- The City Design Division at the City of Melbourne led by Adams has received over 150 state and national awards for design excellence since the 1980s
- RAIA Walter Burley Griffin Award, Urban Design of Melbourne City, Urban Design Branch, City of Melbourne, 1992
- Order of Australia (AM) in 2007 for services to urban design, town planning and architecture.[14]
- Melbourne Achiever Award, Committee for Melbourne, 2007
- Prime Minister's Environmentalist of the Year, 2008 (Australia)
- Sidney Luker Medal, Planning Institute of Australia NSW, 2009
- Australia Award for Urban Design for Transforming Cities report, 2009
- Honorary Doctorate, University of Melbourne, 2016
- Australian Institute of Architect’s National President’s Award, 2018
References
- ^ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-adams-am-27138521/?originalSubdomain=au
- ^ "Professor Rob Adams citation" (PDF). University of Melbourne.
- ^ (in Portuguese) Rob Adams, arquiteto:‘Prefeitos estão mais importantes que presidentes’. By Renato Grandelle. O Globo, 1 October 2014
- ^ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-adams-am-27138521/?originalSubdomain=au
- ^ profile on LinkedIn
- ^ https://www.adamsurban.au/
- ^ Raxworthy, J.R. 2003. Birrarung Marr. Architectural Review Australia, 84. pp. 46-49.
- ^ ABC: Council House 2 - The eco-office block of the future, 19 April 2007, retrieved 28 January 2011
- ^ 2010 Economist's World's Most Liveable Cities Index
- ^ ArtPlay
- ^ The construction of the Crown Casino on the Yarra in a prime riverside site was allegedly not one of his favoured projects, but pushed through by the Kennett government of the time. It resulted in the relocation of the Melbourne Museum.
- ^ Transforming Australian Cities For a More Financially Viable And Sustainable Future. City of Melbourne.
- ^ Tina Perinotto. 2020. Interview: Rob Adams: Challenging the status quo on urban planning. The Fifth Estate -sustainable property news. 10 September 2020.
- ^ "Professor Robert John Adams, Queen's Birthday 2007 Honours List ID 1134684". Australian Government, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australian Honours Search Facility. 11 June 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2023.