ADVISORY Board

Professor Mel Dodd

Program Advisory

Mel Dodd is an architect and academic who explores practice-based pedagogy and research in architecture that bridges the gap between the academic institution and wider communities, government and society. She has led architecture departments at a range of institutions internationally including at Central Saint Martins in London, and is currently Professor and Head of Department of Architecture, MADA, Monash University.

Her publications include ‘Live Projects: Designing with People’ (RMIT Press, 2012) and most recently ‘Spatial Practices: Modes of Action and Engagement with the City (Routledge 2019).

Professor Dan Hill

Program Advisory

Professor Dan Hill is Director of Melbourne School of Design, the graduate school in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, Australia. A designer and urbanist, Dan's previous design leadership roles include the Swedish government’s innovation agency Vinnova in Stockholm, Arup in London and Sydney, Fabrica in Treviso, the Finnish Innovation Fund SITRA in Helsinki, and the UK's Future Cities Catapult and BBC in London.

Dan is also a Visiting Professor at UCL's Institute for Innovation and Public Practice and a founder member of the Council on Urban Initiatives, a joint venture between UN HABITAT, LSE and UCL. Dan was one of the inaugural Design Advocates for the Mayor of London and a Trustee of Participatory City Foundation. Amongst much public writing, media and advocacy, including one of the earliest blogs concerning design, culture and cities at City of Sound, Dan is the author of the books 'Dark Matter & Trojan horses: A strategic design playbook' (Strelka Press, 2012) and 'Designing missions: Mission-oriented innovation in Sweden' (Vinnova, 2022).

Marita Kaji-O'Grady

Program Manager

Marita is an arts administrator who is currently the Studio Manager of CityLab and Program Manager for the Living Cities Forum and the Living Cities Landscape Lab.

As the Program Manager for the Living Cities initiative she assists with management of the program, provides curatorial advice and undertakes research on a wide range of topics pertinent to the given project.

Andrew Mackenzie

Program Director & Event Host

Andrew Mackenzie is a co-director of the Melbourne-based publisher Uro Publications, which has published over 40 books on architecture and design since launching in 2010. He recently edited Planet City working with Liam Young, to coincide with the Melbourne Triennale. He has also guest edited the April edition of Architect Victoria, entitled Lost for Words.

He is co-editor of the digital platform Foreground, and has, for over two decades, written for a variety of magazines and newspapers. His architectural consultancy,CityLab, advises on design competitions and procurement. He was recently announced the winner of the 2021 AIA National President's Prize.

Sarah Lynn Rees

Program Advisory

Sarah is a Palawa woman descending from the Plangermaireener and Trawlwoolway people of North-East Tasmania. As an Indigenous woman she brings a unique perspective to her role in architecture, underpinned by her personal experience, heritage and research into the Indigenous built environment.

Sarah works at Jackson Clements Burrows Architects where her role includes both architecture and leading JCB’s Indigenous Advisory, Architecture and Design services. She is regularly engaged to advise industry, universities and governments on appropriate processes and protocols.

Sarah curates the BLAKitecture series and provides program consultation for MPavilion, teaches at Monash University and sits on several advisory boards.

Professor SueAnne Ware

Program Advisory

SueAnne Ware is Professor of Landscape Architecture and the Head of School & Dean of Architecture and the Built Environment at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She is a co-founder of out(fit), an all-female collective of design practitioners and a self-confessed design activist. She believes that landscape architects share a responsibility for exploring political, social and environmental agendas in public spaces.

SueAnne’s projects reflect her commitment to society's marginalised ecologies and communities. Her work is an exploration of issues such as so-called feral pests and weeds in "native" bushlands, phytoremediation in feral gardens,  memorials to drug addiction, 'illegal' refugee policies and domestic violence. She creates spaces that generate friction, where protests are permitted and possible, where attention is drawn to some of society's most pervasive issues, and passers-by may discover insight into what SueAnne hopes is a more humanitarian and compassionate approach. Her design projects have won national and international awards; including The SIEV X memorial, the Road as Shrine, and the Anti-Memorial to Heroin Overdose Victims.