The Retrofit Forum, hosted by The Retrofit Lab at the University of Melbourne, unites industry, government, and academia. Its goal is to promote sustainable retrofitting in Australia. Relaunching in 2026, this monthly event will showcase expert talks and discussions. It will cover key challenges and opportunities across four critical areas:
- Housing: Upgrading homes for climate, health, and affordability.
- Landscapes: Supporting resilient, low-carbon cities.
- Skills: Training the workforce for retrofit needs.
- Digital: Leveraging technology, such as digital twins.
Held in-person and online, the forum fosters collaboration to drive retrofitting innovation. Organised by The Retrofit Lab and the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne.
Reach out to us or sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on upcoming forums and retrofit initiatives.
August Retrofit Forum
Join us at 4pm on Tuesday 25 August for the August forum which will focus on Energy and Circularity aspects of retrofit at small residential scale. Anna Lindstad a local Melbourne based architect and advocate for regenerative design will represent industry presenting on a recent case study project, and Claudio Torres a researcher and PhD candidate at The University of Melbourne whose work focuses on joining life cycle assessment and material circularity at the residential scale. Exploring energy and circularity in small-scale residential retrofit, with industry and academic perspectives.
Forum Recordings
Mid-Century Concrete Buildings; John Medley Building and Baillieu Library Retrofit
- Hannah Kuek (Senior Associate at ARM Architecture)
- Dr. Kirsten Day (Senior Lecturer in Technology and Practice, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, University of Melbourne)
Bushfire Resilience and Retrofit
- Max Garner
Founder, Secretary and Project Manager of Bushfire Resilience Inc. (BRI), a community led not-for-profit. - Professor Alan March
University of Melbourne MPIA PhD (Urban Planning), Master of Town & Country Planning, BA (Urb & Reg Planning, dist.)
Adapt! Designing New Lives for Old Buildings - Book Discussion
- Prof. Hannah Lewi Co-director of ACAHUCH Australian Centre for Architectural History and Urban and Cultural Heritage. University of Melbourne.
- A/Prof. Cameron Logan Urban and Architectural Historian. Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning. University of Sydney
- Marika Neustupny (LFRAIA) Founding Director of NMBW Architecture Studio. Researcher and Educator at RMIT and Monash University.
About the Book:
Adapt! Designing New Lives for Old Buildings showcases design and practice-based approaches to the sustainable, adaptive reuse of historic places in Australia. Building on their extensive research in the field, authors Hannah Lewi and Cameron Logan have engaged with a range of leading architects and heritage practitioners to gain firsthand insights into their methods and experiences with the delicate and complex task of creating contemporary spaces from much-loved, but timeworn, buildings. URO Publications
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne
Commercial Conversions and Regenerative Retrofitting: Perspectives from the UK and Australia
- Andrew Cribb (3Space, REDO)
- Dr.Giorgio Marfella (ARBV, University of Melbourne)
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne
Rasmus Nørgaard - Sustainable Urban Real Estate Development
Rasmus Nørgaard was the 2025 Robert Garland Treseder Fellow at the Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning.
Health, Post-Occupancy Evaluation and Retrofit
- Prof. Christhina Candido (Director of SHE Lab (Sustainable and Healthy Environments) University of Melbourne)
- Liam Wallis (Founder of HIP V. HYPE)
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne
PassivHaus and Retrofit
- Jane Cameron - Australian Passivhaus Association, Director of Jane Cameron Architects
- Dylan Farquhar - Australian PassivHaus Association, Founder of Alwyn Projects
- Milica Tumbas - Principal - Lovell Chen
- Eben Simmons - Principal Sustainability - Introba
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne
AI and Data-Driven Insights for Retrofit
- Dr. Yang Zou -Senior Lecturer in Digital Construction at the University of Auckland with PhD Candidate Zeng Zhang
- A/Prof. Alice Kesminas - Enterprise Senior Fellow - Faculty of Engineering and IT (FEIT) University of Melbourne with PhD Candidate Maz Ghasemi Tootkaboni
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne
Retrofitting for Accessibility and Inclusion
- Jean Hewitt - Technical Lead in Inclusive Environments at Buro Happold and Honorary Associate Professor at The Bartlett, UCL.
- Kirsten Day - Senior Lecturer in Technology and Practice, Melbourne School of Design, The University of Melbourne
- Andrew Martel - Senior Lecturer in Construction Management and Architecture, Melbourne School of Design, The University of Melbourne
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne
Residential Retrofit: Innovations, Opportunities & Supply Chain
- Felicia Richardson - CEO of Enviroflex
- Antony DiMase - Director of DiMase Architects
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne
Residential Retrofit: Actions & Planning for Future-Ready Homes
- Jon Stinson - Okana Global & Ryder Architecture
- A/Prof. Rory Hyde - University of Melbourne
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne
Bushfire Retrofit Toolkit
- Dr Mona Abd Al Salam - University of Technology Sydney
- Iina Lohi - University of Canberra
Panel Discussion:
- Ray Loveridge M.App.Sc (Research); M.FSEng; CPEng (Ret); FIEAust. Fire engineer
Adjunct Professor - School of Built Environment UTS - Nigel Bell – ECOdesign Architects + Consultant
- Irina Acosta Disaster Recovery Professional in Government
Circularity and Retrofit Building Facades
- Elissa Stirling - Regional Manager - Victoria, Inhabit
- Swapna Govindaraju - Sustainability Team Lead Victoria, Principal Sustainability Advisor, Mott MacDonald
- Josephine Gillard - Designer & Architect, HASSELL
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven,
Enterprise Professor, Architectural Engineering, The University of Melbourne
Public Housing Retrofit
- Dr David Kelly,
RMIT University, Vice Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow - Simon Robinson,
OFFICE, Managing Director (Architect)
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven,
Enterprise Professor, Architectural Engineering, The University of Melbourne
Circular Economy and Retrofit Solutions
- Andrew Egan,
Managing Director, Egans - Dr M Reza Hosseini,
Senior Lecturer in Construction Technology, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning (University of Melbourne)
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven,
Enterprise Professor, Architectural Engineering, The University of Melbourne
Commercial Buildings
- Lasse Lind,
Partner of GXN and Head of Circularity - Professor Sara Wilkinson,
Professor of Sustainable Property, Faculty of Design Architecture & Building, University of Technology Sydney
Chaired by: Professor Sara Wilkinson,
University of Technology Sydney
Retrofit and Place-making
- Mathew van Kooy, Partner, Wardle
- A/Prof Janet Stanley (Hon), Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne
Chaired by: Professor Brendon McNiven, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne
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