Melbourne architect seeks public office
Michael Smith, Director at ACA member practice andever, is campaigning for a seat in the upcoming City of Melbourne elections. With a strong belief in the pivotal role architects play in city development, Michael advocates for including design experts in decision-making processes. As the 25 October deadline for postal votes approaches, Michael shared insights into his campaign goals and vision for Melbourne’s future.
What inspired you to run for Melbourne City Council?
My introduction to local politics was the community campaign against the East West Link. Our State Government had proposed that one of Melbourne’s most significant public parks, Royal Park, would be partly used for a toll road tunnel entrance. It was a horrible deal for the City of Melbourne to permanently lose historic park space in exchange for more car traffic. The Council at that time had a Lord Mayor with strong links to the political party pushing the project, and what should have been a very stringent response was in my view far more limited.
I have also watched Philip Thalis’s contribution to Sydney with great admiration. He is a clear example of a civic-minded architect using his expertise with great impact.
I think our profession needs to set the goal of having an architect on each capital city council!
What impact can architects have in public office? What skills can they bring to the role?
Architects have tremendous skills that they bring to public office. They excel at thinking spatially, synthesising complex and competing information, considering long time frames and thinking across scales.
At a local council level, we need people who approve or reject planning applications to understand what is being proposed. I have seen first-hand Councillors modify building applications ‘on the fly’ without understanding the flow-on effects of their actions. They do not hesitate to reduce building heights by arbitrary amounts, with not even a moment’s thought of the internal amenities for the occupants of the building. This style of decision-making is not in the public interest and needs to be called out.
Architects have a far better understanding than most of how our built environment impacts the climate emergency. If elected, I will be a knowledgeable voice of reason and a champion for good design in our city.
Not everyone is brave enough to do what you’re doing! What else can architects do to influence public policy and advocate for better outcomes for our profession and communities?
Public policy, particularly at a local level, can be influenced by advocacy. It can be as simple as writing a letter or speaking as a concerned citizen at a council meeting. Most importantly, I think it is vital that we band together to support the advocacy of others. Collectively, we can be powerful when we support each other to make change.
If elected, how will you balance Council with running your practice?
This will be a challenge, for sure. Being a councillor is an intensive part-time role that will limit my time in the practice. Fortunately, I have an amazing business partner, Sonia Sarangi, who will lead all our projects if I am successful. We will have to refuse commissions within the City of Melbourne’s boundaries. For many this would be a significant barrier; however, our practice surprisingly does very little within the City of Melbourne. Instead, we work across greater Melbourne more frequently.
Lastly, what are the key initiatives that you would champion should you be successful?
Our Team Hakim campaign has several key initiatives that will improve Melbourne dramatically.
I am determined to make better streets by providing more protected bike lanes and street vegetation and reducing the amount of on-street car storage. Our ‘Future Postcode 3000’ policy looks to support grassroots arts organisations and creative businesses to re-establish themselves in underutilised office buildings across our CBD.
It is also a goal to make Melbourne as ‘family friendly’ as possible. Key initiatives include a grant program for businesses to create on-site childcare and flexible work environments, along with significant infrastructure improvements and a citywide review of public space accessibility including toilet infrastructure as part of regular council business.
Finally, I want to see a Landscape Architecture driven masterplan for Royal Park that will enable the Park to thrive and survive for generations to come.
A final note…
Melbourne City Council elections are not as democratically straightforward as other levels of government. A significant challenge to successfully being elected is the process of preference negotiations. With this process complete, Team Hakim stands a real prospect of electoral success, despite having far fewer resources or media publicity than other tickets. It will be a tight race and we will need every vote possible, but our campaign is by no means a long shot!