Docklands’ designer awarded

Docklands’ original designer Graeme Gunn has been awarded a gold medal by the Australian Institute of Architects.

In 2000, Mr Gunn was appointed principal design adviser to the Docklands Authority and later become principal architect and design adviser to VicUrban.

In accepting architecture’s highest award in Perth on March 24, Mr Gunn was reportedly not particularly proud of Docklands.

The Australian said: “He candidly acknowledges the failure of private development in Melbourne’s Docklands to achieve lively city streets, a situation he believes is about to improve with the greater involvement of public professionals.”

“I believe it will turn around,” he says. “It is difficult to build something new with all that vitality and grain. There is the potential now for something more intensive, pedestrian-friendly and intricate.”