Martyn Hook, dean of the school of Communication at RMIT and architect, gave a fascinating talk on the buildings of RMIT and three architectural and urban planning principal governing how they were built.

Martyn opened his talk by exploring the difference between place and space. He talked about how space is defined by intent and program. A classroom is a teaching space because that is what it is designed for. Spaces are defined, have edges and boundaries, whereas place can be somewhat open and reaching. The use of a place is undefined, or many.

In order to explain how RMIT’s city campus has been incorporated into the Melbourne CBD, Martyn talked of what defines a city, and how they are planned. Martyn mentioned that cities are planned, while towns are not. I had never thought of defining cities and towns this way, but it makes sense. He talked of how grids, such as the Hoddle Grid, are designed for commercial purposes, something I had never thought of before.

Significant to me, was Martyn’s discussion of Building 20. First he talked about what makes a building significant, mentioning that it is either because the building itself is important, or something has happened there that is important. For the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court, it is a bit of both. Martyn talked about how Building 20 has been specifically upgraded to fit in with its heritage, a point I mentioned in my post on the building. He also added that the building is gaining a new chapter in its heritage through being used as an RMIT building.