Name: Victorian Government Architects: Celebrating 20 Years of Design Impact | Melbourne Design Week 2026
Start: 2026-05-21T08:00:00+10:00
End: 2026-05-21T09:30:00+10:00
Location: NGV International

VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT ARCHITECTS: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF DESIGN IMPACT | MELBOURNE DESIGN WEEK 2026
Presented by Office of the Victorian Government Architect

📍Clemenger BBDO Auditorium, NGV International
🗓️ Thu 21 May
⏰ 6–7:30pm
🎟️ Free, booking required.
🔗 Plan your Melbourne Design Week now. https://designweek.melbourne/event/victorian-government-architects-celebrating-20-years-of-design-impact/?utm_medium=advertising&utm_source=facebook+event&utm_campaign=melbourne+design+week+2026&utm_content=standard&utm_term=awareness

Victorian Government Architect Jill Garner joins former Government Architects Geoffrey London (2008–2014), John Denton (2006–2008) and Shelley Penn (Associate, 2006–2009) in conversation, reflecting on two decades of championing the value of design in the public realm. Since its establishment, the Office of the Victorian Government Architect (OVGA) has advocated for design excellence across public buildings, infrastructure and civic spaces, recognising that thoughtful design shapes how communities live, work and connect. Marking the twenty-year anniversary of the Office, this event looks back at the milestones, challenges and quiet successes behind that work.
Facilitated by Andrew Mackenzie, the discussion brings together past and present leaders to consider the central question: what difference can Government Architects make? Drawing on projects, policies and behind-the-scenes influence, the panel explores how design advocacy within government can elevate quality, protect the public interest and create enduring places. The discussion offers an opportunity to hear directly from those who have helped define Victoria’s design culture, and to consider how design leadership within government can continue to deliver strong outcomes for generations to come.

PARTICIPANTS
Jill Garner
Jill Garner became the first woman Victorian Government Architect in 2015. She is a highly respected architect with forty years’ experience extending across practice and government. Jill’s practice, Garner Davis Architects, has received numerous industry awards for delivering sensitively crafted public and private work. She is an alumnus of the innovative practice-based Masters by Design at RMIT. She has taught at both RMIT and the University of Melbourne and is a past board member and examiner for the Architects Registration Board Victoria. She chaired the Australian Committee for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. She is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and, in 2022, was awarded the Victorian President’s Prize. In 2021, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, recognising her distinguished service to architecture, education and professional associations.
Geoffrey London
Geoffrey London is Emeritus Professor of Architecture at the University of Western Australia, a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne and an Adjunct Professor at Monash University. He is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and an Honorary Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects. He previously held the positions of Victorian Government Architect (2008–14) and Western Australian Government Architect (2004–2008). He is a consultant on urban design, architecture, design review and architectural competitions.
John Denton
John Denton founded Denton Corker Marshall with Bill Corker and Barrie Marshall in Melbourne/Naarm. This firm has become one of the most significant and successful Australian-owned international design practices, with offices in Melbourne, Jakarta and London. Denton Corker Marshall is widely acclaimed both in Australia and internationally for the high calibre of its architecture and urban design, the subject of several prestigious contemporary publications and the recipient of numerous design awards.John is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and, in 1996, received the AIA Gold Medal.In 2007, he received a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from Monash University, where he is an Adjunct Professor of Architecture in the Faculty of Art and Design.
Andrew Mackenzie
Andrew Mackenzie is a founding director of Uro Publications, which has published over forty books on architecture over the last decade. He is a contributing editor to Foreground, an architectural advisor to the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and an advocate for good architecture and design.He is also the founding director of CityLab, which advises the public and private sector on the procurement of architecture services for major projects, and has assisted in design competitions as well as related design outputs such as strategic frameworks, masterplans and engagement strategies, across every Australian state.He is the recipient of the 2021 AIA National President’s Prize.
Shelley Penn
Shelley Penn is an architect and urbanist, strategic adviser and board member. She has significant experience in senior roles across government and the private sector, working as an independent expert to achieve high-quality public place outcomes. She holds honorary professorships at Monash and the University of Melbourne.Her focus is the advancement of outcomes for all people through the quality of public infrastructure, architecture, urban design and the built environment. A Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia '…for significant service to architecture and design in the public realm, and to professional institutes' in 2021.
Stefan Preuss
Stefan Preuss is the Associate Victorian Government Architect and a leading advocate for sustainability in the built environment with more than 25 years of experience across practice and government. Prior to his current role Stefan was Sustainability Victoria’s Director of Resource Efficiency and led award-winning architectural projects in practice across Australia and Europe. Holding master’s degrees in architecture and environmental design, Stefan co-chairs the Australian’s Institute of Architects’ National Climate Action and Sustainability Committee and is a National Steering Committee member of the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS).