Queen Victoria Gardens

Join Bill Dowzer and a panel of experts to discover how tangible benefits flow from temporary urban design initiatives

In New York, BVN’s Re-ply project reimagined tonnes of plywood, sourced from boarded-up shopfronts, into furniture kits for pop-up al fresco dining rooms, helping usher urban life back to the streets after 2020 lockdowns. What started as a salvage mission became an award-winning entrepreneurial endeavour for the community.

Pull up a Re-ply stool (assembled from landfill-destined plywood) as BVN’s principal Bill Dowzer charts the project’s evolution, followed by an expert panel discussion with Professor Kerstin Thompson, founder and principal at Kerstin Thompson Architects (KTA), and Anna Jankovic, Architect and Director of Simulaa.

They’ll explore how similarly responsive urban initiatives can produce tangible economic and social benefits here – and wherever cities value vibrant street life. There’ll be plenty of chances to ask questions, and linger for drinks and chats.