Michael Smith
Michael Smith is an architect and the co-director of Andever.
- Opinion
- Development
NIMBYs or YIMBYs? Victoria’s housing war doesn’t have to be one or the other
The Victorian governments proposed planning reforms make for good politics, but is fundamentally a poor policy.
- Michael Smith
Latest
- Opinion
- City life
Here’s an idea – let’s embrace the car-free weekend
With the lockdowns behind us and warmer weather on its way, why not try an experiment in the city – opening our streets for people.
- Michael Smith
- Opinion
- City life
A playground revolution is taking place, but the suburbs are missing out
Inner Melbourne now has some of the nation’s best outdoor play spaces, with designs moving away from cookie-cutter coloured plastic towards risky nature play. But kids living 10 kilometres out of the city are not so lucky.
- Michael Smith
- Opinion
- City life
Slow lifts, concrete bunker: Melbourne Aquarium left me feeling crabby
Our city is blessed with many great public buildings, but unfortunately the Sea Life Aquarium is not one of these treasures.
- Michael Smith
- Opinion
- Planning
Docklands should be turned into our next live music hub
Its warehouses hosted Melbourne’s first big raves - the maligned suburb could be reborn as the rebellious counterpart to the high-end culture on offer in the city’s arts precinct.
- Michael Smith
- Opinion
- Planning
Small apartment buildings should be exempt from planning NIMBYism
One solution to the housing supply issue is to exempt two-storey apartment buildings from planning permits to stop urban crawl and young families being flung to the edges of the city.
- Michael Smith
- Opinion
- City life
Our new CBD street furniture could change the face of Melbourne
The City of Melbourne is reviewing the design standards for our street furniture, which gives us a chance to address something that has been sadly lacking in our city.
- Michael Smith
- Opinion
- Architecture
Penny wise, pound foolish: Victorians risk wasting billions
In budget terms, the cut to the Office of the Victorian Government Architect is small, but could prove costly.
- Michael Smith