Stephen Ashton, Howard Raggatt, and Ian McDougall have left a lasting impression in the Australian contemporary architecture scene since they founded Ashton Raggatt McDougall in 1988. Since then, ARM has built projects that the Australian Institute of Architects describes as “some of the most extraordinary [if not sometimes controversial] buildings in the short post-colonial history of [the] country.” — Bustler

[Utzon] wrote to his idol, boldly sending his designs of the Opera House and asking Le Corbusier to contribute in the form of “decoration, carpets and paintings”. His idol wrote back, and by October 1960 the young Utzon was the proud owner of a striking tapestry [...]

The piece is now hanging behind glass in the far end of the Utzon-designed western foyer: a holding place while the Opera House continues the “decade of renewal” that will lead up to its 50th anniversary in 2023. — theguardian.com

A striking circular building at Darling Harbour will house a new City of Sydney library for the area’s existing and incoming residents, following an agreement with Lendlease.

The six storey community and retail centre, designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, will be built by developer Lendlease at Darling Square. — the City of Sydney

[Healthabitat, the non-profit Paul Pholeros co-founded,] developed a model called Housing for Health...working with Aboriginal communities, conducting a survey of all housing and completing urgent repairs using mainly local Indigenous contractors, and adding whatever upgrades or repairs they can afford until the money runs out.

The organisation has improved more than 8,000 houses – a third of Australia’s Indigenous-controlled housing stock – and with them the lives of 55,000 people. — The Guardian

The 2015 pavilion, founded and commissioned by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, was designed by AL_A, the studio of award-winning British architect Amanda Levete. The pavilion is made up of 13 large and 30 smaller petal-like shades, supported by four metre high columns. — The Guardian

Aboriginal society has preserved memories of Australia’s coastline dating back more than 7,000 years [according to] Professor of Geography Patrick Nunn...

[His] study looks at Aboriginal stories from 21 places around Australia’s coastline, each describing a time when sea levels were significantly lower than today... present sea levels in Australia were reached 7,000 years ago and as such any stories about the coastline stretching much further out to sea had to pre-date that time. — Past Horizons: Adventures in Archaeology

[Duncan Gay, self-described as 'the biggest bike-lane skeptic', and the] NSW government [are] about to get rid of a much-loved and much-used AU$5M protected cycleway in Sydney’s city centre...Gay’s move seems to go against the flow, with cycling increasingly feted as a potential congestion and pollution game changer in major cities around the world...But he is not alone. — The Guardian

In any event, it's as you were for the "haves" at the top of list, with Melbourne taking the top spot for a fifth year running, with Vienna, Vancouver, Toronto and Adelaide/Calgary (tied at 5) completing the top five most livable cities in 2015.

[...] these cities have "relatively few challenges to living standards," and enjoy a good infrastructure, healthcare system and a low murder rate.

Unsurprisingly, Damascus remains the least livable city, with Syria embroiled in a bloody civil war. — cnn.com

California has water resources that Australia does not have...

Even assuming the forecasts of climate change in California are correct, it is not correct to say California’s climate is likely to become drier overall—more like Australia—so much as it is to say that our dry periods may be longer, and our wet periods may be “flashier” and more intense.

The policy prescriptions that flow from that, then, make a discussion about adopting “the Australian model” a complete non-sequitur. — Natural Resource Report

At what cost? The LAVA plan could be difficult to manage structurally, cost a significant amount of money and see Sirius occupants relocated anyway. But it could also be a more sustainable option than knocking down and rebuilding. — architectureanddesign.com.au

The city of Melbourne assigned trees email addresses so citizens could report problems. Instead, people wrote thousands of love letters to their favorite trees. — theatlantic.com

Australia’s next national park could be designed on the video game Minecraft – and by primary school children – if a new venture by the [NRAMLR] goes to plan. In a move worthy of Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation, pupils from the Adelaide Hills area have been invited to design their 'perfect national park' using the block-building game, with $8.9m allotted to bring the winning student’s design to life. — The Guardian