Image above: House at Big Hill by Kerstin Thompson Architects. Photography by Trevor Mein.

The inaugural Housing Futures forum on 31 July will discuss residential architecture of any scale across three categories – single dwelling, apartment living and the future in aged and student housing.

The forum will be held in the Clemenger BBDO Auditorium at the NGV International, featuring international and local keynote speakers and two open panel discussions. The Housing Futures forum is co-located with the 2015 Houses Awards announcement.

Featured keynote speakers for this forum include:

• Charles Renfro, Partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro (New York City), who will discuss how housing shapes the way we live and the city we live in
• Kerstin Thompson from Kerstin Thompson Architects (Melbourne);
• Philip Thalis from Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects (Sydney), discussing urban housing and the vital role architecture has in creating sustainable and livable cities
• Paul Donegan, co-author of the Grattan Institute’s first book, City Limits: Why Australia’s cities are broken and how we can fix them (Melbourne).

Joining these speakers will be industry leaders taking part in the two panel discussions. Leaders such as Eli Giannini, Director at MGS Architects and Shelley Penn, Director of Shelley Penn Architect and past national president of the Australian Institute of Architects are set to be involved in the open panel discussions.