Thesis
a selection of key themes and concepts
Matchpoint.Melbourne sprang from an urban research thesis that identified a unique opportunity in the way Melbourne currently promotes itself along two distinct paths: as a city of culture, and a hub for international sport. Major events like the Australian Open and the Grand Prix attract worldwide attention and are one of the primary ways people abroad come to know of our city. It’s a surprising fact that 61% of news articles around the world that mention Melbourne are about sport. At the same time, the ability of cities to offer engaging and authentic experiences rooted in local culture has become increasingly important.
Matchpoint.Melbourne proposed we cross-pollinate these two trends by amplifying grassroots sport as a dynamic new facet of Melbourne’s urban mix. Shifting sights from elite major events to informal public recreation and local sporting communities (who often struggle to find space for their activities), it aimed to serve and showcase these grassroots activities through new urban sporting infrastructure. Tapping into the unique potential of their sites and oriented outwards to the city, these projects foster a vital public urban environment that supports informal participation in sport (an effective tool to promote health and well-being). Overall, Matchpoint demonstrated how we could shape urban environments to offer more to citizens, in a way that also contributes to projecting a compelling brand identity for our city.
The next step in city branding‘s evolution has to be to express the local dimensions of people and places, which will quite naturally lead to an authentic and resilient identity, radiating from the inside-out almost by default.
What role does everyday urban culture play in expressing local identity? How can this be this fostered and transmitted?
If architecture contributes to the global projection of a place’s local culture, can it go beyond producing cultural references in forms, to somehow actively foreground the things local people actually do?
[Flinders Street Perimter project]
Melbourne‘s global brand identity has largely been built through
the staging of international sporting events.
Brand value improvement is a principle that underpins
Victoria’s major events strategy.
Major events of global reach often lack local relevance. Is there potential for Melbourne‘s major events to have a ‘fringe festival’ type of parallel local impact?
[Kings Way Go-Kart Track project]
Despite the revenues for the tourist and business sectors, major events also come at considerable cost.
Is it possible that Melbourne’s diverse and engaging grass roots sports could also play a role in Melbourne’s brand image as “the ultimate” sports city?
If we look at the city from above...
Rising demand for inner city housing has meant that recreational amenities have
followed sporting Melburnians to their new homes downtown.
When seen from above the inner urban fabric of Melbourne is not marked by any defining icon or armature. Rather, there is a recurring pattern of open recreational spaces and sports venues set in front of a vibrant and densely developed downtown.
In recent decades the live-ability and prosperity of central
Melbourne has been significantly enhanced. There were many small
steps; the council‘s
Postcode 3000 program, and the discovery and regeneration
of laneways, to name a few...
Meanwhile, Melburnians remain avid enthusiasts for social sports and can increasingly be encountered across the city in varied and engaging ways, such as urban bike polo in Carlton or even a race up the steps of Parliament.
Could the strategic introduction of public sporting facilities also play a role in the renaissance of the inner city? This might reveal a new local asset that would further enrich our public domain.
[Flinders Street Perimter project]
The major events hubs clustered around the CBD’s perimeter are periodically animated over the course of each year. Could we also introduce sport into the urban heart that buzzes all-year round?
Ordinary Melburnians - chefs, musicians, designers, artists, fashion victims, and coffee connoisseurs - many of them are into sport and also show up in international lifestyle magazines. Have you ever watched them playing sports while sipping an espresso? Why don‘t we see pictures of Melbourne‘s sports enthusiasts in such magazines yet?
[Flagstaff Pavilion project]
The impression of something, whether a place or an object, is strongly coloured by the experiences we can associate with it. A brand identity can thus be formed through the experience of an immersive environment, of spaces and the activities going on in them.
Couldn’t’ the urban and cultural heart of Melbourne also offer vivid experiences centred around everyday sport? Another kind of memorable experience amongst all those the city already offers.
Many social outreach programs, such as Big Issue’s Street Soccer, and Urban Seed’s Laneway Cricket, use sport to re-engage Melburnians who are disadvantaged or otherwise marginalised.
As the Homeless World Cup demonstrates, there are real benefits to situating these events within the broader public realm. Besides raising the profile of social issues, it creates opportunities for interaction and empowerment.
There are many under utilised open spaces in the city with great potential to be engaging sports environments if we consider their design and financing creatively. Many local grass roots sports groups are desperate to mark out a pitch and show off their skills!
There are examples elsewhere of corporate sports brands venturing out into the public realm to engage and support grass roots sporting communities. How might this kind of mutually beneficial collaboration between the city and corporate participants happen in Melbourne?