On 8 October, a group of about 16 people, including the Society’s Councillors, the senior team from Grocon and the leaders of Decibel Architecture, convened in the historic Burke & Wills Room to sign a Heads of Agreement, setting out the scope of our collaboration for our proposed Magic Project. In this place of deep significance to Victoria’s rich history of scientific endeavour, we took a major step on the path to realising a future vision for Victoria’s scientific capabilities. In exploring the boundaries of what we can achieve on our small, CBD site, we embark on a new expedition; to be well planned, and with the appropriate expertise in the mix to lead us through as a community of members and supporters. This is substantially new work in the development sector, and will require a translational research approach – the opportunities for involvement by some of Victoria’s outstanding scholars in the broad field of sustainable urban development are plain to see.
FROM THE CEO – Today we’ve released our “Magic” proposal, a transformational vision to “supercharge” our mission to engage Victorian communities with science, establish an exciting new science communication and heritage hub in Melbourne’s CBD, and ensure that we’re around for another 160 years and beyond, promoting science across Victoria to the very best of our abilities. This changes everything – “Magic” is a once in a generation opportunity for the Society, and for Victoria, and I really hope you can support the initiative.
A super slender 60 storey residential tower would revitalise Melbourne’s 159-year-old science hub in plans released by the Royal Society of Victoria and Decibel Architecture today. The proposition will secure a sustainable future for the Royal Society of Victoria, enabling the continuation of their state-wide work into the future, by utilising the small undeveloped triangle of land on the corner of La Trobe Street and Victoria Street to create a bespoke residential tower dedicated to science and the spirit of the Royal Exhibition Buildings World Heritage Precinct. The project will create a flow of millions of dollars to revitalise the Royal Society of Victoria, enabling it to create a perpetual endowment fund to resource the RSV’s purpose, with projects and awards programs to be supercharged for the next 160 years.
