Thursday 15 August

Q Theatre, Queen Street, Auckland

Speakers at this year’s global commercial real estate conference CoreNet Symposium are united through one core strand: they’re all intensely focused on futures that take us way beyond where we are now.

Two sessions that showcase the disruptive and powerful thinking of leading New Zealand intellects will be run on topics of importance to us all:

The future of Auckland's midtown

We all know change is coming, and it is sorely needed. So, what is the future that is emerging, and how might it positively disrupt New Zealand’s biggest city? This session will come at this question from two perspectives: first, how an ecosystem approach built around smart design and smart buildings, combined with revitalisation and inculcation of our cultural heritage, will define our future; then, how an intergenerational perspective is the only way for us to move forwards.

Jennifer Miles
Associate Director, RCP

Jennifer is a certified architect with 24 years of invaluable expertise through the complete lifecycle of private and social infrastructure. She works to bring the best thinking from around the world into procuring commercial and social infrastructure. Her vision is to promote emerging technologies in the development of the interface between the human experience and the future of our built environment.

Jennifer will look at the development of midtown through an ecosystem lens: the opportunities to preserve and restore green spaces, enhance biodiversity, mimic natural processes, and equitably distribute ecosystem benefits. She will examine how a human-centred approach is key to successful landmark development, looking at how The Symphony Centre Development has incorporated ecological and biomimicry principles into urban design and architectural planning.

While not directly involved on The Symphony Centre project delivery, Jennifer will bring her wealth of expertise to look at the transformative potential of The Symphony Centre, and its own identity as a unconventional disruptor. 

Noted Tā Moko artist, consultant and key artist on civic and Council-led projects throughout Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland including The Symphony Centre.

Since Graham can remember, he has been pissing people off for not doing what they think he should. He will lead a conversation about design thinking from the perspective of someone who never felt so good to not fit in. He will explore mid-town through the concepts of Whangai, Geneology of Circumstance, and growing up in a city that lacked Māori design aesthetic, and how our vision of a future Tāmaki could be. He will dive into why he and others have made it their mission to give Māori design thinking the mana it deserves so it is normalised for a generation he will never meet.

Graham Tipene is a Tā Moko artist who has been involved as a consultant and key artist on projects throughout Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, including The Symphony Centre.

The Symphony Centre building façade, featuring a poutama stepped embossed pattern was designed by Graham, and will create a range of celestial patterns throughout the day.

His public work brings Māori kaupapa into the built environment of the city. The design of Waitāheke / The Symphony Centre explores the Māori creation story of Earth Mother Papatūānuku and Sky Father Ranginui.

Learn more and register to attend this year's CoreNet Symposium here.