Architectus Melbourne launches Urban Design and Planning with appointment of new Principal

Architectus recently launched its new offering, Architectus Urban Design and Planning Melbourne at an event within the Melbourne Studio.

The launch also coincided with the the recent appointment of Urban Design Principal, Dean Thornton, who brings with him over 23 years of knowledge and experience and having most recently worked with Jacobs and Development Victoria.

Dean's expertise ranges from city shaping urban design projects - from initial visioning and master planning - through to detailed resolution and implementation.

For the launch event, the Urban Design and Planning team collaborated with Melbourne street photographer Jesse Marlow for an exhibition titled UNCOVER, which included photography that "explores the paradoxes and joys of urban living in Melbourne, discovering the city through a different lens."

The establishment of Architectus Urban Design and Planning is in response to the exceptional growth within the Urban Design and Planning (UDP) sector. 

Dean’s appointment and the launch of UDP Melbourne follows a period of continued growth for Architectus with recent major project wins particularly in the areas of urban design and planning, education, rail infrastructure, commercial and multi-residential projects in both Sydney and Melbourne.

Most recently Architectus have teamed up with Ingenhoven for Mirvac's 79-storey 505 George Street tower in Sydney, while in Melbourne the office is keeping busy with office projects in Richmond and Abbotsford, a Hyatt Centric for Little Projects in the Melbourne CBD,  as well as a $150m mixed-use project in Geelong.

What they say...

We are delighted to have Dean join us to lead the team in Melbourne. The role of urban design in creating great places and communities continue to grow in importance as our cities become more dense and complex.

Architectus has been providing urban design and planning services for some 30 years and it is great to now offer these services to our clients in Melbourne.

- Ray Brown, Architectus Managing Director

It’s very exciting to have joined such a growing team and at a time where Architectus generally and UDP specifically, are achieving such great success.

I am looking forward to leading the Melbourne team and contributing to its ongoing growth and profile.

- Dean Thornton, Urban Design Principal, Architectus