May - Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning - University of ...

Occasional AddressNoel Henderson - Conferringof Degree Ceremony 10 March 2010AT the University of MelbourneTonight we see the formal recognitionof the years of Academic study, andmost Architecture Building and Planninggraduates will be looking to work, orare already working, in the propertyand construction industry. I have beenworking for 40 years now as a builder,contractor, developer and client.My focus has always been on thefuture, but history is a great teacherand understanding the past, and inparticular, the modern era of the last40 years of the building industryhelps to shape the way forward.There have been significant changesover this period. At this University inthe mid 1960s there were 150 studentsin the first year of Architecture Buildingand Planning and 7 were enrolled forBuilding. The faculty had moved at theend of 1963 from a prefabricated buildingto a half-finished building, where it is stilllocated. The students raised significantdonations of materials and money tohelp finish this building.Up to the 1960s the traditional trainingfor builders was a trade course incarpentry and then learning in variousroles working on building sites and inthe builder’s office.The early building graduates wereinitially distrusted because they did nothave what was perceived to be ‘siteexperience’. But things quickly changed.High-rise construction, created demandsfor improved performance by builders,and we should remember that in the early60s the tallest building in Melbourne wasthe ICI building which was enormous at20 stories. The tallest building is now over80 stories. The ICI building also broughtnew technology to the industry becauseit was the first major building with a glasscurtain wall facade.>