Melbourne

The view from Arup's main office in Melbourne, on the 17th floor.

I had a reasonably smooth journey to Australia – immigration and customs were a total breeze. I flew overnight and arrived lunchtime the following day. I headed to my hotel first to freshen up, then went into the office to get settled in and prepare for the following day’s meetings. I was sat next to the friendly Facades team, so got to chat with them about their work and share a bit about what I was doing.

My accommodation here was a huge serviced apartment, and just minutes from the office. Nice view from the 20th floor. Getting to and from the airport by taxi was easy-peasy, and the city is easily navigable by foot for the most part. I did try the tram system as well, which was pretty regular and easy to use.

I met a friendly colleague who offered to take me out for dinner, which having travelled alone for a week was a very welcome offer. He did the same the following night too, which was kind and much appreciated. Great food, too – Melbourne is very diverse (the favoured landing point for immigrants in Australia), so you can pick from any number of cuisines to suit your mood. I went with Malay one night and Indian the next.

I crashed early from exhaustion the first night and worked late the second, followed by packing etc, which with days full of meetings left no time for sightseeing in Melbourne. However Melbourne is more a city to be experienced than seen, and to that extent I did get a walk around the CBD and a couple of meals out. It has a strange mixture of big-city feel (lots of big skyscrapers), and down-home village charm (thanks to its wide roads lined with parked cars, and small street-level retail strips). There’s a nice laid-back feeling to the place and a profusion of places to hang out at night.

In the middle of the CBD, but somehow it doesn't feel like it!

Arup is split across two buildings in Melbourne. Buildings is in its own building across the road from our main office, and has done a terrific job with its fit-out to create a really colourful, smart office to work in. The main office over the road has a much more ‘corporate’ feel about it. I gave a lunchtime talk to an audience of about 10 people (I was competing against another lunchtime talk on pensions!), which allowed me to meet more people and generate broader discussion about where we’re trying to go with existing buildings, which was great.

My schedule was chock-a-block with meetings, as Melbourne was the birthplace of our EB offerings and as such is packed with people whose insight is incredibly valuable to our current efforts. It’s strange feeling when people make time for you at short notice (especially when it’s only me), so I was very grateful to those I met with for taking the time to chat with me and share ideas. There’s a connection that comes from meeting in person that you can’t get from email, video conferencing or phone calls.

James and Tania - two of the brains behind Be-FIT, which started all this off - modelling the Australian EBSS guides. Top notch!

Before I knew it, it was time to leave – I didn’t do many extra-curricular activities, but will have plenty to write about for my minutes! Sydney next, and the opportunity to visit Arup’s most iconic project.