Melbourne has built more lane-kilometres of urban freeway and tollway in the last 30 years than any other Australian city. In 2006, 73% of people went to work by car¹. By speeding up mobility urban freeways have contributed to the compression of time and space. More than ever before the freeway architecture of our highways, bypasses, and interchanges is rapidly constructing and re-constructing the city. Freeway architecture combines Urban Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, large-scale public art and engineering.
Roadtrip, curated by Peter Elliott Architecture and Urban Design, samples our multidisciplinary future. This Design for Everyone initiative, is a series of self-guided tours that chronicle and investigate some of Melbourne’s seminal freeway architecture of the last 20 years. Explore at high speed, the work of leading design practices – click on the map project numbers to access the tours: including project details, maps, interviews with the lead designers, and their road trip music choices from Australian ballads to music from the glove box.
Words by Claire Martin form part of a larger essay appearing in Landscape Architecture Australia, August issue.
