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EmailJames Reid is the Chief Future Built Environment Officer at Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT).
GMCT is currently masterplanning a new cemetery at Harkness, on the western fringe of metropolitan Melbourne. The project is GMCT’s first greenfield development and presents an opportunity to integrate the cemetery with the emerging suburb of Harkness and its open space network.
The vision for the cemetery is progressive and contemporary, with the design consortium, community and stakeholders invited to ‘reimagine the public cemetery’ for the 21st century.
This presentation will explain GMCT’s approach to masterplanning, share insights from the engagement process, and introduce some of the preliminary design and business evaluation work that is currently in progress.
Attendees will:
· gain valuable insights into the process of masterplanning a new cemetery on a greenfield site;
· learn how the challenge to ‘reimagine the public cemetery’ influenced engagement, design and operational aspects of the Harkness project; and
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be able to apply key lessons from GMCT’s experience to their own greenfield projects.
James has over 30 years’ experience as an urban planner and executive leader, working in a variety of urban and regional contexts in both the public and private sectors.
Throughout his career he has demonstrated a commitment to collaborative leadership, seeking to achieve planning and urban design outcomes that enhance sense of place, livability, resilience and equity.
At GMCT, James leads a team responsible for the future planning, design and delivery of memorial places and spaces for a steadily growing and diversifying city.
