News

We love sharing insights and knowledge from the planning world. So, we've created UPco News to keep you up to speed with everything that's happening within our business and beyond.

LEONIE DIXON

At UPco, we’re fortunate to work with a host of talented people, many of whom happen to be women. In honour of International Women’s Day (IWD) happening on 8th March 2023, we wanted to celebrate some of these brilliant individuals. One of IWD’s missions is to elevate and advance gender parity in technology, and celebrate the women forging innovation. So, we sat down to chat to someone who is doing just that: Leonie Dixon, the General Manager of Ark Resources, a leading Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) consultancy.
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VHI HOUSE | ABBEY STREET, DUBLIN

February 26, 2023
At UPco, our team is passionate about the built environment, and we love seeing beautiful architecture come to life. We all have our favourite buildings – and this month, we asked Senior Planner Nicky Casey to share the story of one that’s special to him. Nicky hails from Ireland, so it’s no surprise he’s chosen a building from Dublin: the former Presbyterian church, Vhi House.
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SOCIAL AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING

February 22, 2023
Housing affordability has been an increasingly pressing issue in Australia, and it’s a complex one to understand and resolve. While everyone agrees on the need for more affordable housing, the jury is still out as to who should be responsible. In this discussion paper, I’ll take a look at Victoria’s current initiative, the Big Housing Build, and explore how well it’s working.
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WHAT’S UP, JOSH?

January 24, 2023
The UPco team is made up of all sorts of characters, and every one of them has a story. Here’s just one of them. What’s your name, and your role at UPco? Josh Kennedy, and I’m a Senior Planner. I’m fairly new to the team – I came on board when I moved over from […]
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LEONARD JOEL AUCTION HOUSE

January 11, 2023
When Amanda Ring had only recently joined UPco (which was then SJB Planning), one of the first projects she worked on was the conversion of the old Hawksburn Primary School. This gothic beauty sits on Malvern Road in South Yarra, and today it’s better known as the Leonard Joel Auction House.
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