Burnham via ElKadi provides the inspiration

Professor Hisham Elkadi has no direct connection to the idea that we should be working just four hours every day, but he is an inspiration.

Or more accurately, the final slide of his presentation at the National Urban Design Forum in Melbourne on Friday, April 20, that was, and is, inspiring.

Professor Hisham Elkadi.

And to refine it even further it was the comment on that final slide from American architect and urban planner Daniel Hudson Burnham, (1846 – 1912) who in 1909 said:

"Make no little plans,that have no magic to stir the blood and probably will not be realised. Make big plans, aim high in hope and work”.

Burnham was the Director of Works for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington D.C. He also designed several famous buildings, including the Flatiron Building in New York City and Union Station in Washington.

Daniel Burnham.

“Daniel Burnham’s observations stir my blood,” said one of those watching the April 20 video link between the university’s Geelong and Melbourne campuses, Robert McLean.

Professor Elkadi is the Head of School, Architecture and Building in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Deakin University in Geelong and is also the Chair of the university’s Academic Board.

About 70 people enjoyed the April 20 National Forum and were challenged and provoked by a series of presenters who adhered to the theme of “Urban Design in Regional Cities”.