Urban designer and architect Michelle Cramer has been announced as GHD’s Future Communities Lead, which will see her play a major role in creating connected, resilient, productive and inspired communities.
Joining GHD after holding senior city-shaping roles with Lendlease, Hames Sharley, Woods Bagot and the City of Sydney, Cramer recently worked on the Central Precinct Renewal Program with Transport for NSW.
“I’m delighted to have joined Future Communities at an exciting time for GHD; we have permission to be bold in our aspirations and I’m looking forward to leading the highly skilled Australian team to champion human-centred design and create places, with our clients, that people genuinely want to spend time in,” says Cramer.
Cramer holds a passion for designing people-centric cities, particularly for children. She will draw on her deep urbanisation, placemaking and precinct delivery expertise in her ongoing work as a specialist advisor to UNICEF’s Child-Friendly Cities Initiative.
Future Communities Global Leader, Jill Hannaford, says Michelle’s appointment adds significant strength to GHD’s capacity to help clients with community creation.
“Tapping into the talents of our regional leads, like Michelle in Australia, and subject matter experts right across our global network, we’re well-placed to support the delivery of successful communities that enable balanced lives for the people who live there,” she says.
“We’re looking forward to continuing to help our clients solve the increasingly complex social, environmental and economic challenges facing our cities, precincts, regional centres, towns, villages and remote communities in 2022 and beyond.”
Michelle brings to GHD a diverse background in government, development and professional practice and extensive real-world experience, having worked on several significant urban design and infrastructure projects across Australia, including Homebush Bay for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the waterfront at Barangaroo and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
A Harvard Graduate School of Design alum, and Fulbright and Knox scholar, Cramer is also a contributing author to The Place Economy and is currently working with Mercedes Benz on a city focused, human-centred design partnership.
