Announcing his appointment, Mayor Ron Clarke said Mr Gee’s wealth of national and international experience would serve the city well as it faced challenges such as continuing growth and climate change.
“The Gold Coast is working to position itself as a city with a built environment that delivers quality lifestyles in a sustainable manner, and Mr Gee’s expertise will help us in that endeavour,” Cr Clarke said.
“In his 27-year professional life, he has had a distinguished design and management career in a series of large and small private architectural and planning practices on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts and he has also received numerous architectural and urban design awards through the firms with which he has been associated.
“He has made a significant contribution to design in south east Queensland through a range of projects, including the Federal Airport Corporation’s Commercial Master Plan for Brisbane International Airport (1992-1996) through NRA and Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall redevelopment (1998-2000) with Brisbane City Council’s City Design.
“Importantly, he is keen to foster ecologically sustainable development on the Gold Coast in his role as an advocate for better urban design in the community.”
Cr Clarke said Gold Coast City was believed to be the first Australian city to establish an Office of City Architect and Heritage, to advocate and guide urban design improvements.
Mr Gee will be the second architect appointed to this key design position, vacated late last year when Philip Follent became the new State Government Architect.
“It is an important role, encouraging industry to deliver more ecologically, economically and socially sustainable developments for the Gold Coast,” Cr Clarke said.
“One of his first tasks will be to take a lead role in co-ordinating the 2009 Gold Coast Urban Design Awards and International Urban Design Conference.”
The son of a regional vet, Mr Gee grew up in an innovative house in the Macleay Valley on the New South Wales, mid north coast. It was this house, designed in 1957 by Sydney architects Bill and Ruth Lucas, that sparked his passion for quality sustainable design and the importance of the human relationship with the natural environment.
A Gold Coast resident for the past 19 years, Mr Gee readily admits to a passion for the city.
“Raising a family here helped me appreciate the area’s qualities,” he said.
“I have a very strong passion for the Gold Coast area and its surrounding environs, with a desire to see that ongoing development and change embodies and enhances the lifestyle and values that attract us to coastal living.
“Quality design is a key tool to utilise in the planning and development of the Gold Coast community and we must all become familiar with the principles of good design.”
Encouraged to apply for the position by leading members of his profession, he felt he could contribute to the city’s design awareness and planning processes, including the Bold Future project, mapping directions for the Gold Coast of tomorrow.
“With the help of my team members and fellow design professionals, I hope to help continue the rise in design standards on the Gold Coast.”
He sees the city’s climate, lifestyle, safe and clean environment, its natural beauty and sense of community as among the Gold Coast’s greatest assets.
“The city also has an opportunity and desire to plan for future growth, to manage this without continually extending the urban footprint.”
He is excited by the opportunity to contribute to the city’s future.
“The city I would like to see in 50 or 100 years, and one which I believe we can deliver, will be relaxed and safe, clean and welcoming.
“It will have been developed on ecologically sustainable design principles, be energy and water efficient, will acknowledge and record the city’s heritage, with excellent public spaces, and it will embrace world’s best practice in architecture, planning and landscape design at all levels of the socio-economic scale.”