School of Architecture and Building
Faculty of Science and Technology
2009 a+b journal
Annual a+b night
Architecture and Building engages students
Dressed to impress
Students imagine the family home of 2050
2008 annual Architecture and Building Journal
Designing solid foundation for future
Property and Real Estate student excels
London influence for construction at Deakin
Inspirational environments a passion for new architecture Head
Sustainability and our cities – what can we do?
Winning bridge design for Master of Architecture student
Ford Model T2 project
August visit by Malaysian Board of Architects
25th International SAHANZ Conference
2007 Architecture and Building annual Journal
The Architecture and Building annual journal, is a collection of exceptional student work created throughout the year.
Download the a+b annual journal PDF (12.1MB)
The School of Architecture and Building held its annual awards night on the 5th of May at the Waterfront Campus. This is one of the significant events in the A+B calendar and brings together current and past students, staff and industry partners. Guests at the event included Stephen Griffin, CEO of the City of Greater Geelong, representatives of the A+B Advisory Board and sponsors of awards, and the Dean.
Head of School, Professor Hisham Elkadi, welcomed the guests and spoke about the School of A+B, its continuing success in attracting high achieving students to the Faculty and of great plans for the future. Stephen Griffin highlighted the collaborative relationship between the City of Greater Geelong and Deakin, in particular with the School of A+B. This year’s guest lecture was given by Professor Kerry London who discussed her views on ‘exporting creativity’.
With formalities out of the way, the event moved to the ‘barn’ with the much anticipated release of the new a+b journal, the ‘yellow’ edition, “designed to push the limits and norms of journal publication”. The setting provided by the barn with its architecture, creative spaces and display of student work was a perfect background for students, staff, alumni, members of the profession and families of award recipients to mingle and enjoy a glass of wine and good food.
The School of Architecture and Building has achieved outstanding results in the recent Australian Students Survey for Engagement (AUSSE), scoring highest among all other benchmarking groups in Australia. The strong results are a reflection of the high calibre of programs offered within the School of Architecture and Building, in the fields of study in both architecture and construction management.
The surveys used to collect AUSSE data are student and staff focused. The Student Engagement Questionnaire, administered to first and third year undergraduate students, measures student engagement in different areas. The School of Architecture and Building scored the highest of any other benchmarking group in Australia in the majority of categories and also achieved some of the highest among all courses in the University. Results included a score of 50 for Academic Challenge, Supportive Learning Environment 59, High Order Thinking 67, General Learning Outcome 71 and Career Readiness 49. Overall the School scored 77 with Overall Satisfaction at 75.
The AUSSE is developed and managed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and was designed to stimulate evidence-focused conversations about students’ engagement in university study. The AUSSE plays an important role in helping institutions monitor and enhance the quality of education they provide.
Students showed their style by dressing to impress at this year’s Architecture and Construction Management Ball. Over 100 people attended the evening held at Sailors’ Rest in Geelong. Current students, alumni, staff and industry representatives celebrated both the individual and collective journeys made by all of the final year students.
Susan Ang (School of Architecture and Building) says as well as being an enjoyable evening, the annual ball is also one of the final rituals that is part of a journey which contributes unforgettable memories to being a graduate of the School of Architecture and Building.
Photo caption: (left to right) Kris Choo, Ruvimbo Chakaingesu, Jelena Marinkovik, Victoria Gantala, Robert Alessi.
Deakin’s architecture students took their imaginations on a journey to the year 2050 recently for a project that challenged them to design a home for the future. The Future House project required the third year students to design a contemporary house that was adaptable to the needs of the ‘typical’ family of the 2050s and sustainable in terms of energy and materials.
“Future House came about through the combination of my research interest in the engagement of architecture students in digital media and tools in the design studio and wanting to challenge students into thinking about sustainability and technology into the future,” explained architecture lecturer Jeremy Ham.
“The design brief required the students to give a lot of thought to the future: what will the ‘typical’ family be in 2050, the environmental challenges we will be facing, the type of materials we will have available and so on.”
The designs, submitted in the form of a short movie, were posted online, giving the students a public audience for their work and challenging them to be imaginative in their presentations.
“In the past, a folio was a critical tool for any architect - a big folio full of sheets of A1 paper that you took around to demonstrate your work to clients and employers. Now an architect is just as likely to refer you to their website to see their work, so it is very important for our students to explore how they can present their work by using new technologies.
To take a trip into the future and see what the Deakin architecture students think the homes of 2050 will be like visit www.ab.deakin.edu.au/online/futurehouse.
The Architecture and Building annual journal, is a collection of exceptional student work created throughout the year.
Download the a+b annual journal PDF (14.3MB)
Talent and enthusiasm for design create the building blocks for Ben Kampschoer’s future career. Currently studying a Bachelor of Design (Architecture) and Bachelor of Construction Management, he is based at the Waterfront Campus for classes and lives on residence at the Waurn Ponds Campus.
Ben was awarded a Dean’s Scholarship after achieving an ENTER of 96.55 in his final year at Timboon P-12 School. As a Dean’s Scholar he has a dedicated academic mentor to guide him through his course, an annual scholarship of $5000 for the duration of his course and the opportunity to include a paid industry-based learning placement as part of his degree.
Originally from South West Victoria, Ben was attracted to the location of the Waterfront campus, putting him an hour closer to Melbourne. He finds the facilities at the Campus are also first rate. “The facilities at the Waterfront are great. I like the way there is a dedicated area for architecture, not many universities have that. Architecture at Deakin has practically the top two stories at the Waterfront, it’s really nice.”
Ben selected his combined course because of its reputation. “I knew other people at Deakin that were studying the course and they told me how good it was. It’s a fantastic course.”
He has always had an aptitude for and enjoyed design, so his choice of study was natural for him. As well as taking Visual Communication and Design in Year 12 he says that he found his other subjects beneficial to his current studies. “I found all of my subjects have been relevant for my degrees, especially Visual Communication and Design but even Japanese was a good subject to take as it gives you a better base, broadens your knowledge. I would encourage Year 12 students to do a combination of science and arts as it gives you a broad knowledge in all areas and creates so many directions.”
Whichever direction his degrees lead him in the future; Ben thinks sustainability will play a large role. “I think this will be a big area where you can get a lot of work in the future. It will become a big part of architecture, with widespread interest in sustainability issues.”
Ben would like to go through and complete his Masters. He loves travelling, having been overseas a few times and hopes to do a lot more. In the second year he has the opportunity to study overseas so that may create an option in the foreseeable future.
Jesse Radisich has property and real estate in his blood, so following in his parent’s footsteps seemed a natural career choice. He is currently studying a Bachelor of Property and Real Estate at the Burwood Campus in Melbourne.
Jesse was awarded a Dean’s Scholarship after achieving an ENTER of 92.8 in his final year at Box Hill Senior Secondary College. Prior to attending Box Hill in Year 10, he spent Years 7-9 at Yarra Valley Grammar School. As a Dean’s Scholar he has a dedicated academic mentor to guide him through his course, an annual scholarship of $5000 for the duration of his course and the opportunity to include a paid industry-based learning placement as part of his degree.
As well as being close to home, Jesse was also attracted to the campus feel and atmosphere at Burwood. He selected Property and Real Estate at Deakin because of the reputation the course has in the industry.
“The Deakin course is newer and fresher. It has been created around other existing courses and works alongside them, like business and management. It’s a crisp course. The course is also recognised by all of the industry bodies.”
Jesse already had some existing knowledge of property and real estate. “Both of my parents are in the industry - they are town planners and residential developers. I have grown up with that background so it was a natural decision to go into that field.”
A lot of subjects available at school can help out with your future studies says Jesse. Subjects you take at school can be beneficial in your first and second years at university, such as accounting and economics can help with business courses.
Jesse is looking forward to getting first hand experience working within the property and real estate industry and hopes to work part time in the industry during his final year.
In the future Jesse would like to travel and aspires to be his own boss one day. He is interested in commercial developments, the complexity of big infrastructure projects appeals to him.
The School of Architecture and Building welcomes Professor Kerry London as Chair in Construction Management – believed to be the first time a woman has been appointed to this role in an Australian university. Before joining Deakin, Professor London was the Associate Professor of the School of Architecture and Built Environment at the University of Newcastle.
Professor London says she is looking forward to being at Deakin’s School of Architecture and Building and working towards continuing to build the School’s reputation for excellence both nationally and internationally. “There is great potential in the School and in particular I would like to develop a more strategic approach to engaging our business and community partners in our research endeavours.”
Architecture was Professor London’s first career choice and she remains a registered architect. However, working as a project manager on capital works infrastructure projects and then as a senior manager in construction industry policy prompted a love of ‘solving the big picture’ and led her to explore the wider perspective of the role of the construction industry.
Professor London undertook her PhD studies at the University of Melbourne in construction supply chain procurement modelling and has been instrumental in defining internationally the parameters of a new field of research.
In 2002 she returned to the University of Newcastle, teaching in both the architecture and construction programs. While at Newcastle Professor London was appointed Node Director for the Collaborative Research Centre for Construction Innovation and successfully led seven major nationally funded research projects and secured approximately $1 million in funding for the University.
She has published on various topical issues including supply chain sustainability, design management, housing affordability, eBusiness, building information modeling and ethics in construction.
Creating environments that inspire the people who live in them is one of the passions of the new Head of the School of Architecture and Building, Professor Hisham Elkadi.
“Contemporary society needs to engage, to interact with its immediate surroundings. This interaction is very important in building pride in owning our places, in our citizenship.
“This is not only about the buildings, it is also about the spaces between, about creating neutral spaces to inspire us and draw us together as a society. It is important our surroundings create the backdrop for all elements of society to live in harmony,” he said.
Professor Elkadi comes to Deakin from the University of Ulster, where he was Chair and Head of the School of Architecture and Design for five years. Previous appointments include the University of Newcastle in the UK, where he was the School of Architecture’s Director of Postgraduate Research and Director of BA Architecture Programme, and the University of Plymouth.
Speaking about his new role, Professor Elkadi said one of his goals was to build on Deakin’s current strengths.
“We are developing excellent programs that relate directly to the role of architecture in understanding the changing nature of the environments we live in and the ecological, societal and economical challenges they are facing,” he said.
“I’m impressed by the vision and determination that exists at Deakin and I’m excited by the opportunity to contribute and build on the work the School is doing.”
Sustainable development and cultural heritage are two particular areas of interest for Professor Elkadi.
He had a leading role in the creation of the World Association for the Protection of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage in times of armed conflicts (WATCH), a not-for-profit organisation based in Rome, and is a member of the UNESCO committee for the development of Landscape Architecture.
Sailing is also a passion and Professor Elkadi is looking forward to taking part in the sport in Australia.
When it comes to sustainability and saving the planet, most of the emphasis is placed on new buildings. Even though office buildings are found in all large global cities and they are also the largest single energy users and CO2 emitters, practically all of the attention is placed on new buildings only. But when you think that a new building lasts about 40 or 50 years before it is demolished, only about 2-3% of the office buildings are ‘new’. Research conducted by Professor Richard Reed and Sara Wilkinson has looked at the existing office buildings in Melbourne and how their level of sustainability can be increased.
Whilst it is certain that buildings will be old and of less use, many steps can be done to prolong demolition and the associated waste of rubble and old buildings. Consideration needs to be given to a wide range of factors including the shape/location of the land, what the building is made of and designed, as well as what the property market actually wants both now and in the future.
After a detailed analysis was undertaken of 326 office buildings, it was determined that there are a number of easy steps we can take. For example, many buildings are nearly empty and not used very much (in a similar manner to only one person driving each car to work). Also a large proportion of the time we are out of office (e.g. on holidays, visiting people) so once again the office space is empty. While it was clear that new buildings are more efficient than older ones, we all must make an effort to resist knocking down a building too quickly. There are wider implications for the planet due to the waste of energy and associated CO2 emissions.
Master of Architecture student Marina Kozul returns from overseas travels as part of a cultural exchange and previously winning a national design competition. Her bridge design was the winning entry in the national competitionopen to all Australian Architecture universities and independent student designers. The Dialectical Bridge Student Design Competition was held as part of the recent Critical Visions 2008 National RAIA conference in Sydney.
The project originated as a university design assignment for Master of Architecture students at Deakin. Out of 40 bridge designs submitted, those by Marina Kozul and James Adams were chosen to go on and compete at the national Dialectical Bridge Student Bridge Design Competition.
Students were briefed to design a conceptual Pedestrian bridge addressing the ritual of crossing a river. Culturally the bridge would join two very different cities one called Nostalgia- a city of great heritage and tradition, and the other, Zeitgeist- a newer and faster city full of development and changing technologies.
Out of hundreds of entries, around twenty bridges were short listed and placed on exhibition during the conference. Of those exhibited, five bridge designs were critiqued by panel chair Architect Chris Wilkinson from London’s Wilkinson & Eyre and a panel of national and international architects, engineers and academics.
Marina’s design used the stair and the ramp as metaphors for rapid or slow progression from one point to the other, where neither mode dominates but rather the integrated structure required both so that balance and purpose isachieved. The dialectical bridge allows two minds to cross, and for two cultures to exist as one, even if for a moment in time.
Marina used her prize of a return flight to London as part of a wider European tour, visiting the UIA World Congress Transmitting Architecture in Torino and tour of the Wilkinson & Eyre UK and International design work.
The Digital Design Laboratory of the School of Architecture and Building participated in a landmark collaborative project with their colleagues in Engineering to develop a concept vehicle for Ford Global technologies, which
“…will revolutionise the way in which automobiles are manufactured, used and perceived.”
Architecture masters student, Gregory Pitts (pictured with a vacuum formed car body) said that designing the envelope pushed the boundaries of his modeling and design skills and gave him insight into
how vehicle and manufacturing innovations in an interdisciplinary environment can deliver complex products.
The concept car, called the new Model T2 was designed with four key criteria in mind. sustainability, innovation, simplicity and irresistible Styling.
Sustainability
Recognising that climate change is a significant global challenge, the Model T2, can provide a solution through the use of its alternative fuel source – air. The Model T2 provides an ongoing commitment to caring for the environment in every facet, down to its newly proposed greener future environment and its simple recycle ability of the vehicles materials at the end of its life span, to the its upgradeable plug and play technological system, helping make it ‘future proof’.
Innovation
The implementation of advanced materials, manufacturing techniques and an innovative design ensures passenger safety at an extremely affordable price. Our innovative solutions to everyday tasks using the latest technology save you time and connect you to the digital world.
Simplicity and Convenience
By ensuring components serve multiple purposes, through clever integration, results in an elegant and simple solution. A new dimension to vehicle maneuverability provides ultimate convenience when navigating through congested cities and a low level of maintenance provides a hassle free driving experience.
Irresistible Styling
Simple and innovative design solutions are the driving force behind the Model T2. Clean body lines and an easily adaptable interior styling result in a car to suit people from all walks of life.
Associate Professor Dr. Syed Ahmad and Mr Ramli Abdullah, members of the Council of Architectural Education Malaysia, and representatives of the Board of Architects Malaysia ((LAM) visited the School on Friday 29 August, 2008.
Associate Professor Dr. Syed Ahmad and Mr Ramli Abdullah took time to familiarise themselves with the School’s programs, facilities, achievement and vision. They engaged in discussion with staff about accreditation matters and recognition of Deakin’s Master of Architecture by the Board of Architects Malaysia.
An informal forum was held with up to twenty Malaysian students currently studying architecture in the School attending. The forum proved very helpful for all parties to understand some of the concerns and issues related to their studies. The principal advice for graduates wishing to present for the registration of architects examination with the Board of Architects Malaysia is to keep meticulous documentation and copies of all course documentation including syllabus, assignments, assessment and project work.
Staff involved with this event were Dr John Rollo, Dr Sambit, James Coulson and Susan Ang and included Mimi Abdullah, currently a phD scholarship student, who is an academic staff member University Technology Mara, Malaysia.
The School of Architecture and Building recently hosted the 25th international SAHANZ (Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand) conference at the Waterfront Campus. Delegates from Australia, New Zealand and the globe attended this milestone conference in the history of the Society.
Co-convenors Ursula de Jong and David Beynon, School of Architecture and Building, said it was a privilege for Deakin to host this year’s conference, History in Practice, which explored the connections between architectural history and architectural practice.
Ursula de Jong, also one of the founding members of SAHANZ, says the speakers considered the relationship between critique and intervention, and the links between analysis and creation that lie at the complex intersections of architecture and the writing about architecture.
“They critiqued the practices of architectural history and theory, analysing the gaps, connections and contentions between them and the ongoing history of architectural practice. These relationships were further framed in terms of exchanges between: old and new; local and global; history and technology; conceptual and visual; centre and periphery; memory and evidence.”
SAHANZ provides a forum for the open discussion of architectural history and historiography of the region and setting from which to reflect on the status of the architecture, landscape and cities of Australia and New Zealand in the wider world. Throughout the last quarter century there has been an evolution of the discipline reflected within the society:
“When we started our work was ‘simple’. We focused on gathering information, documenting our architectural history, establishing an archive of architectural knowledge. Over time that has evolved, as we reflect on and interpret that information, as we begin to explore who we are and how we connect to place; how we understand our place, and consider it within the wider regional context of the Pacific and South East Asia,” says Dr de Jong.
The Architecture and Building annual journal, is a collection of exceptional student work created throughout the year.
