More with Less

In an age where more is more this design studio will challenge you to do more with less.

Economics is driving down the quality of the built environment with thin sheet materials often hiding or dumbing down the complexity of constructing our built environment. What happens if we do away with extraneous layers?

Buildings and construction account for 39% of energy related carbon dioxide emissions. Progress toward sustainable methods of construction are advancing however architecture is not keeping up with the change that is required.

Our studio is focused on going back to fundamentals.

In this studio we will consider how can a structure be transformative for a place and create a response to dynamic environmental and social pressures. We will explore themes that identify the structure of a building as a defining characteristic of architecture.

We will investigate material choice, building performance and the potential of architecture to be reused and re-purposed to contribute to ongoing urban regeneration.

You will be tasked with defining a new wharf building for Melbourne’s Docklands that will contain a public performance space to support the Docklands community of workers and residents.

Our studio will be led by an interdisciplinary team comprised of an architect and a structural engineer to rigorously explore architectural and structural concepts.

Through the studio students will engage with industry professionals, both engineers and clients. Students will be learning from real life experience across different aspects of the built environment.