Monash Architecture

Have you visited the Melbourne Now exhibition at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia yet? Dr Timothy Moore , senior lecture here at Monash curated the ‘Civic Architecture’ installation. Open now until 20th August. Posted • Greater Melbourne has grown by one million people in the last decade. This has been matched by increased investment in new architecture projects to provide anchors in this wild urban growth - Melbourne's new civic centres. Designed by the city's leading architects and landscape architects they are a confident expression of a rapidly changing social, cultural and economic landscape. (Curated by me 👋: ExDesign by NGV Design Studio, Jenny Kan)

Installation views of Civic Architecture on display as part of the Melbourne Now exhibition at the Ian Potter Centre. Images (except image 2 in the carousel)

Large format photography and portraits

Last image NMBWs Garden Building

Join us this week at the MADA Gallery for the PhD Exhibitions of Monash Architecture PhD Candidates Jacqui Alexander and Anthony Clarke.

Exhibition open from 10:00am - 5:00pm, Wednesday 26 - Saturday 29 April.

Opening drinks 4:30 - 6:30pm, Thursday 27 April.

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ARCHITECTURE OF CARE
Using an Auto-Ethnographic Design Approach to Rearticulate Practice.

By Anthony Clarke

Examination: 2:30pm Thursday 27 April

This research establishes a care-focused methodology for the rearticulation of architectural practice. Three active architectural projects provide a means for testing and reflecting on an innovative methodological approach which brings together design research and autoethnography as a means to explore the relationships between project, process, architect and user.

Supervised by Nigel Bertram, John Gardner, Laura Harper

Image by U-P

Join us this week at the MADA Gallery for the PhD Exhibitions of Monash Architecture PhD Candidates Jacqui Alexander and Anthony Clarke.

Exhibition open from 10:00am - 5:00pm, Wednesday 26 - Saturday 29 April.

Opening drinks 4:30 - 6:30pm, Thursday 27 April.

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Dwelling on the Platform:
Housing Access and Equity in the Digital Society

By Jacqui Alexander

Examination: TBA

Through a series of speculative and critical creative works, Dwelling on the Platform: Housing Access and Equity in the Digital Society investigates how cultural and economic changes brought about by digital platforms and on-demand technologies are impacting the physical and social fabric of cities, in particular the home – the most elementary unit of the city, and a site at the centre of these transformations.

Supervised by Nigel Bertram, Alex Brown, Ari Seligmann

Image by Warren Taylor

Some exciting highlights from the recent two-week intensive study trip to Seoul, South Korea as part of the Riverscape Habitation - Re-School x Future School studio with Hae-Won Shin.

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The study trip and studio form part of the Global Studio associated with the 4th Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (SBAU). With the Global Studio unifying students with about 40 different worldwide university studios running in parallel, together discussing the future of megacities.

As part of the Global Studio, Riverscape Habitation is exploring how we can think about a broader context for conceptualising the idea of ‘school’ now and into the future. While simultaneously investigating the architectural, ecological and social aspects surrounding the Han river located in South Korea.

Now, after visiting South Korea, students will continue to explore and make propositions about the future of a ‘school’ in the specific context of the Han River, South Korea.

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This Thursday in the Monash Architecture Studios - the first in the Re-School Series - our Workshop on Indigenizing and Decolonizing Architectural Education led by special guest Danièle Hromek!

*Dreaming Up*

It is important that First Nations People have the opportunity to dream for our futures, as it is evident we used to do in pre-colonial times. Regrettably due to colonial traumas we are often unable to vision a positive future, or worse, left out of the process altogether. The point of the workshop is to enable all designing for a place, no matter their roles, to be part of the dream, to share, and come to the same page.

Led by Budawang/Yuin woman Daniele Hromek, the Dreaming Up workshop will allow students to develop an understanding of their relationship and responsibility towards Country as future architects.

The workshop is an opportunity to share our understandings, hopes, thoughts, feelings and dreams for a place as a means of ensuring culture and Country is at the centre of the project you might undertake in the future.

Our Dreaming Up workshop will open a conversation about Aboriginal culture and heritage, Country, and how to design in an inclusive way so that Country can be centred in the design.

With a focus on how we can work toward indigenizing and decolonizing architectural education, the outcomes that are generated in the workshop will help us to create a set of principles or frameworks for our Monash Architecture Manifesto in 2024.

Open to Monash Architecture Students - Register via the Eventbrite Link in the Bio

Join us at Monash Architecture!

We are an internationally renowned community of educators and researchers engaged in expanding architectural, urban and planning practice. Embedded in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture we are creative thinkers, makers and professional practitioners who tackle urgent issues together and advocate for the essential role that creative practice plays in our collective quality of life.

As an Associate Professor of Architecture, you will join the leadership team in Architecture and be responsible for advancing our external impact through innovative practice-based teaching and research. In this role you will make a significant contribution providing educational leadership as part of the leadership team with the Head of Department and Course Leaders. With a thorough understanding of the higher education context, you will have a progressive and dynamic approach to the opportunities and challenges of contemporary architectural education, with a strong vision for the role of Architecture in a comprehensive university, and the ability to guide its educational mission.

Deadline for Applications: 28 February

For position description and application information visit https://careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/job/646466/associate-professor-of-architecture

Plastic Surgery for Melbourne by Yi Zhang, The Things We Throw Away studio, Lead by Daniela Tinios, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC3002)

Melbourne is shaped by the things we throw away. The project proposes a 'Plastic Surgery for Melbourne', through a careful investigation of the life cycle of Polyethylene Terephthalate and its architectural potentials in two selected urban contexts. Through modular plannings and formations of the recycled plastic, two structures are proposed. One for disassembled and one for adaptability. Ultimately, this project transforms the constantly overlooked plastic waste into new architectural languages that not only offer communal and educational engagements, but also a new perspective to re-understand and re-purpose everyday waste to achieve a more sustainable future in the built environment.

A Yarraville Site Alteration by Tara Swincer, Mary Droutsas, Erin Judkins and Michael Azzolini, 'Alterations, Additions and Systems' studio, Lead by James Bowman Fletcher, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC2002)

The objective of the Yarraville Site Alteration project was to interrogate the relationship between architect and occupant and their contributions to the spaces in which they inhabit. Through these alterations we elicited a reactionary response from the occupants into making controlled, conscious decisions in relation to their occupation of space and their practice of living. Each of the three house proposals exist within the careful curation of 7 individual systems.

Monash College, 750 Collins street Docklands, is a renovation project that MADA staff Ross Brewin (), Matthew Bird (), Nigel Bertram and Marika Neustupny (NMBW) collaborated on with .

This project will be professionally photographed next week on the evenings of 30th & 31st of January, 5pm to 8pm.

We're looking for 10 to 15 Monash Architecture students to participate in this shoot. You will be able to have an exclusive opportunity to view this project and act as models to help build a compelling narrative.

If you are interested please submit an EOI via the link in bio (https://forms.gle/LFbpE6aMzd2DbLug7).

Pieces of an Architecture School by Mitchell Grant, Spencer 2 Spring: AWOL2 studio, Lead by Alonso Gaxiola Gomez, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC3002)

Two floors within the Lonsdale St Telstra Exchange Building have been retrofitted to now house some of an architecture school. The two floors include amenities such as: Lecture Theatres, Open Studios, Shared Kitchen, and Student housing.

An emphasis was placed on reuse of existing materials, which also included working as closely with the existing context and demolishing as little as possible. The spatial arrangements were based off of a system of offsets from the column grid that was part of the existing context. The variation of climate control through permeation of the building's envelope allows for spaces to be better adapted for human occupants.

Major influences for this project include the works of Lacaton & Vassal, and Carl Andre.

Piece of a Shipwreck by Bastian Amlie, Amphibian Acquisition studio, Lead by Charity Edwards, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC3002)

An observatory rotting within the co**se of an Adelaide Shipwreck.

📣 Attention Monash Architecture Students 📣

Have you seen the Semester 1 Ballot post on Moodle?

If you missed it, we have summarised the need to know 😉 here:
⭐️ Ballot presentations for Design Studios & Studies Units will be happening on Monday 20 February, face-to-face on campus.
⭐️ Ballot voting will be open the morning of Monday 20 February, closing Tuesday 21 February at 12pm.
⭐️ Please note, You MUST be enrolled in the units (before 17 Feb) to submit your ballot preferences.

For further information on the Semester 1 Ballot process, please refer to the Moodle News Site and your unit's Moodle sites.

Image: UK & Prato Study Trip, 2019

Nautilus by Keighman Ko, On A Collision Course studio, Lead by Yiyang Xu
& Nat Pornvarojanabun, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC2002)

"Wait a few minutes, our lantern will be lit, and, if you like light places, you will be satisfied” - Captain Nemo

Along the banks of Yarra River sits a beacon for the community. To interact with the open through the guidance of the sea. A vessel to step away from reality, into a space for creativity.

The Emerald by Kheng Hong Ly, The Office studio, Lead by Stephen Hawken, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC3002)

The Emerald is a proposed office project post-Covid 19 on Lake Weeroona along with the purpose to rehabilitate the existing lake. It aims to foster a workplace experience that becomes an antithesis to the typical urban high-rise offices. It intends to resonate with people on an emotional level that reinforces a positive perspective to work life and to the community that they are surrounded by - fostering human to human interaction and human to environment interaction at its highest potential.

Solitude with Nature by Shirui Ouyang, PRE SLIME-SUBLIME studio, Lead by Jane Caught, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC2002)

Shipwreck Observatory by Chailyn D'souza, Amphibian Acquisition studio, Lead by Charity Edwards, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC2002)

Image 1 - Shipwreck Observatory Section Drawing
Image 2 - Shipwreck Observatory Plan Drawing
Image 3 - Extraction from Final Panel depicting Wall Section Models

Increased Density Housing Proposal by Mia Hannon, WALKING THE WALK studio, Lead by Grant Divall, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC2002)

Image 1 - Site section of housing proposal for increased density
Image 2 - Walkway section of housing proposal and nature reserve walkway
Image 3 - Render of nature reserve walkway and newly designed dwellings
Image 4 - Ground floor plan of new dwellings and walkway

Associate Professor Rosemary Nixon AM would like to support scholarships within the Monash MBA program for an architecture graduate from Monash Art, Design and Architecture.

The Ashton Nixon scholarship provides a generous tuition fee reduction of $60,000 for one candidate enrolling in The Monash MBA in February 2023.

Learn more about the scholarship, selection criteria and how to apply via the link in our bio.

Applications are now open and close on February 3, 2023.

Photo:

The Dieback Research Centre for River Red Gums by Trisha Alanna Pheh, Preslime-Sublime studio, Lead by Jane Caught, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC2002)

The dieback research centre is a proposal in response to the dieback phenomena occuring to River Red Gum trees.

The project is situated in Royal Park around the native grassland circle. The architecture responds by providing spaces for scientists to study the River Red Gum trees on site allowing the structures to relocate to different trees every 7-10 years. Waterbodies are introduced throughout the site, mimicking the natural habitat of the trees and enhancing the ecology of the River Red Gums.

The archive will mimic a thriving River Red Gum forest with display signs and sounds of fauna reliant on the species and potentially invite them back into the space. The design allows users to understand the ecological crisis we face if we were to lose this entity.

The design of the research centre aims to potentially find the limit of hydraulic failure in the species during the dieback phenomena, allowing us to save the trees from going past the point of re-sprouting.

AirBnb by Audrey Reitsma, Thick Air studio, Lead by Emerald Wise, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC2002)

Thick Air asked us to look at architectural design through the lens of colour, light and time. In this studio, we were asked to design three seperate structures that engage with these factors. The AirBnb shown is a boundaryless space that invites the outside in. This space is protected by a tensile structure which floods the area with refracted colours reminiscent of the sun setting, marking the end of your day. This tensile structure is supported by sculptural forms and the rooftop; the solid forms reclaiming and dragging down the ethereal fabric above. It focuses on the journey from the mountain tops and the great outdoors, into grounding certainty of a place to relax and unwind.

Destructive, Constructive Repair by Matthew O'Connor, Curating the Void studio, Lead by Harrison Brooks & Duncan Crowe, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC2002)

‘Curating the Void’ was a unique design studio in the sense in which it engaged with a sympathetic response to the identity and memory of a key geographical location within the historical context of Melbourne. The graphics should provide an insight as to what the final outcome of the design project looked like and also highlight some subsequent content which was centric in terms of the development of the project whilst hopefully reinforcing its connection and response to the surrounding site.

For context, the focus of the project was on further destroying the landscape via a series of radical earth incisions and earth moving strategies which would in-turn bring the site to the precipice so that no further damage could be done to the location.

The proposed architecture would then stand as an enduring monument to the environmental cruelties which have occurred on site. The form the architecture ended up adopting was that of a contemporary museum where a series of locations providing the viewer with an educational and emotive experience relating to the identity, history and memory of site.

Graphic 01 = Subjects Environmental Condition
Graphic 02 = Vault Construction Process
Graphic 03 = Experiential Moments
Graphic 04 = Key Site Locations
Graphic 05 = Explosive Element Vaults

PRISM (Island Architecture) by Vanthasosahakmony (Luke) Ing Hout, Island Futures studio, Lead by Mark Romei, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC3002)

PRISM is located on the site of French Island, featuring a sustainable floating pavilion “Everflowing Water” designed to enhance a deep interlinkage between nature and architecture to create a unity in mitigating seawater pollution.

Bendigo Trade Centre (BTC) by Sungmin Choi, The Office studio, Lead by Stephen Hawken, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC3002).

BTC aims to open a new paradigm of working industry in Bendigo and function as a beating heart and trade hub that connects all industries within and beyond Bendigo. It provides for new work and life that integrates both white / blue colour jobs.

Bendigo has a wide range of industries that requires both blue and white-collar workers: dairy, steel, fabric, and weapon manufacturers. But they also require large cargo to be stored and transported efficiently. Therefore, the site sits on the converging point of mobility surrounded by the McIvor Highway, railroad, and tramline. In BTC cargos are automatically loaded on and off 24/7, opening up a new paradigm for trade. Looking to the future, BTC will become a Mecca for trade that connects western regional Victoria. Quarries, farms, renewable energy plants, all other industries that look distant but have intimate connections between one another all roads lead to Bendigo.

New communities will be formed and new ways of work will also be in demand under the “new normal” that we face in the post COVID era.

Garden of Homes by Yume Ebihara, Yanis Newman-Pache and Chelsea Pace, Public House studio, Lead by Phil Burns and Jacqui O'brien, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC3002)

Garden of Homes explores the ways of enriching everyday life through promoted communal living with levels of engagement to outdoor spaces for residents.

SILENCE and NOISE by Johnson Kruy, Thick Air studio, Lead by Emerald Wise, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC2002).

The project consists of three structures - an Airbnb, a sculptural installation, and an onsen - sited within a walnut farm in Gapsted, Victorian Alps. The overall designs of the structures explores a poetic theme of 'silence and noise', whilst taking advantage of light play and colours from site, which is emphasised through drawing and models. The project explores a narrative of the timing of rituals and views between these structures throughout the day.

SILENCE and NOISE

'The travellers wake up, silently staring at light that gently reflects off concrete surfaces (Image 1: Airbnb _ Model). Within the kitchen (Image 2: Airbnb _ Section BB), warm dashes of morning light greets them with great enthusiasm.

Embarking on the day's journey, the travellers witness a matrix of trees, an endless and chaotic grid (Image 3: photo). Within the ruin-like structure (Image 4: Sculpture Park _ Section EE), they walk into a space, void of all trees, but only the sky above.

As twilight comes closer, and as the day turns night, the travellers head towards their bath (Image 5: Onsen _ Section AA). Light from the heavens sink down within the onsen, and with nothing but the sound of running water, they finally rest and silently watch the sunset, marking the day's end.'

The Potential of Plastics by Ni Pradnyantari, The Things We Throw Away studio, Lead by Daniela Tinios, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC3002)

Several 'Seabins' are installed along the Yarra’s edge in order to collect a range of wastes from cigarette butts to milk jugs. As most of the plastics found in Seabins are high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP), which are highly recyclable, it is essential to ensure that they are prohibited from entering landfills. HDPE and PP share great qualities such as higher tensile strength than other plastics, allowing them to withstand heavier loads. Other than this, both polymers are immensely malleable which makes it easier to create any desired shape. These plastics can be transformed into structural items such as beams and columns, through machinery or converted into 3D printing filaments to create joinery systems.

Crossing The Line by Shantel Gilmore, Spencer 2 Spring: Absent Without Leave 2 studio, Lead by Alonso Gaxiola Gomez, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC2002)

Melbourne is not a place that easily relinquishes visitors. The city is a mosaic of innumerable different threads of history, culture, arts and cuisines. However, to understand this present day representation of Melbourne, it was important to delve into each nook and cranny of Melbourne’s Hoddle Grid. A heterogeneity of building elements offer only a partial glimpse into the infinite number of architectural connections within Melbourne. Fragrance at every corner, a perfume to the visual curiosities of the developing world. The hum of traffic competes with an unbroken voice of conversation. Melbourne can premise itself as a macrocosm for an authentic and diverse culmination of people and place, where there is a evident need to adjust to the realities of current situations, previously imperceptible, to endorse idiosyncratic architecture and spatial experience.

The Future of Mixed Living by Zekang, Alec and Yuwei, The Public House studio, Lead by Phil Burns & Jacqui O'Brien, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC3002)

Through this proposal we aspire to encourage a better connection between the residents, ensure safety for the women’s only residents as well as creating a socially and environmentally sustainable way of living. Our proposal begins on Vickery street with the senior/student apartments which share a 'backyard' garden with the multi-generational apartments that face Bent street. The opposite side of Bent street has access to the public Sunday Market venue as well as the private bridge that connects to the private garden complex above that. Moving across the second private bridge to behind Bentleigh station, accomodating the airspace above the tracks, is the Women’s Only complex that stops at Nicholson street. Our project's site context is a generally active community with many ages, genders and ethnicities inhabiting through either residency or interaction with the nearby shops on the centre road, various parks or the public train station. We aimed to create a public housing solution that catered for upwards of 150 persons from all demographics whilst ensuring their interrelationships, safety and sustainability were maximised within the proposed site through healthy and pleasant design.

Banksia (Banksia Aemula) Dreaming by Meiyao Wang, Lost Land Found studio, Lead by Delia Teschendorff, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC3002)

Banksia ('Banksia aemula') Dreaming is about the recovery of lost land. First Nations people believe that 'Country' is not only humans and cities, but also includes the sky, water, plants, and animals, which are of equal importance. I have also considered symbols from my own Chinese culture and their correlation with First Nations stories and symbols. By combining the five elements of traditional Chinese culture, gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, four different shapes of nodes and access tunnels were designed. They guide visitors into the native gardens to better respect and learn about the native plants and First Nations culture.

The above design expresses deep respect and admiration for Dr. Beth Gott’s contributions to the Monash Clayton Campus Aboriginal garden.

Bendigo Commons by Kolkateka Khun Nguon, The Office studio, Lead by Stephen Hawken, Bachelor of Architectural Design (ARC3002)

Whether it is active, relaxed, or focused, the commons represents an agglomeration of localised spaces where independent professionals work sharing resources and are open to exchange their knowledge with the rest of the community.