Master of Architecture

This subject provides an introduction to architectural design taught in a series of three vignettes, each encompassing a different methodology for operating as a designer and a problem solver. The vignettes are structurally independent from one another, but build their complexity, scale and the amount of architectural tools required to complete them providing not only a diversity of tools, but also a survey of pedagogies. The sequence will instil a strong understanding of the foundations of excellent design practice.

Incidental costs

Students will be required to purchase modelling and drawing materials for the course (not including personal computer and software); cost approx. $300 .

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides an introduction to architectural design resolution, that is, methods of integrating design concepts, spatial definition, program, context, and technology. Through precedent research and design projects, students will gain an understanding of established typologies, respond to existing contexts, and integrate their design concepts with complex spatial planning.

Incidental costs

Students will be required to purchase modelling and drawing materials to complete this subject, including costs to cover model making; the overall cost is estimated to be approx. $300 to $500 per person.

Prescribed software programs with a cost
McNeel Rhino
Prescribed software tools
Image editing software (e.g. Affinity Photo)
Vector editing software (e.g. Affinity Designer)
Layout software (e.g. Affinity Publisher)

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject, running intensively in Week 5 of Semester 1 and delivered in Barmah (northern Victoria) , explores the idea of construction as a process linking specific principles, materials, elements, systems and techniques strategically. Using a set of individual construction types as case studies, Construction Methods A will review and explain the physical anatomy of given technological types, emphasising parameters concerned with connectedness, stability, assembly and performance. Students will learn techniques to represent these types with drawings and models.

The subject overview and health and safety work will happen during Week 5.

Approximate costs to students:

This subject has a residential component in week 5. Students will be required to cover travel costs and purchase safety equipment.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject articulates the idea of architectural design as a process where the global environmental agenda, design concepts, and tectonics are intertwined. Students associate technological implementation with architectural design intent by identifying and applying specific building materials, systems, and components to produce responsible and sustainable architecture, critically reflecting on how technological awareness can support and inform appropriate architectural solutions.

The assessment tasks encompass the iterative and environmentally responsive design processes through research, detailed assessment of options and the integration of technical solutions to maintain or enhance the design intent. The documentation set and final detailed design include selecting coherent material systems, components, and systems, also based on building codes and standards.

Prescribed software tools

Drafting software (e.g. McNeel Rhino, AutoCAD)

Image editing software (e.g. Affinity Photo)

Layout software (e.g. Affinity Publisher).

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support#software.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject surveys the ways in which architecture as a discipline and a profession influenced, reciprocated and sometimes shaped the changing ideological, social and political environment of the 20th century and after.

It identifies key ideas and interventions at different scales ranging from domestic buildings to urban institutions and environments.

Who/what were the agents, organizations, projects and users – and what were their legacies?

Each lecture will link architectural movements and texts to built works and built environments focusing on specific examples and people that best illustrate key ideas. The theme of each lecture will be formulated around the critical analysis of the legacy of these various orientations and their positive or negative outcomes or reception.

Students will examine colonial and imperial cities, the European avant-garde, American modernism, CIAM 8 and social programs and utopian movements.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject surveys the ways in which architecture as a discipline and a profession influenced, reciprocated and sometimes shaped the changing ideological, social and political environment of the 20th century and after. It identifies key ideas and interventions at different scales ranging from domestic buildings to urban institutions and environments.

Who/what were the agents, organizations, projects and users – and what were their legacies?

Each lecture will link architectural movements and texts to built works and built environments focusing on specific examples and people that best illustrate key ideas.

The theme of each lecture will be formulated around the critical analysis of the legacy of these various orientations and their positive or negative outcomes or reception.

Students will examine modernist capital cities and capitol buildings in Asia and South America, postmodernism, regionalism, deconstruction and digital networks, sustainability and vulnerable environments and globalization.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject offers a broad introduction to contemporary theories and methods used in the production and critique of architecture in the context of current practice.

Architectural concepts such as program, diagram, transparency, tectonics, materiality, and ornament will be explored along with the contemporary manifestations of landscape urbanism, digital technologies, ecological sustainability, and biomimicry in design. The subject provides a perspective within which contemporary architectural polemics and strategies can be understood so that students can approach their own practice with the knowledge of existing contemporary theories of design.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Architectural Practice examines the intersection of professional conduct and architectural practice with real-world project delivery. Students gain insight into the operational frameworks, ethical responsibilities and leadership roles typically held by architects in serving clients and the public interest.

The subject highlights how design cultures and professional practice align with legal and ethical frameworks, covering areas such as project management and leadership, procurement, contract administration, risk and business management, and professional ethics. While focusing on industry issues and practices in an Australian context, the subject also considers architectural practice as a global discipline, contributing to the international understanding of the architect’s role in society

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject focuses on the architectural design development of complex building types (e.g. highly bespoke high-rise, large commercial or institutional buildings), which generally are not studied in detail at undergraduate level. Students explore and translate their own complex design propositions into an architectural proposal that considers:

• Economic feasibility;
• Programme-based technical requirements;
• Regulatory inputs to architectural design;
• Assembly of structural construction systems;
• Environmental design;
• Building enclosure and materiality;
• Current industry practice and innovation.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides a broad introduction and review of the key principles of sustainable design to be applied to architecture with an emphasis on building and indoor environment performance. The subject aims to provide students with theoretical and practical knowledge about evidence-based design strategies, including a range of user-centred strategies, technologies, performance evaluation tools and/or methods. The subject reviews quantitative and qualitative assessment methods and tools. An introduction to various rating and certification systems is also provided.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject challenges students to consider how is architecture situated – environmentally, politically and socially and culturally – and in turn how a site can influence architectural design.

A variety of independent studios will be offered for preferencing by ballot prior to the start of semester (O-week). Programmes will vary and may include civic, urban, housing, institutional, community or commercial typologies. Common to all studios will be sites that have cultural, environmental, political and legal complexities which designs will need to address. Seminar series, workshops and/or online modules will introduce students to design theories, design techniques and digital tools related to the design challenge(s), as a creative and intellectual counterpoint to design-led exploration in-studio.

Through a process of careful socio-cultural and environmental analysis of a complex site, study of precedents, and application of contemporary design theories and techniques, students will be expected to develop architectural designs that respond to their site with sensitivity and care. Students will be expected to demonstrate the cultural and site-based competencies set out in the National Standards of Competency for Architects. Students will also be asked to develop a style of design communication that is culturally appropriate to their ‘client’/stakeholder.

Please note : This is an ‘early start subject’ (for SEM 1 and 2) a ballot for preferencing studios runs on Monday of O-week – the week BEFORE week 1 on the university calendar ( - and a compulsory all-day in-person symposium is on the Friday of O-week.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject challenges students to creatively compose and strategically organise space for a complex programme.

A variety of independent studios will be offered for preferencing by ballot prior to the start of semester. Programmes and sites will vary and may include civic, urban, housing, institutional, community or commercial typologies in urban, suburban, or regional settings. Common to all studios will be medium to large scale buildings with complex briefs.

Through a process of careful analysis of function, creative exploration of three-dimensional form and space, study of precedents, and application of contemporary design theories and techniques, students will be expected to develop architectural designs that demonstrate mastery over spatial organisation and experiential dynamics.

Architectural designs produced by students will be expected to integrate selected spatial requirements set out in the National Standards of Competency for Architects (NSCA) and in the Building Code of Australia (BCA) and consider environmental and ethical impact.

Students will be expected to communicate a complex design vision in a clear and professional manner.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This cluster/subject challenges students to design small scale architecture to a high degree of material resolution. This includes consideration of the tectonics – poetics of construction – and the whole of life environmental implications of material choices.

A variety of independent studios will be offered for preferencing by ballot prior to the start of semester (O-week). Programs will vary and may include civic, urban, housing, institutional, community or commercial typologies. Common to all studios will be small scale architecture resolved to a high degree of detail. A Seminar series and/or workshops and/or online modules will introduce students to design theories, design techniques and digital tools related to the design challenge(s).

Through a process of careful investigation of materials, study of precedents, and application of contemporary design theories and techniques, students will be expected to develop architectural designs that use materials both poetically and resourcefully. Students will be expected to demonstrate the environmental and material competencies set out in the National Standards of Competency for Architects. Students will also be expected to communicate their design vision in a clear, detailed and professional manner, incorporating models and/or prototypes and/or material investigations as appropriate to their design.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is the culmination of each student's studies in Master of Architecture. It will consist of a number of studio groups offering a range of opportunities for students to demonstrate an original approach to design synthesis, in architecture which is based on research and critical thinking. These studios will allow opportunities for self-directed research inquiries/projects.

Students will be expected to demonstrate mastery of design resolution, conceptual engagement and aesthetic expression. Students will also be required to demonstrate a range of professional competencies defined in the National Standard of Competency for Architects (NSCA).

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores contemporary theories and modes of critique relating to the design of the urban public realm. Emphasis is on how urban physical form responds to the economic, cultural, political, social, aesthetic and natural forces of an urbanised area. Assignments and class papers require students to critically engage with a broad range of theoretical positions, and relate them to local conditions.

View detailed information in the Handbook

In this subject, students will learn about the theory and practice documenting historic buildings for purposes of research and conservation. Students will develop critical approaches to architectural recording and representation. The subject will offer experience in manual techniques and digital technologies, including photogrammetry and 3D laser scanning, and explore their applications in contemporary architectural and cultural heritage practice. Skills will be developed through a focus on case study buildings, with students working individually and collaboratively to produce archival quality documentation and measured drawings of culturally significant urban heritage.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
Autodesk ReCap Pro
Cloudcompare (Open source)
Reality Capture
Prescribed software programs with a cost
Agisoft MetaShape

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

The development of landscape design in Australia. The influence and work of Australian landscape designers. Concepts of natural and cultural heritage. Types of landscape heritage: Australian indigenous landscapes, public and private parks and gardens, institutional and industrial landscapes, symbolic and commemorative landscapes. Heritage legislation and organisations. Techniques for the assessment of landscape heritage. Case studies are used to illustrate the theory and practice of planning and managing sites that have cultural significance.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Students will gain the ability to analyse the use of materials and the means of constructing buildings from antiquity on, but with particular reference to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Class activities will focus on the comparison of equivalent materials and trades between different cultures, and explore the transmission of skills, building processes and techniques from one to another.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides a coverage of the different systems significant in the design of buildings, which are described in terms of 3 interlocking systems: human, mechanical and natural systems.

Human Systems
• Concepts of environmental comfort: heat, light and sound
• Occupational Health, Safety and Environment
• Post-Occupancy Evaluation

Mechanical Systems
• energy efficiency, alternative energy sources and energy management
• active solar heating and cooling systems;
• electrical, telecommunications, transportation and building management systems;
• air-conditioning system designs; refrigeration, heating and air handling plants;
• façade design, natural ventilation and mixed mode systems;
• displacement ventilation, evaporative cooling and radiant cooling systems;
• special servicing conditions
• acoustical design and noise control

Natural Systems
• passive design techniques for buildings
• waste and water treatment techniques, WSUD (water sensitive urban design)
• green infrastructure and ecological services
• integrated greenery – green roofs and vertical greenery

Sustainable building standards like Green Star and NABERS will also be introduced and used in the discourse of the lectures.

View detailed information in the Handbook

In this subject, students will investigate the evolution of Australian environments, cities and architecture. The Subject introduces indigenous as well as colonial, post-colonial, modern, postmodern and regional architecture cultures from the late eighteenth through the early twenty-first century. Topics encompass the geographic, cultural, social, political, economic and material factors shaping environments and architecture in Australia, as well as the ways in which they have been conceptualised and at times contested in scholarship and professional practice. While working across Australia broadly, the subject focuses on Melbourne as a case study to more closely explore the dynamics of localised urban conditions, cultures and design responses. Students will learn to contextualise and to apply the knowledge gained through this subject from leading academics in Australian architectural history, historiography and heritage, and will undertake research in the field using primary and archival collections.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores computational design and optimisation as methods for generating, evaluating, and refining architectural design proposals. Students engage with parametric modelling, rule-based systems, and algorithmic thinking to develop computational workflows that are both iterative and performance-oriented.

Topics include pseudo-randomness and parametric logic, structural and environmental optimisation, and the use of optimisation algorithms to explore design variations and support informed decision-making. Emphasis is placed on integrating computational techniques into architectural design processes, bridging conceptual thinking with technical execution.

While little to no prior experience with computational design is assumed, students are expected to independently learn the required tools and platforms (e.g., Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper). The subject moves at a fast pace, and active engagement with the technical content is essential for success.

Students will learn core computational design techniques, frame design problems computationally, apply optimisation and machine learning methods, and critically examine the interplay between design thinking and design computing.

Prescribed software programs with a cost
McNeel Rhino

Prescribed software tools
Image editing software
Vector editing software
Layout software

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject offers an overview of architectural conservation in Asia from an international perspective. Through case studies and comparative analysis, the subject explores how heritage principles and policies play out across a range of cultural and geographic contexts, influenced by various Asian building traditions and cultural histories. The subject also interrogates how different cultural contexts have shaped heritage theory and practice across Asia. Using case studies from China, Japan, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia this subject will explore:

• The Venice Charter, Burra Charter, the Nara Document on Authenticity, the Hoi An Protocols, and various laws and principles that guide the protection and management of heritage in Asia
• Asian cultural traditions and values, and how these shape practices of restoration and ideas of authenticity in heritage
• administration and legislation
• activism and civil society in Asia;
• tourism and overdevelopment;
• architecture of Asian diaspora communities in Australia

View detailed information in the Handbook

Commercial firms, governments, and nongovernmental organisations compete for graduates who can innovate in response to the major changes in global societies and environments. Independent entrepreneurship is another career path that requires strategic foresight.

In response to these challenges, this subject studies phenomena, ideas, research, and technologies that will define emerging trends. To do this, the subject forecasts the future of design in a variety of disciplines, including design and architecture. It identifies significant innovations, outlines necessary changes, and provides guidance for an in-depth investigation.

The seminar reconsiders relationship between humans, nonhuman organisms and machines within emerging systems engaging with:

• Places as complex systems that house multispecies inhabitants and call for design through living labs or ongoing experiments
• Design as a participatory practice that can involve animals, plants and algorithms as well as humans, often in the context of simulations and self-organising systems
• Representation as a way to connect design stakeholders through advanced visualisation, data mining and machine learning
• Fabrication and construction from innovative materials, with minimal environmental impact using robotics and augmented reality
• Monitoring of the resulting performance through remote imaging and sensor networks
• Adaptation, reuse, and decommissioning following natural, societal, and technical lifecycles

The teaching method combines reading with visual presentations by prominent guests and case-study analysis. In the second half of the subject, students define their own creative assignments and develop expertise that will be relevant to their professional goals.

The subject can support in-depth research for design studios, theses, and research degrees. It is also useful as evidence of skills in design innovation for future employers. Beyond this, past iterations of the subject supported design/art projects, contributed to research within design practices, and laid foundations for innovative career paths and business models.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject focuses on impacts of digital technologies on professional practice and services. It explores issues such as emerging forms of professional practice, status of professional knowledge and skills, use and value of digital information in design, and digital fabrication and assembly of contemporary buildings. The subject involves guest lectures by practicing designers and case studies of real projects.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject will introduce the principles for designing and constructing community based infrastructure. It addresses the effects of both sociological and technical issues and discusses affordability, liveability, environmental impacts, sociality and relationships between community networks and space. The first part of the subject addresses these issues on both a theoretical and case study basis while the second part takes this background material ‘into the field’ to address real life problems via the design studio (and where possible design and construct studios) in Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea or Australia.

Approximate costs to students:

This subject has fieldwork components that includes travel and accommodation when visiting host communities. Students will be required to cover these costs in addition to purchasing the appropriate safety equipment (work boots, hearing and eye protection, etc.) and presentation materials estimated at $200 per person.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject teaches how to use two modelling approaches to investigate and communicate complex and innovative environmental solutions for energy efficient building design. Led by experienced software users from industry and from software manufactures, this course will allow students to specialise in a software tool which they may already be using at their work.

Based on a case study approach students will assess an existing or new building project and prepare the documentation arguing for the innovative approaches to energy efficiency that are proposed. Focus will not only be on learning how to model these complex scenarios, but also how to interpret their practicality and develop risk profiles allowing end users to be able to choose between innovation and benefit.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
IES Virtual Environment

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

F_ Lab: Bespoke Furnitures is part of a suite of electives, the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives. In these electives students have the opportunity to build and demonstrate expertise and competence in the understanding and application of contemporary design tools that inform and shape design process and thinking. A Digital Design and Fabrication Electives are based on a culture of experimenting and making – applying contemporary design and making tools to create advanced physical and digital artefacts and environments. For more detailed information concerning the respective tutors, design approaches and previous examples as well as other offerings in the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives suite please check on the ADD+F Research Hub website under teaching and learning: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/addf

F_Lab introduces students to consideration of materiality, anthropometrics and fabrication techniques. Students will be exposed to and demonstrate the capability to use a wide range of making techniques, including e.g. skills in hand-tool usage and modern woodworking equipment.

F_Lab students will demonstrate their capability to design and fabricate a bespoke furniture piece that is highly individual and of novel aesthetic and material qualities. A resulting final piece will highlight students’ experimentation process, demonstrate exemplary craft, and creating a novel furniture piece, e.g for one person to rest on.

Costs to Students:

In combination with prototyping and fabrication students should allow for a minimum of 100-200 AUD to cover material costs; costs often depend on students’ choice of material.

NOTE: This subject has a quota of 16. See “Additional delivery details” under “Dates and Times” for more information.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Representing Heritage examines how designers and professionals in the built environment and heritage fields observe, record, document, interpret and act upon sites of interest and significance. Discussions will range from the highly theoretical to the creative and the practical, with exposure to cutting edge digital practices and techniques.

Over the semester students will assemble a toolkit of theoretical and practical ways of thinking about spaces, places and buildings across time, and techniques for site representation, documentation and interpretation. The subject available to students from all Melbourne School of Design (MSD) majors with an interest in the heritage, history, memory and conservation of places.

The subject will include content from academic and professional guests delivered through on campus seminars and online additional material.

Assessments will include an individual reflective journal, an experimental group project which documents and interprets a site of the group’s choosing in Melbourne, and an individual critical reflection of this project. This subject will allow students to build on the core subjects in the M.UCH degree, and to augment design, history and theory-based subjects in the MSD programs.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides advanced knowledge and skills on the technological design, performance requirements, procurement, manufacturing and construction of building envelope systems and materials.

Considering facades and roofing systems from start to finish of the building process, the subject gives insight on the specificity of the facade construction industry as a key agent of the design and delivery of contemporary projects.

New knowledge is built from the properties and behaviour of materials commonly used in building envelopes (e.g. glass, metals, insulation, sealants) and the fitness for purpose of different façade and roofing configurations, systems and products.

Learning activities focus on detailed design and construction technology aspects informed by regulatory benchmarks and established design principles, including waterproofing, wind-effects, air-tightness, thermal control, fire safety, acoustics, durability and safety in operation.

Industry perspectives are considered from the different standpoints of designers, head contractors, sub-contractors and specialist consultants by exploring facade-specific case studies in procurement, environmental performance, design management, testing, prototyping, fabrication, installation, defect prevention and building maintenance.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores the theory and history of cultural heritage with a focus on architectural and urban conservation. Ideas and practices of heritage are examined through approaches taken to the conservation of buildings, precincts, neighbourhoods, towns, and landscapes. A range of approaches for designing, planning, managing, and researching heritage places are considered. Key topics include the emergence of modern conservation; statutory heritage regimes and designations; the role of charters and doctrines such as the Burra Charter and values-based conservation; and the evolving politics of heritage. This subject also highlights areas of scholarship and practice which challenge traditional approaches such as Aboriginal heritage; community participation; intangible heritage; climate change; and urban development. The subject is taught by academics and leading heritage practitioners and delivered as a mixture of seminars and field trips.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This elective focuses on integration of geospatial data into iterative, procedural, rapid, large-scale design modelling, using a range of emerging tools including GIS, 3D modelling, CIM (Civil Information Models) and associated scripts and plugins. In this subject you will develop methods to model and interact with complex built form, difficult terrains and integrate social, environmental, and ecological data into your design decision-making.

This subject offers an opportunity to build upon prior skills and interest in areas such as biomorphic form making, 3D printing, photogrammetry, agent-based simulation, particle systems, material networks, online mapping, GIS analysis, motion graphics and performance-based design. It is recommended for students of urban design, landscape architecture, and architecture.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
Autodesk Civil 3D
Autodesk 3Ds Max
QGIS (Opensource)
Prescribed software programs with a cost
Chaos Group Vray
Prescribed software tools
Layout software

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject aims to develop an understanding and awareness of the life cycle environmental effects of building design and construction, including the approaches that can be used to assess and minimise them, with a particular emphasise on life cycle assessment.

Through an introduction to environmental assessment, including ‘input-output analysis’, this subject articulates the many linkages connecting construction to the rest of the national economy, the production underlying it, and the resources consumed in the process.

Organised as an advanced seminar, the subject will expose students to the latest developments in environmental assessment techniques and their application within the built environment.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject is a critical and creative introduction to some of the contemporary tools and techniques that are required in the practice of urban design. It connects a theoretical backdrop to the practices of urban designers, as well as those of related built environment disciplines like architects, landscape architects, urban planners and strategists, and urban technologists.

It emphasises links between ideas and practice — particularly focusing on the various ways that urban change is produced or emerges — including fieldwork techniques focused on Melbourne’s Central Business District. It also explores various ways of graphically representing change, dynamics and evolution of urban environments, systems, and places.

The subject involves a group design exercise, called Incomplete City. This design studio-like ‘sprint’ runs through the middle weeks of the subject, and involves the creation of a city from scratch, produced by working in small teams which ultimately come together in the form of a giant collective drawing, developing collaboration, participation and visualisation skills as well as understanding new forms of urban infrastructure and technology.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides insight into the design briefing process for a range of facilities, with a specific focus on learning and health environments. Key issues addressed include how to effectively engage with users/occupants of buildings, collect data about their organisational objectives, activities and spatial requirements, and strategically link such information to the work of architects and other design consultants.

The subject examines evidence-based design, effective planning processes that include stakeholder engagement and consultation, change management, spatial literacy, and workplace cultures and pedagogies. Participants will develop skills associated with developing strategic briefs that translate organisational objectives and patterns of activity into spatial requirements, including affinity and relationship diagrams.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject illustrates the body of work and research which links human behaviour to the design of the built environment. It explores the history of this research with a focus on interactions between humans and the physical environment in diverse urban settings. A case study approach is taken to develop insights into ways human environment interaction can be understood and how such information used to inform the evidence-based design of the built environment.

View detailed information in the Handbook

An introduction to current issues and techniques in the field of cultural heritage globally. It will survey differing philosophies and challenges being faced in the documentation, interpretation, support and management of conservation and cultural heritage of buildings, landscapes, sites and cities across the world. The study will proceed via detailed case studies examining projects from a range of scales that may include individual buildings and structures, natural and designed landscapes, urban places and precincts, as well as sites of cultural and historical significance. It will include issues such as twentieth-century heritage, heritage during time of war, and the roles of sustainability and tourism as emerging challenges and opportunities for global heritage. Key to this study will be the development of a critical appreciation of the differences and relevance of international heritage-based charters and international heritage organisations. We will look at UNESCO World Heritage listings and terms of significance, and key national and international charters and regulations.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Ex_Lab: Experimental Furniture Futures is part of a suite of electives, the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives. In these electives students have the opportunity to build and demonstrate expertise and competence in the understanding and application of contemporary design tools that inform and shape design process and thinking. Digital Design and Fabrication Electives are based on a culture of experimenting and making – applying contemporary design and making tools to create advanced physical and digital artefacts and environments. For more detailed information concerning the respective tutors, design approaches and previous examples as well as other offerings in the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives suite please check on the ADD+F Research Hub website under teaching and learning: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/addf

Ex_Lab encourages students to re-examine everyday materials and invent new ones. This process driven design suggests an alternative approach to provoke innovation, by compelling designers to uncover latent opportunities that only become evident through open ended experimentation, while developing an understanding of what things are made from. Students demonstrate their capability to design and fabricate a piece of furniture that is the outcome of a process of experimentation and research with both fabrication techniques and materials.

In Ex_Lab student will exemplify how the constraints of materials and making processes can be manipulated and used to the designer’s advantage, driving the design process to result in creating an innovative, aesthetic, and functional object.

Students will receive specific training in the operation and potentials of different fabrication equipment within the MSD makerspaces.

Costs to Students:

• Students will be required to purchase all materials used for the development of their design and the production of the final piece.
• In combination with prototyping and fabrication students should allow for a minimum of 300-600 AUD to cover material costs; costs often depend on students’ choice of material.

NOTE: This subject has a quota of 16. See “Additional delivery details” under “Dates and Times” for more information.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This research-based subject focuses on critical, curatorial and conceptual practices in design. It offers advanced training in the field of design criticism, publishing, curating, exhibiting, writing and research. Students will be exposed to a range of theoretical approaches to the curating and interpretation of design, and current techniques of display, documentation and installation. Through a focus on specific case study examples related directly to proposed exhibition projects, students will develop research skills, interpretation techniques and innovative curatorial methods. Assessment will take the form of written reports, data collection, and graphic and design exercises equivalent to 5000 words.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject critically examines the contemporary and historical modes in which architecture engages with media. This subject will include a focus on Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in media, architectural history, game engines and experiencing virtual realms by identifying physical-virtual exchanges. The subject focuses on the theory and practice of image-making in architectural discourse specifically digital heritage using contemporary media technologies. It is structured into three parts: (1) lectures, readings and discussion, (2) fieldwork and collection of data using various modes of recording and scanning, (3) a workshop format where students apply theory to practice and create historical digital narratives using new software skills. Students will develop and present the outcomes of a workshop series within the subject, including a digital concept, a 3D model using AI and representations of that model in digital interactive and immersive environment, experimentation with VR, and the culmination of all previous assessments into an AI-assisted video narrative.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject considers the production of architecture in the age of commodification. It considers the place of architecture in a world that is growingly preoccupied with the visual and the culture of consumerism. It reflects on how such a world conceives, experiences and consumes architectural design as spectacle, placing striking visuality and iconography above other design intentions. Colonial imagining of otherness, nation building, heritage conservation, tourism industry, popular culture and media, as well as the branding practice of the 21st century will be considered as the broader political and social contexts in which the conception of architecture as spectacle arises.

Through a variety of case studies — ranging from the architecture of national pavilions at the world exposition series, the signatory works of 21st century’s star architects and their shaping of the image of the global cities, the strategic use of architecture in promoting place identity, arts, and heritage, to the commercial architecture of shopping malls, entertainment centres, and international franchise brands — we will reflect on, not only the commodification of architecture, but also how architectural design operates as a medium of commodification of culture, heritage, memory, and otherness. The subject will also explore the extent to which the notion of architecture as spectacle has infiltrated the space of everyday life, the house and the perception of urban life in general. We will then ponder on the effects of the commodification of architecture in the way we experience and shape our built environments.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Design Management has developed an increasingly important role within the construction industry since the development of new project acquisition methods from the 1990s onwards. These recognise the importance of the integration of the design and construction processes, the emergence of the project management profession as well as the more specialised role of architects and engineers. This industry role, to coordinate a team of people within a defined framework with agreed goals to achieve a desired design outcome, has evolved within various organisational settings such as architectural and engineering practices, project management consultancies and construction contracting companies. The organisation of the design effort to produce a set of deliverables that achieve the functional, financial and time requirements expected by the relevant key stakeholders is at the core of the design manager’s role. This subject will investigate these roles and responsibilities within the different organisational environments and throughout the project’s lifecycle. In addition, the unique stakeholder relationships and expectations of the design manager acting on behalf of the client, consultant or contractor will be explored and a design management plan developed for a contemporary commercial building project.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This elective subject will explore the dynamics and effectiveness of architecture in relation to the politics of protest. It will link together concepts from critical theory, community development, and urban futures with architectural design. To do this the subject will use contemporary case studies to explore the relationship of architectural design to different forms of activism and protest. These case studies will include perspectives from both international and local case studies, and students will be encouraged to develop their own international perspectives. Case studies will include the Occupy movement, Anonymous and other modes of civil disobedience, as well as local case studies including the East-West link and anti Coal Seam Gas protests.

Through this subject students will research how architectural propositions can change the way we protest and the way we respond to protests and protestors. The subject will bring together various ABP academics and practitioners involved in the interfaces between alternative architecture, protest and the contradictions of power in relation to urban infrastructures.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Demographic ageing is creating a shift in how to think and define homes, cities and public spaces. This subject explores feasible and sustainable approaches to keep the older segment of the population physically and socially active. Innovative changes in design can lead to significant advancements in service delivery, transportation models and homes that allow people to age in place. In addition, design principles for dementia and palliative care are a few of the many concepts that help minimise stress on people as they age and their families. Students will explore these topics and develop their own ideas about the way design can optimise the ageing process for comfort, security and overall well-being.

View detailed information in the Handbook

DF_Lab: Designing Making is part of the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives, which offer students the opportunity to build and demonstrate expertise and competence in the understanding and application of contemporary design tools that inform and shape students’ design process and thinking. Digital Design and Fabrication Electives are based on a culture of experimenting and making – applying contemporary design and making tools to create advanced physical and digital artefacts and environments. For more detailed information concerning the respective tutors, design approaches and previous examples as well as other offerings in the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives suite please check on the ADD+F Research Hub website under teaching and learning: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/addf

DF_Lab introduces students to the use of software and hardware components, which are used in leading design practices today and are becoming increasingly important tools for future practice in architecture, landscape architecture and construction. The design process may involve the development and design of bespoke machines for fabrication.

DF_Lab students learn and demonstrate the capability to prototype, using digital design and fabrication techniques, including e.g. laser cutters, 3d printers and CNC routers, combined with physical computing devices to augment existing fabrication techniques. Students will design and reimagine fundamental architectural elements and demonstrate how digital fabrication technologies are able to re-define and re-invent tectonic, aesthetic and performative qualities of fabricated building components.

NOTE: This subject has a quota of 16. See “Additional delivery details” under “Dates and Times” for more information.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Students will gain a theoretical and practical overview of heritage conservation techniques. The subject will introduce students to the main conservation issues affecting built heritage in relation to both structural issues, as well as those impacting interior and exterior decorative finishes. Students will learn how to diagnose common conservation issues and explore the various treatment options available. Starting with a general discussion of built heritage conservation, students will then focus on specific issues associated with individual construction materials, including stone, metal, brick, wood, glass, and concrete. Lectures will be backed by laboratory sessions and fieldwork at heritage places across Melbourne to observe conservation issues in situ.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is a two week intensive design studio held typically on the first two weeks of July. The workshop will be run by visiting staff from the Architectural Association, School of Architecture, UK as well as teaching staff from MSD. The subject introduces students to contemporary digital design techniques, toolset and workflow, striving for innovation in design resolution. Design briefs are wide ranging from urbanism intervention to 1:1 material systems, refer to subject’s website www.projecttoria.com, usually published 1st week of April. The studio runs a unique vertical system where students develop project with their peers and is supported by a public program of seminars, lectures, design reviews and exhibition of outcome. All projects are conducted in group work. This subject is run concurrently with AA Visiting School (Graduate) subject. This subject provides opportunity for undergraduate student to develop design skills in a graduate school design studio environment.

Pre- teaching:

Students will be required to undertake online learning modules or attend a workshop for specific software used during the subject. This usually take place one week prior to the start of the subject.

Incidental costs:

Students will be required to purchase modelling and exhibition materials for the course excluding software; cost approx. $250 to $350 per person. Subject may have off campus activities with incidental cost for travel and accommodation - detail will be published on the subject’s website www.projecttoria.com, usually published the first week of April.

Prescribed software programs with a cost
McNeel Rhino
Prescribed software tools
Image editing software (e.g. Affinity Photo)
Vector editing software (e.g. Affinity Designer)
Layout software (e.g. Affinity Publisher)

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

Subject has a quota of 45 (this quota applies to the combined enrolments in ABPL30063 and ABPL90386)

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject introduces students to modern and contemporary architecture in East Asia. The course offers a pluralist and multi-polar knowledge of design from a non-western perspective. It examines key spatial theories and practices from regions such as China, Japan and Korea, with a particular focus on ‘polemic’ designs that are moment-defining, or controversial in a formal, urban, cultural, social or political sense. By delving into specific case studies ranging from monumental urban projects to experimental designs, students will gain a critical understanding of East Asia’s spatial trajectory shaped by foreign legacies, diversified knowledge traditions, and internal evolution. The subject seeks to inspire a comprehensive analysis of architecture as a socio-cultural production synthesising power dynamics of industrialisation, urbanisation and globalisation.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is an intensive 5-day workshop that encompasses a series of lectures on zero energy mass custom home (ZEMCH) design and function analysis techniques, as well as hands-on trainings of energy and environmental design simulation tools for implementation during the workshop.

The ZEMCH Sustainable Design Workshop will consist of:

• Knowledge transfer activities;
• Design demonstration site visit and function analysis;
• Design code and housing prototype development;
• Energy and environmental design simulation and mass custom design development; and
• Data collation and presentation.

The workshop will be carried out on the University campus. Victorian homebuilder/housing manufacturer will be invited to the workshop whose learning outcomes will be presented in the form of four group oral presentations and one A0 size group poster submission. Prior to the workshop, students are requested to read a textbook that packages ZEMCH engineering design knowledge related to: (1) Sustainable development; (2) Mass housing; (3) Prefabrication; (4) Mass customisation; (5) Mass personalisation; (6) Inclusive design; (7) Energy use in housing; (8) Passive design; (9) Active technologies; (10) Zero energy homes; (11) Building performance and simulation; and (12) Business operation. Along with the workshop experience, the knowledge gained through the pre-teaching ZEMCH textbook reading will be tested by means of a 2h examination.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
SketchUp
HOT2000
RETScreen
FluxoVento
VELUX

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject introduces students to a body of theories and polemics for architectural design and spatial practice formulated from the post-war period to the present. Figures such as Le Corbusier, Minnette de Silva, Reyner Banham, Denise Scott Brown, Robert Venturi, Atelier Bow Wow, Bernard Tschumi, Beatriz Colomina, Diller and Scofidio, Yasmeen Lari, Jane Rendell, Robin Evans, Greg Lynn, Katie Lloyd Thomas, Muf, Teddy Cruz, Eyal Weizman and Sasha Costanza Chock are introduced and examined. This subject covers a history of efforts to theorise a progressive spatial and design agenda in modern society. It explores urgent topics that have been central to discussion in the long 20^th Century and are still open to debate today: how to define architecture and practice; the demands of the environment, the Anthropocene and sustainability; the role of media and technology; the place of the body, the senses and subjectivity; changing understandings of materiality; and design for social justice. This subject provides an academic basis for critiques in design practice – in the teaching and learning spaces of design studios and beyond. Based on critical and historical reading, it invites students to speculate on new agendas of design and spatial thinking for our time and to understand the complexities of these topic areas.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Placemaking is a worldwide movement focusing on the process, development and design of public or shared semi-private places through the active participation of the citizens. The aim of placemaking is to achieve place attachment which is linked to positive citizenship, health and safety. This subject outlines and critiques the placemaking process in relation to the long-term benefits of place. The subject is based on case-studies, and provides lectures and practical exercises on the critical steps of placemaking. Topics include: governance and community engagement strategies, negotiation processes, place evaluation, integrating nature into place and the economics of place. Different models for placemaking will be explored such as tactical urbanism, guerrilla urbanism, creative placemaking and regenerative placemaking. The subject has been written by the Place Agency Consortium, a group of five universities working towards enhancing place co-creation capacity in students and industry.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Cities are responsible for more than 70% of energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions. The operation of buildings alone represents around 40% of energy use in many developed economies. Reducing energy use and transitioning towards zero greenhouse emissions in the built environment is therefore critical to sustain the Earth’s ecosystems and the general environmental equilibrium of the planet. This is further recognised by the UN sustainability goals, namely Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. With a growing world population, most of which going to live in cities, addressing this current and upcoming challenge is paramount.

The aim of this subject is to equip students with the skills and knowledge required to analyse, quantify, visualise and improve the energy performance of buildings, neighbourhoods and cities, at different scales of the built environment, towards zero greenhouse gas emissions.

This subject is designed to capitalise on the multi-disciplinary nature of participants. As such, it uses active discussions, interactive problem solving, peer review and group work, among other teaching and learning activities. In addition, the major assessment task is designed to allow for a significant amount of flexibility as you will be able to determine the focus of your own assignment. You will also be able to vote to determine subject content towards the end of the semester.

View detailed information in the Handbook

R_Lab: Made by Robots is part of the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives, which offer students the opportunity to build and demonstrate expertise and competence in the understanding and application of contemporary design tools that inform and shape students’ design process and thinking. Digital Design and Fabrication Electives are based on a culture of experimenting and making – applying contemporary design and making tools to create advanced physical and digital artefacts and environments. For more detailed information concerning the respective tutors, design approaches and previous examples as well as other offerings in the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives suite please check on the ADD+F Research Hub website under teaching and learning: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/addf

R_Lab introduces students to the use of robots in the design and construction of buildings and structures, which provides a new set of opportunities for architects, engineers, and designers. Robots and the processes developed, enable the design of architectures and constructions while controlling uncertainties of complex systems in ways that humans cannot. Allowing students to develop non-standard objects and structures of infinite variability creates novel design possibilities.

R_Lab students learn robotic related skills and an understanding of the fabrication process to produce prototypes while developing an understanding of an established robotic fabrication workflow. Students demonstrate the capability to design structures for robotic fabrication, program robots to construct, and apply the workflow to an architectural application. The process will include iterative prototyping through fabrication. In their final project students will demonstrate an understanding of the robotic fabrication process and its architectural application, while creating an aesthetic object with a high level of formal complexity – generated through the use of parametric design principles.

NOTE : This subject has a quota of 16. See “Additional delivery details” under “Dates and Times” for more information.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject offers an overview of the issues facing design professionals in Asia from the mid- to late twentieth century when modernism had the greatest impact. Asian cities and lifestyles were transformed by design cultures of western origin, and architects became mediators of aesthetic influences, which they encouraged, adapted or resisted to varying degrees. In doing so, they engaged with questions of related to urbanisation and cultural change such as tradition, colonisation, nationalism, contested or dissonant heritage, war memory, and environmental consciousness that most impacted their societies. They responded through architecture to key concerns of their time.

Focusing on the lives and careers of the first generation of modern practitioners in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, this subject provides a critical historical understanding of their design foci and inspirations, many of which continue to be relevant for architecture, urban design and planning and heritage practice. Students are asked to follow individual careers as they evolved in response to political and cultural changes such as decolonisation, nation building, consumerism and multiculturalism, and associated conflicts. How did design professionals like, architects, planners and urban and landscape designers negotiate their westernised professional education, the demands of specific localities, the pressure to maintain traditional forms of cultural heritage and their more personal approaches and perspectives? How did they apply visual, textual and pedagogical methods in disseminating their world views? What can we learn from their design strategies?

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject will focus on data related to all activities of a firm including design, documentation, contract administration and management.

• Through this elective students will research how practice based data and information can be identified, recovered and digitised.

• The subject will look at how both physical and digital data in architect’s offices can be managed for research purposes.

• The subject will explore a range of strategic, administrative, technical and digital methods related to the management of both research and archival data.

• The subject will link together concepts related to architectural practice, urban heritage, library studies, museum conservation and also the material and digital management of archives.

• Theories related to the digital transformation, IT management and knowledge management of architectural practices will be discussed.

• The subject will use contemporary (post 1970) architectural archives to explore how to best identify, recover and manage individual architectural archives for future research, exhibition and public access.
• The subject will prompt the following questions: As architectural work is increasingly digitised how can this work be archived for research and public purposes? What role should digital media play in recording the oral histories of architects? How should architectural practices managed both their digital and physical assets to ensure these are available for the future research

• The subject will bring together a broad range of disciplines various ABP academics, and practitioners, librarians, data managers and archivists.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject focuses on the interaction between users and the built environment and explores how technology changes the ways we create and use space. The emphasis is on the correlation between architectural design, computational techniques and mechatronics. Students will be thought innovative ways of studying the built environment (acquiring data to inform the design process) and will be introduced to automated procedures of creating spatial change (using sensor/actuator technologies).

In addition to well-known and visually based techniques traditionally used by designers, the subject focuses on the creative potential of information invisible to a human eye. A vast amount of environmental and behavioural data is collected by sensory devices distributed in buildings and public spaces in cities around the world. In the future, even more, real-time data on how the built environment is used and how climatic conditions influence their use will be available. Some of the exciting creative research indicates that there is a high potential for such data to turn into design intelligence and tap into dynamic architectural projects. Throughout the semester, students will be developing a project employing design strategies based on the information obtainable by sensory devices.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores an array of philosophical perspectives on design and architecture to enable students to develop a deeper appreciation of pressing contemporary concerns where these impact on creative design practice and on the role of design understood as a world shaping activity.

Theories and concepts predominantly drawn from the work of 20^th and 21^st Century philosophers and theorists will be critically discussed and subsequently applied to contemporary problems relevant to the design disciplines. The course will emphasise the impact of the design disciplines on environmental, material and social concerns including a consideration of gender diversity and intersectionality. Questions concerning the interrelation of design, architecture and philosophy as different ways of thinking and fashioning environments and subjectivities will be raised: What are the ways in which humans are designed by their designs? What might the design disciplines learn from the posthumanities? What could design be, or what might it become, to make the world more hospitable for both human and more-than-human entities?

View detailed information in the Handbook

SI_ Lab: Spatial Information is part of the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives, which offer students the opportunity to build and demonstrate expertise and competence in the understanding and application of contemporary design tools that inform and shape students’ design process and thinking. Digital Design and Fabrication Electives are based on a culture of experimenting and making – applying contemporary design and making tools to create advanced physical and digital artefacts and environments. For more detailed information concerning the respective tutors, design approaches and previous examples as well as other offerings in the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives suite please check on the ADD+F Research Hub website under teaching and learning: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/addf

SI_Lab introduces students to critical engagement with 3D scanning and virtual reality technologies for the creation, reproduction and representation of spatial environments and novel artefacts. Students gain knowledge and develop skills in immersive digital technologies, geometry, media and theory. In SI_Lab students are introduced to various image making technologies, ranging from 3D-scanning, photography and film, to the use of real-time render engines and Virtual Reality systems, exploring questions of architectural reproduction and representation. While applying new representational technologies students demonstrate a critical understanding and reflection as well as the ability to apply these technologies in a conceptual and designerly manner.

Key architectural sites, situations and events will be chosen to scan, analyse and represent using high resolution 3D point cloud data. Specific training will be provided to develop skills in the analysis and representation of the digital data, with student projects culminating in projects that range from the design of novel representations to virtual reality experiences, generated using real-time rendering engines, to generate innovative tectonic, aesthetic and spatial configurations.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject sets out the key mechanisms by which land use planning can reduce the risks associated with human settlements located in bushfire prone areas. It begins with an overview of bushfire as a natural hazard that occurs in particular landscapes, and the ways that human settlements interact with these to result in spatial and locally particular risk outcomes.

The ways that urban planning mechanisms can influence risk levels in bushfire prone areas are explored. First principles of planning intervention techniques are set out, followed by a detailed explanation of relevant elements of Victorian planning processes. Current regulatory approaches suitable for the treatment of bushfire risk in Victoria are a core learning outcome for the subject, in parallel with developing understandings of the inter-relations between building, planning, response and land management agencies related to bushfire risk reduction.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject covers the fundamentals of how domestic buildings respond to bushfire in a planned environment context and explores how land use planning can help mitigate associated risks. Students work from the science fundamentals through to the policy and legislation frameworks that tackle bushfire risk mitigation through to building design and planning. The course covers essential planning intervention techniques, along with developing understandings of the inter-relations between building, planning, response and land management agencies related to bushfire risk reduction. With successful completion of the course, students will be well equipped to judge and implement design solutions within the scope of building and planning regulations relating to bushfire risk management.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The course covers the fundamentals of fire behaviour and the key drivers. Students will examine the importance of the key factors affecting fire behaviour including fuels, weather, topography and ignitions. Methodologies for measuring fuels, fuel moisture, and weather will be examined through theoretical and practical approaches. Using these skills, students will learn computer and manual approaches for predicting the extent and intensity of landscape fires in a range of ecosystems. Finally, we will assess the potential changes to fire patterns under global climate change.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Building Information Modelling (BIM) and its associated technologies and processes can integrate the project team and facilitate high-quality and cost-efficient work. This subject will introduce BIM principles and break down the jargon around the topic of BIM. During tutorials, students will learn about the most popular BIM software in the industry and will work with the software to create and manage building project information throughout the design, construction and operation phases. To this end, students will develop 2D and 3D representations of a building information model using design BIM authoring software (e.g. Autodesk Revit). Later, BIM coordination software (e.g. Autodesk Navisworks) will be used for 3D model checking and detecting clashes in 3D disciplinary models, followed by developing a 4D BIM model (construction planning and simulation) as well as developing a 5D BIM model (quantification) of the given project. Throughout the process, students will use an online BIM collaboration platform to collaborate with their teammates and share project documents and information.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
Autodesk Revit
Autodesk Navisworks Manage

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

In this subject, students will explore typical workflows of applying BIM within organisations and on projects by multidisciplinary teams. Topics include:

• Analysis of process
• BIM Execution Planning
• Collaborative model-sharing
• BIM guidelines, standards and policies
• Interoperability and ‘Open BIM’
• BIM’s impact on project procurement
• BIM across the supply chain

As part of this analysis of the process, BIM Execution Planning and collaborative model-sharing will get explained. Also, students will learn about guidelines, standards and policies that help regulate information flow on BIM projects and they will explore how these apply in practice. As part of this topic, students will learn about the concepts behind software interoperability and information-sharing via ‘Open BIM’.

The subject will outline BIM’s impact on project procurement, both in terms of its contractual implications, as well as considering project delivery mechanisms associated with BIM. Under the ‘whole of life’ topic, students will learn to position BIM efforts by various contributors on projects across the entire supply chain, from clients, consultants, contractors, fabricators, and Facility/Asset Managers.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject familiarises students with contemporary housing theory and practice through a research-led teaching approach. It introduces students to emerging housing issues within current research initiatives.

The subject will explore disciplinary contributions to addressing housing challenges, e.g. the role of design, planning, construction, finance, market and policy in housing supply and demand dynamics. Students will critically analyse and examine real-life housing practices and contemporary research questions and projects. Through engagement with housing researchers, students will work in groups to explore pressing housing issues and propose opportunities for industry practitioners or academic researchers. Within this subject, students will learn to bring a systematic and practical approach to tackling housing issues and identify emerging challenges.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject offers a broad introduction to contemporary theories and methods used in the production and critique of architecture in the context of current practice.

Architectural concepts such as program, diagram, transparency, tectonics, materiality, and ornament will be explored along with the contemporary manifestations of landscape urbanism, digital technologies, ecological sustainability, and biomimicry in design. The subject provides a perspective within which contemporary architectural polemics and strategies can be understood so that students can approach their own practice with the knowledge of existing contemporary theories of design.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Architectural Practice examines the intersection of professional conduct and architectural practice with real-world project delivery. Students gain insight into the operational frameworks, ethical responsibilities and leadership roles typically held by architects in serving clients and the public interest.

The subject highlights how design cultures and professional practice align with legal and ethical frameworks, covering areas such as project management and leadership, procurement, contract administration, risk and business management, and professional ethics. While focusing on industry issues and practices in an Australian context, the subject also considers architectural practice as a global discipline, contributing to the international understanding of the architect’s role in society

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject focuses on the architectural design development of complex building types (e.g. highly bespoke high-rise, large commercial or institutional buildings), which generally are not studied in detail at undergraduate level. Students explore and translate their own complex design propositions into an architectural proposal that considers:

• Economic feasibility;
• Programme-based technical requirements;
• Regulatory inputs to architectural design;
• Assembly of structural construction systems;
• Environmental design;
• Building enclosure and materiality;
• Current industry practice and innovation.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides a broad introduction and review of the key principles of sustainable design to be applied to architecture with an emphasis on building and indoor environment performance. The subject aims to provide students with theoretical and practical knowledge about evidence-based design strategies, including a range of user-centred strategies, technologies, performance evaluation tools and/or methods. The subject reviews quantitative and qualitative assessment methods and tools. An introduction to various rating and certification systems is also provided.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject challenges students to consider how is architecture situated – environmentally, politically and socially and culturally – and in turn how a site can influence architectural design.

A variety of independent studios will be offered for preferencing by ballot prior to the start of semester (O-week). Programmes will vary and may include civic, urban, housing, institutional, community or commercial typologies. Common to all studios will be sites that have cultural, environmental, political and legal complexities which designs will need to address. Seminar series, workshops and/or online modules will introduce students to design theories, design techniques and digital tools related to the design challenge(s), as a creative and intellectual counterpoint to design-led exploration in-studio.

Through a process of careful socio-cultural and environmental analysis of a complex site, study of precedents, and application of contemporary design theories and techniques, students will be expected to develop architectural designs that respond to their site with sensitivity and care. Students will be expected to demonstrate the cultural and site-based competencies set out in the National Standards of Competency for Architects. Students will also be asked to develop a style of design communication that is culturally appropriate to their ‘client’/stakeholder.

Please note : This is an ‘early start subject’ (for SEM 1 and 2) a ballot for preferencing studios runs on Monday of O-week – the week BEFORE week 1 on the university calendar ( - and a compulsory all-day in-person symposium is on the Friday of O-week.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject challenges students to creatively compose and strategically organise space for a complex programme.

A variety of independent studios will be offered for preferencing by ballot prior to the start of semester. Programmes and sites will vary and may include civic, urban, housing, institutional, community or commercial typologies in urban, suburban, or regional settings. Common to all studios will be medium to large scale buildings with complex briefs.

Through a process of careful analysis of function, creative exploration of three-dimensional form and space, study of precedents, and application of contemporary design theories and techniques, students will be expected to develop architectural designs that demonstrate mastery over spatial organisation and experiential dynamics.

Architectural designs produced by students will be expected to integrate selected spatial requirements set out in the National Standards of Competency for Architects (NSCA) and in the Building Code of Australia (BCA) and consider environmental and ethical impact.

Students will be expected to communicate a complex design vision in a clear and professional manner.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This cluster/subject challenges students to design small scale architecture to a high degree of material resolution. This includes consideration of the tectonics – poetics of construction – and the whole of life environmental implications of material choices.

A variety of independent studios will be offered for preferencing by ballot prior to the start of semester (O-week). Programs will vary and may include civic, urban, housing, institutional, community or commercial typologies. Common to all studios will be small scale architecture resolved to a high degree of detail. A Seminar series and/or workshops and/or online modules will introduce students to design theories, design techniques and digital tools related to the design challenge(s).

Through a process of careful investigation of materials, study of precedents, and application of contemporary design theories and techniques, students will be expected to develop architectural designs that use materials both poetically and resourcefully. Students will be expected to demonstrate the environmental and material competencies set out in the National Standards of Competency for Architects. Students will also be expected to communicate their design vision in a clear, detailed and professional manner, incorporating models and/or prototypes and/or material investigations as appropriate to their design.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is the culmination of each student's studies in Master of Architecture. It will consist of a number of studio groups offering a range of opportunities for students to demonstrate an original approach to design synthesis, in architecture which is based on research and critical thinking. These studios will allow opportunities for self-directed research inquiries/projects.

Students will be expected to demonstrate mastery of design resolution, conceptual engagement and aesthetic expression. Students will also be required to demonstrate a range of professional competencies defined in the National Standard of Competency for Architects (NSCA).

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores contemporary theories and modes of critique relating to the design of the urban public realm. Emphasis is on how urban physical form responds to the economic, cultural, political, social, aesthetic and natural forces of an urbanised area. Assignments and class papers require students to critically engage with a broad range of theoretical positions, and relate them to local conditions.

View detailed information in the Handbook

In this subject, students will learn about the theory and practice documenting historic buildings for purposes of research and conservation. Students will develop critical approaches to architectural recording and representation. The subject will offer experience in manual techniques and digital technologies, including photogrammetry and 3D laser scanning, and explore their applications in contemporary architectural and cultural heritage practice. Skills will be developed through a focus on case study buildings, with students working individually and collaboratively to produce archival quality documentation and measured drawings of culturally significant urban heritage.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
Autodesk ReCap Pro
Cloudcompare (Open source)
Reality Capture
Prescribed software programs with a cost
Agisoft MetaShape

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

The development of landscape design in Australia. The influence and work of Australian landscape designers. Concepts of natural and cultural heritage. Types of landscape heritage: Australian indigenous landscapes, public and private parks and gardens, institutional and industrial landscapes, symbolic and commemorative landscapes. Heritage legislation and organisations. Techniques for the assessment of landscape heritage. Case studies are used to illustrate the theory and practice of planning and managing sites that have cultural significance.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Students will gain the ability to analyse the use of materials and the means of constructing buildings from antiquity on, but with particular reference to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Class activities will focus on the comparison of equivalent materials and trades between different cultures, and explore the transmission of skills, building processes and techniques from one to another.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides a coverage of the different systems significant in the design of buildings, which are described in terms of 3 interlocking systems: human, mechanical and natural systems.

Human Systems
• Concepts of environmental comfort: heat, light and sound
• Occupational Health, Safety and Environment
• Post-Occupancy Evaluation

Mechanical Systems
• energy efficiency, alternative energy sources and energy management
• active solar heating and cooling systems;
• electrical, telecommunications, transportation and building management systems;
• air-conditioning system designs; refrigeration, heating and air handling plants;
• façade design, natural ventilation and mixed mode systems;
• displacement ventilation, evaporative cooling and radiant cooling systems;
• special servicing conditions
• acoustical design and noise control

Natural Systems
• passive design techniques for buildings
• waste and water treatment techniques, WSUD (water sensitive urban design)
• green infrastructure and ecological services
• integrated greenery – green roofs and vertical greenery

Sustainable building standards like Green Star and NABERS will also be introduced and used in the discourse of the lectures.

View detailed information in the Handbook

In this subject, students will investigate the evolution of Australian environments, cities and architecture. The Subject introduces indigenous as well as colonial, post-colonial, modern, postmodern and regional architecture cultures from the late eighteenth through the early twenty-first century. Topics encompass the geographic, cultural, social, political, economic and material factors shaping environments and architecture in Australia, as well as the ways in which they have been conceptualised and at times contested in scholarship and professional practice. While working across Australia broadly, the subject focuses on Melbourne as a case study to more closely explore the dynamics of localised urban conditions, cultures and design responses. Students will learn to contextualise and to apply the knowledge gained through this subject from leading academics in Australian architectural history, historiography and heritage, and will undertake research in the field using primary and archival collections.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores computational design and optimisation as methods for generating, evaluating, and refining architectural design proposals. Students engage with parametric modelling, rule-based systems, and algorithmic thinking to develop computational workflows that are both iterative and performance-oriented.

Topics include pseudo-randomness and parametric logic, structural and environmental optimisation, and the use of optimisation algorithms to explore design variations and support informed decision-making. Emphasis is placed on integrating computational techniques into architectural design processes, bridging conceptual thinking with technical execution.

While little to no prior experience with computational design is assumed, students are expected to independently learn the required tools and platforms (e.g., Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper). The subject moves at a fast pace, and active engagement with the technical content is essential for success.

Students will learn core computational design techniques, frame design problems computationally, apply optimisation and machine learning methods, and critically examine the interplay between design thinking and design computing.

Prescribed software programs with a cost
McNeel Rhino

Prescribed software tools
Image editing software
Vector editing software
Layout software

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject offers an overview of architectural conservation in Asia from an international perspective. Through case studies and comparative analysis, the subject explores how heritage principles and policies play out across a range of cultural and geographic contexts, influenced by various Asian building traditions and cultural histories. The subject also interrogates how different cultural contexts have shaped heritage theory and practice across Asia. Using case studies from China, Japan, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia this subject will explore:

• The Venice Charter, Burra Charter, the Nara Document on Authenticity, the Hoi An Protocols, and various laws and principles that guide the protection and management of heritage in Asia
• Asian cultural traditions and values, and how these shape practices of restoration and ideas of authenticity in heritage
• administration and legislation
• activism and civil society in Asia;
• tourism and overdevelopment;
• architecture of Asian diaspora communities in Australia

View detailed information in the Handbook

Commercial firms, governments, and nongovernmental organisations compete for graduates who can innovate in response to the major changes in global societies and environments. Independent entrepreneurship is another career path that requires strategic foresight.

In response to these challenges, this subject studies phenomena, ideas, research, and technologies that will define emerging trends. To do this, the subject forecasts the future of design in a variety of disciplines, including design and architecture. It identifies significant innovations, outlines necessary changes, and provides guidance for an in-depth investigation.

The seminar reconsiders relationship between humans, nonhuman organisms and machines within emerging systems engaging with:

• Places as complex systems that house multispecies inhabitants and call for design through living labs or ongoing experiments
• Design as a participatory practice that can involve animals, plants and algorithms as well as humans, often in the context of simulations and self-organising systems
• Representation as a way to connect design stakeholders through advanced visualisation, data mining and machine learning
• Fabrication and construction from innovative materials, with minimal environmental impact using robotics and augmented reality
• Monitoring of the resulting performance through remote imaging and sensor networks
• Adaptation, reuse, and decommissioning following natural, societal, and technical lifecycles

The teaching method combines reading with visual presentations by prominent guests and case-study analysis. In the second half of the subject, students define their own creative assignments and develop expertise that will be relevant to their professional goals.

The subject can support in-depth research for design studios, theses, and research degrees. It is also useful as evidence of skills in design innovation for future employers. Beyond this, past iterations of the subject supported design/art projects, contributed to research within design practices, and laid foundations for innovative career paths and business models.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject focuses on impacts of digital technologies on professional practice and services. It explores issues such as emerging forms of professional practice, status of professional knowledge and skills, use and value of digital information in design, and digital fabrication and assembly of contemporary buildings. The subject involves guest lectures by practicing designers and case studies of real projects.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject will introduce the principles for designing and constructing community based infrastructure. It addresses the effects of both sociological and technical issues and discusses affordability, liveability, environmental impacts, sociality and relationships between community networks and space. The first part of the subject addresses these issues on both a theoretical and case study basis while the second part takes this background material ‘into the field’ to address real life problems via the design studio (and where possible design and construct studios) in Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea or Australia.

Approximate costs to students:

This subject has fieldwork components that includes travel and accommodation when visiting host communities. Students will be required to cover these costs in addition to purchasing the appropriate safety equipment (work boots, hearing and eye protection, etc.) and presentation materials estimated at $200 per person.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject teaches how to use two modelling approaches to investigate and communicate complex and innovative environmental solutions for energy efficient building design. Led by experienced software users from industry and from software manufactures, this course will allow students to specialise in a software tool which they may already be using at their work.

Based on a case study approach students will assess an existing or new building project and prepare the documentation arguing for the innovative approaches to energy efficiency that are proposed. Focus will not only be on learning how to model these complex scenarios, but also how to interpret their practicality and develop risk profiles allowing end users to be able to choose between innovation and benefit.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
IES Virtual Environment

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

F_ Lab: Bespoke Furnitures is part of a suite of electives, the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives. In these electives students have the opportunity to build and demonstrate expertise and competence in the understanding and application of contemporary design tools that inform and shape design process and thinking. A Digital Design and Fabrication Electives are based on a culture of experimenting and making – applying contemporary design and making tools to create advanced physical and digital artefacts and environments. For more detailed information concerning the respective tutors, design approaches and previous examples as well as other offerings in the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives suite please check on the ADD+F Research Hub website under teaching and learning: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/addf

F_Lab introduces students to consideration of materiality, anthropometrics and fabrication techniques. Students will be exposed to and demonstrate the capability to use a wide range of making techniques, including e.g. skills in hand-tool usage and modern woodworking equipment.

F_Lab students will demonstrate their capability to design and fabricate a bespoke furniture piece that is highly individual and of novel aesthetic and material qualities. A resulting final piece will highlight students’ experimentation process, demonstrate exemplary craft, and creating a novel furniture piece, e.g for one person to rest on.

Costs to Students:

In combination with prototyping and fabrication students should allow for a minimum of 100-200 AUD to cover material costs; costs often depend on students’ choice of material.

NOTE: This subject has a quota of 16. See “Additional delivery details” under “Dates and Times” for more information.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Representing Heritage examines how designers and professionals in the built environment and heritage fields observe, record, document, interpret and act upon sites of interest and significance. Discussions will range from the highly theoretical to the creative and the practical, with exposure to cutting edge digital practices and techniques.

Over the semester students will assemble a toolkit of theoretical and practical ways of thinking about spaces, places and buildings across time, and techniques for site representation, documentation and interpretation. The subject available to students from all Melbourne School of Design (MSD) majors with an interest in the heritage, history, memory and conservation of places.

The subject will include content from academic and professional guests delivered through on campus seminars and online additional material.

Assessments will include an individual reflective journal, an experimental group project which documents and interprets a site of the group’s choosing in Melbourne, and an individual critical reflection of this project. This subject will allow students to build on the core subjects in the M.UCH degree, and to augment design, history and theory-based subjects in the MSD programs.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides advanced knowledge and skills on the technological design, performance requirements, procurement, manufacturing and construction of building envelope systems and materials.

Considering facades and roofing systems from start to finish of the building process, the subject gives insight on the specificity of the facade construction industry as a key agent of the design and delivery of contemporary projects.

New knowledge is built from the properties and behaviour of materials commonly used in building envelopes (e.g. glass, metals, insulation, sealants) and the fitness for purpose of different façade and roofing configurations, systems and products.

Learning activities focus on detailed design and construction technology aspects informed by regulatory benchmarks and established design principles, including waterproofing, wind-effects, air-tightness, thermal control, fire safety, acoustics, durability and safety in operation.

Industry perspectives are considered from the different standpoints of designers, head contractors, sub-contractors and specialist consultants by exploring facade-specific case studies in procurement, environmental performance, design management, testing, prototyping, fabrication, installation, defect prevention and building maintenance.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject explores the theory and history of cultural heritage with a focus on architectural and urban conservation. Ideas and practices of heritage are examined through approaches taken to the conservation of buildings, precincts, neighbourhoods, towns, and landscapes. A range of approaches for designing, planning, managing, and researching heritage places are considered. Key topics include the emergence of modern conservation; statutory heritage regimes and designations; the role of charters and doctrines such as the Burra Charter and values-based conservation; and the evolving politics of heritage. This subject also highlights areas of scholarship and practice which challenge traditional approaches such as Aboriginal heritage; community participation; intangible heritage; climate change; and urban development. The subject is taught by academics and leading heritage practitioners and delivered as a mixture of seminars and field trips.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This elective focuses on integration of geospatial data into iterative, procedural, rapid, large-scale design modelling, using a range of emerging tools including GIS, 3D modelling, CIM (Civil Information Models) and associated scripts and plugins. In this subject you will develop methods to model and interact with complex built form, difficult terrains and integrate social, environmental, and ecological data into your design decision-making.

This subject offers an opportunity to build upon prior skills and interest in areas such as biomorphic form making, 3D printing, photogrammetry, agent-based simulation, particle systems, material networks, online mapping, GIS analysis, motion graphics and performance-based design. It is recommended for students of urban design, landscape architecture, and architecture.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
Autodesk Civil 3D
Autodesk 3Ds Max
QGIS (Opensource)
Prescribed software programs with a cost
Chaos Group Vray
Prescribed software tools
Layout software

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject aims to develop an understanding and awareness of the life cycle environmental effects of building design and construction, including the approaches that can be used to assess and minimise them, with a particular emphasise on life cycle assessment.

Through an introduction to environmental assessment, including ‘input-output analysis’, this subject articulates the many linkages connecting construction to the rest of the national economy, the production underlying it, and the resources consumed in the process.

Organised as an advanced seminar, the subject will expose students to the latest developments in environmental assessment techniques and their application within the built environment.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject is a critical and creative introduction to some of the contemporary tools and techniques that are required in the practice of urban design. It connects a theoretical backdrop to the practices of urban designers, as well as those of related built environment disciplines like architects, landscape architects, urban planners and strategists, and urban technologists.

It emphasises links between ideas and practice — particularly focusing on the various ways that urban change is produced or emerges — including fieldwork techniques focused on Melbourne’s Central Business District. It also explores various ways of graphically representing change, dynamics and evolution of urban environments, systems, and places.

The subject involves a group design exercise, called Incomplete City. This design studio-like ‘sprint’ runs through the middle weeks of the subject, and involves the creation of a city from scratch, produced by working in small teams which ultimately come together in the form of a giant collective drawing, developing collaboration, participation and visualisation skills as well as understanding new forms of urban infrastructure and technology.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject provides insight into the design briefing process for a range of facilities, with a specific focus on learning and health environments. Key issues addressed include how to effectively engage with users/occupants of buildings, collect data about their organisational objectives, activities and spatial requirements, and strategically link such information to the work of architects and other design consultants.

The subject examines evidence-based design, effective planning processes that include stakeholder engagement and consultation, change management, spatial literacy, and workplace cultures and pedagogies. Participants will develop skills associated with developing strategic briefs that translate organisational objectives and patterns of activity into spatial requirements, including affinity and relationship diagrams.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject illustrates the body of work and research which links human behaviour to the design of the built environment. It explores the history of this research with a focus on interactions between humans and the physical environment in diverse urban settings. A case study approach is taken to develop insights into ways human environment interaction can be understood and how such information used to inform the evidence-based design of the built environment.

View detailed information in the Handbook

An introduction to current issues and techniques in the field of cultural heritage globally. It will survey differing philosophies and challenges being faced in the documentation, interpretation, support and management of conservation and cultural heritage of buildings, landscapes, sites and cities across the world. The study will proceed via detailed case studies examining projects from a range of scales that may include individual buildings and structures, natural and designed landscapes, urban places and precincts, as well as sites of cultural and historical significance. It will include issues such as twentieth-century heritage, heritage during time of war, and the roles of sustainability and tourism as emerging challenges and opportunities for global heritage. Key to this study will be the development of a critical appreciation of the differences and relevance of international heritage-based charters and international heritage organisations. We will look at UNESCO World Heritage listings and terms of significance, and key national and international charters and regulations.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Ex_Lab: Experimental Furniture Futures is part of a suite of electives, the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives. In these electives students have the opportunity to build and demonstrate expertise and competence in the understanding and application of contemporary design tools that inform and shape design process and thinking. Digital Design and Fabrication Electives are based on a culture of experimenting and making – applying contemporary design and making tools to create advanced physical and digital artefacts and environments. For more detailed information concerning the respective tutors, design approaches and previous examples as well as other offerings in the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives suite please check on the ADD+F Research Hub website under teaching and learning: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/addf

Ex_Lab encourages students to re-examine everyday materials and invent new ones. This process driven design suggests an alternative approach to provoke innovation, by compelling designers to uncover latent opportunities that only become evident through open ended experimentation, while developing an understanding of what things are made from. Students demonstrate their capability to design and fabricate a piece of furniture that is the outcome of a process of experimentation and research with both fabrication techniques and materials.

In Ex_Lab student will exemplify how the constraints of materials and making processes can be manipulated and used to the designer’s advantage, driving the design process to result in creating an innovative, aesthetic, and functional object.

Students will receive specific training in the operation and potentials of different fabrication equipment within the MSD makerspaces.

Costs to Students:

• Students will be required to purchase all materials used for the development of their design and the production of the final piece.
• In combination with prototyping and fabrication students should allow for a minimum of 300-600 AUD to cover material costs; costs often depend on students’ choice of material.

NOTE: This subject has a quota of 16. See “Additional delivery details” under “Dates and Times” for more information.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This research-based subject focuses on critical, curatorial and conceptual practices in design. It offers advanced training in the field of design criticism, publishing, curating, exhibiting, writing and research. Students will be exposed to a range of theoretical approaches to the curating and interpretation of design, and current techniques of display, documentation and installation. Through a focus on specific case study examples related directly to proposed exhibition projects, students will develop research skills, interpretation techniques and innovative curatorial methods. Assessment will take the form of written reports, data collection, and graphic and design exercises equivalent to 5000 words.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject critically examines the contemporary and historical modes in which architecture engages with media. This subject will include a focus on Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in media, architectural history, game engines and experiencing virtual realms by identifying physical-virtual exchanges. The subject focuses on the theory and practice of image-making in architectural discourse specifically digital heritage using contemporary media technologies. It is structured into three parts: (1) lectures, readings and discussion, (2) fieldwork and collection of data using various modes of recording and scanning, (3) a workshop format where students apply theory to practice and create historical digital narratives using new software skills. Students will develop and present the outcomes of a workshop series within the subject, including a digital concept, a 3D model using AI and representations of that model in digital interactive and immersive environment, experimentation with VR, and the culmination of all previous assessments into an AI-assisted video narrative.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject considers the production of architecture in the age of commodification. It considers the place of architecture in a world that is growingly preoccupied with the visual and the culture of consumerism. It reflects on how such a world conceives, experiences and consumes architectural design as spectacle, placing striking visuality and iconography above other design intentions. Colonial imagining of otherness, nation building, heritage conservation, tourism industry, popular culture and media, as well as the branding practice of the 21st century will be considered as the broader political and social contexts in which the conception of architecture as spectacle arises.

Through a variety of case studies — ranging from the architecture of national pavilions at the world exposition series, the signatory works of 21st century’s star architects and their shaping of the image of the global cities, the strategic use of architecture in promoting place identity, arts, and heritage, to the commercial architecture of shopping malls, entertainment centres, and international franchise brands — we will reflect on, not only the commodification of architecture, but also how architectural design operates as a medium of commodification of culture, heritage, memory, and otherness. The subject will also explore the extent to which the notion of architecture as spectacle has infiltrated the space of everyday life, the house and the perception of urban life in general. We will then ponder on the effects of the commodification of architecture in the way we experience and shape our built environments.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Design Management has developed an increasingly important role within the construction industry since the development of new project acquisition methods from the 1990s onwards. These recognise the importance of the integration of the design and construction processes, the emergence of the project management profession as well as the more specialised role of architects and engineers. This industry role, to coordinate a team of people within a defined framework with agreed goals to achieve a desired design outcome, has evolved within various organisational settings such as architectural and engineering practices, project management consultancies and construction contracting companies. The organisation of the design effort to produce a set of deliverables that achieve the functional, financial and time requirements expected by the relevant key stakeholders is at the core of the design manager’s role. This subject will investigate these roles and responsibilities within the different organisational environments and throughout the project’s lifecycle. In addition, the unique stakeholder relationships and expectations of the design manager acting on behalf of the client, consultant or contractor will be explored and a design management plan developed for a contemporary commercial building project.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This elective subject will explore the dynamics and effectiveness of architecture in relation to the politics of protest. It will link together concepts from critical theory, community development, and urban futures with architectural design. To do this the subject will use contemporary case studies to explore the relationship of architectural design to different forms of activism and protest. These case studies will include perspectives from both international and local case studies, and students will be encouraged to develop their own international perspectives. Case studies will include the Occupy movement, Anonymous and other modes of civil disobedience, as well as local case studies including the East-West link and anti Coal Seam Gas protests.

Through this subject students will research how architectural propositions can change the way we protest and the way we respond to protests and protestors. The subject will bring together various ABP academics and practitioners involved in the interfaces between alternative architecture, protest and the contradictions of power in relation to urban infrastructures.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Demographic ageing is creating a shift in how to think and define homes, cities and public spaces. This subject explores feasible and sustainable approaches to keep the older segment of the population physically and socially active. Innovative changes in design can lead to significant advancements in service delivery, transportation models and homes that allow people to age in place. In addition, design principles for dementia and palliative care are a few of the many concepts that help minimise stress on people as they age and their families. Students will explore these topics and develop their own ideas about the way design can optimise the ageing process for comfort, security and overall well-being.

View detailed information in the Handbook

DF_Lab: Designing Making is part of the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives, which offer students the opportunity to build and demonstrate expertise and competence in the understanding and application of contemporary design tools that inform and shape students’ design process and thinking. Digital Design and Fabrication Electives are based on a culture of experimenting and making – applying contemporary design and making tools to create advanced physical and digital artefacts and environments. For more detailed information concerning the respective tutors, design approaches and previous examples as well as other offerings in the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives suite please check on the ADD+F Research Hub website under teaching and learning: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/addf

DF_Lab introduces students to the use of software and hardware components, which are used in leading design practices today and are becoming increasingly important tools for future practice in architecture, landscape architecture and construction. The design process may involve the development and design of bespoke machines for fabrication.

DF_Lab students learn and demonstrate the capability to prototype, using digital design and fabrication techniques, including e.g. laser cutters, 3d printers and CNC routers, combined with physical computing devices to augment existing fabrication techniques. Students will design and reimagine fundamental architectural elements and demonstrate how digital fabrication technologies are able to re-define and re-invent tectonic, aesthetic and performative qualities of fabricated building components.

NOTE: This subject has a quota of 16. See “Additional delivery details” under “Dates and Times” for more information.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Students will gain a theoretical and practical overview of heritage conservation techniques. The subject will introduce students to the main conservation issues affecting built heritage in relation to both structural issues, as well as those impacting interior and exterior decorative finishes. Students will learn how to diagnose common conservation issues and explore the various treatment options available. Starting with a general discussion of built heritage conservation, students will then focus on specific issues associated with individual construction materials, including stone, metal, brick, wood, glass, and concrete. Lectures will be backed by laboratory sessions and fieldwork at heritage places across Melbourne to observe conservation issues in situ.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is a two week intensive design studio held typically on the first two weeks of July. The workshop will be run by visiting staff from the Architectural Association, School of Architecture, UK as well as teaching staff from MSD. The subject introduces students to contemporary digital design techniques, toolset and workflow, striving for innovation in design resolution. Design briefs are wide ranging from urbanism intervention to 1:1 material systems, refer to subject’s website www.projecttoria.com, usually published 1st week of April. The studio runs a unique vertical system where students develop project with their peers and is supported by a public program of seminars, lectures, design reviews and exhibition of outcome. All projects are conducted in group work. This subject is run concurrently with AA Visiting School (Graduate) subject. This subject provides opportunity for undergraduate student to develop design skills in a graduate school design studio environment.

Pre- teaching:

Students will be required to undertake online learning modules or attend a workshop for specific software used during the subject. This usually take place one week prior to the start of the subject.

Incidental costs:

Students will be required to purchase modelling and exhibition materials for the course excluding software; cost approx. $250 to $350 per person. Subject may have off campus activities with incidental cost for travel and accommodation - detail will be published on the subject’s website www.projecttoria.com, usually published the first week of April.

Prescribed software programs with a cost
McNeel Rhino
Prescribed software tools
Image editing software (e.g. Affinity Photo)
Vector editing software (e.g. Affinity Designer)
Layout software (e.g. Affinity Publisher)

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

Subject has a quota of 45 (this quota applies to the combined enrolments in ABPL30063 and ABPL90386)

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is an intensive 5-day workshop that encompasses a series of lectures on zero energy mass custom home (ZEMCH) design and function analysis techniques, as well as hands-on trainings of energy and environmental design simulation tools for implementation during the workshop.

The ZEMCH Sustainable Design Workshop will consist of:

• Knowledge transfer activities;
• Design demonstration site visit and function analysis;
• Design code and housing prototype development;
• Energy and environmental design simulation and mass custom design development; and
• Data collation and presentation.

The workshop will be carried out on the University campus. Victorian homebuilder/housing manufacturer will be invited to the workshop whose learning outcomes will be presented in the form of four group oral presentations and one A0 size group poster submission. Prior to the workshop, students are requested to read a textbook that packages ZEMCH engineering design knowledge related to: (1) Sustainable development; (2) Mass housing; (3) Prefabrication; (4) Mass customisation; (5) Mass personalisation; (6) Inclusive design; (7) Energy use in housing; (8) Passive design; (9) Active technologies; (10) Zero energy homes; (11) Building performance and simulation; and (12) Business operation. Along with the workshop experience, the knowledge gained through the pre-teaching ZEMCH textbook reading will be tested by means of a 2h examination.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
SketchUp
HOT2000
RETScreen
FluxoVento
VELUX

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject introduces students to a body of theories and polemics for architectural design and spatial practice formulated from the post-war period to the present. Figures such as Le Corbusier, Minnette de Silva, Reyner Banham, Denise Scott Brown, Robert Venturi, Atelier Bow Wow, Bernard Tschumi, Beatriz Colomina, Diller and Scofidio, Yasmeen Lari, Jane Rendell, Robin Evans, Greg Lynn, Katie Lloyd Thomas, Muf, Teddy Cruz, Eyal Weizman and Sasha Costanza Chock are introduced and examined. This subject covers a history of efforts to theorise a progressive spatial and design agenda in modern society. It explores urgent topics that have been central to discussion in the long 20^th Century and are still open to debate today: how to define architecture and practice; the demands of the environment, the Anthropocene and sustainability; the role of media and technology; the place of the body, the senses and subjectivity; changing understandings of materiality; and design for social justice. This subject provides an academic basis for critiques in design practice – in the teaching and learning spaces of design studios and beyond. Based on critical and historical reading, it invites students to speculate on new agendas of design and spatial thinking for our time and to understand the complexities of these topic areas.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Placemaking is a worldwide movement focusing on the process, development and design of public or shared semi-private places through the active participation of the citizens. The aim of placemaking is to achieve place attachment which is linked to positive citizenship, health and safety. This subject outlines and critiques the placemaking process in relation to the long-term benefits of place. The subject is based on case-studies, and provides lectures and practical exercises on the critical steps of placemaking. Topics include: governance and community engagement strategies, negotiation processes, place evaluation, integrating nature into place and the economics of place. Different models for placemaking will be explored such as tactical urbanism, guerrilla urbanism, creative placemaking and regenerative placemaking. The subject has been written by the Place Agency Consortium, a group of five universities working towards enhancing place co-creation capacity in students and industry.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Cities are responsible for more than 70% of energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions. The operation of buildings alone represents around 40% of energy use in many developed economies. Reducing energy use and transitioning towards zero greenhouse emissions in the built environment is therefore critical to sustain the Earth’s ecosystems and the general environmental equilibrium of the planet. This is further recognised by the UN sustainability goals, namely Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. With a growing world population, most of which going to live in cities, addressing this current and upcoming challenge is paramount.

The aim of this subject is to equip students with the skills and knowledge required to analyse, quantify, visualise and improve the energy performance of buildings, neighbourhoods and cities, at different scales of the built environment, towards zero greenhouse gas emissions.

This subject is designed to capitalise on the multi-disciplinary nature of participants. As such, it uses active discussions, interactive problem solving, peer review and group work, among other teaching and learning activities. In addition, the major assessment task is designed to allow for a significant amount of flexibility as you will be able to determine the focus of your own assignment. You will also be able to vote to determine subject content towards the end of the semester.

View detailed information in the Handbook

R_Lab: Made by Robots is part of the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives, which offer students the opportunity to build and demonstrate expertise and competence in the understanding and application of contemporary design tools that inform and shape students’ design process and thinking. Digital Design and Fabrication Electives are based on a culture of experimenting and making – applying contemporary design and making tools to create advanced physical and digital artefacts and environments. For more detailed information concerning the respective tutors, design approaches and previous examples as well as other offerings in the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives suite please check on the ADD+F Research Hub website under teaching and learning: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/addf

R_Lab introduces students to the use of robots in the design and construction of buildings and structures, which provides a new set of opportunities for architects, engineers, and designers. Robots and the processes developed, enable the design of architectures and constructions while controlling uncertainties of complex systems in ways that humans cannot. Allowing students to develop non-standard objects and structures of infinite variability creates novel design possibilities.

R_Lab students learn robotic related skills and an understanding of the fabrication process to produce prototypes while developing an understanding of an established robotic fabrication workflow. Students demonstrate the capability to design structures for robotic fabrication, program robots to construct, and apply the workflow to an architectural application. The process will include iterative prototyping through fabrication. In their final project students will demonstrate an understanding of the robotic fabrication process and its architectural application, while creating an aesthetic object with a high level of formal complexity – generated through the use of parametric design principles.

NOTE : This subject has a quota of 16. See “Additional delivery details” under “Dates and Times” for more information.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject offers an overview of the issues facing design professionals in Asia from the mid- to late twentieth century when modernism had the greatest impact. Asian cities and lifestyles were transformed by design cultures of western origin, and architects became mediators of aesthetic influences, which they encouraged, adapted or resisted to varying degrees. In doing so, they engaged with questions of related to urbanisation and cultural change such as tradition, colonisation, nationalism, contested or dissonant heritage, war memory, and environmental consciousness that most impacted their societies. They responded through architecture to key concerns of their time.

Focusing on the lives and careers of the first generation of modern practitioners in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, this subject provides a critical historical understanding of their design foci and inspirations, many of which continue to be relevant for architecture, urban design and planning and heritage practice. Students are asked to follow individual careers as they evolved in response to political and cultural changes such as decolonisation, nation building, consumerism and multiculturalism, and associated conflicts. How did design professionals like, architects, planners and urban and landscape designers negotiate their westernised professional education, the demands of specific localities, the pressure to maintain traditional forms of cultural heritage and their more personal approaches and perspectives? How did they apply visual, textual and pedagogical methods in disseminating their world views? What can we learn from their design strategies?

View detailed information in the Handbook

The subject will focus on data related to all activities of a firm including design, documentation, contract administration and management.

• Through this elective students will research how practice based data and information can be identified, recovered and digitised.

• The subject will look at how both physical and digital data in architect’s offices can be managed for research purposes.

• The subject will explore a range of strategic, administrative, technical and digital methods related to the management of both research and archival data.

• The subject will link together concepts related to architectural practice, urban heritage, library studies, museum conservation and also the material and digital management of archives.

• Theories related to the digital transformation, IT management and knowledge management of architectural practices will be discussed.

• The subject will use contemporary (post 1970) architectural archives to explore how to best identify, recover and manage individual architectural archives for future research, exhibition and public access.
• The subject will prompt the following questions: As architectural work is increasingly digitised how can this work be archived for research and public purposes? What role should digital media play in recording the oral histories of architects? How should architectural practices managed both their digital and physical assets to ensure these are available for the future research

• The subject will bring together a broad range of disciplines various ABP academics, and practitioners, librarians, data managers and archivists.

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This subject focuses on the interaction between users and the built environment and explores how technology changes the ways we create and use space. The emphasis is on the correlation between architectural design, computational techniques and mechatronics. Students will be thought innovative ways of studying the built environment (acquiring data to inform the design process) and will be introduced to automated procedures of creating spatial change (using sensor/actuator technologies).

In addition to well-known and visually based techniques traditionally used by designers, the subject focuses on the creative potential of information invisible to a human eye. A vast amount of environmental and behavioural data is collected by sensory devices distributed in buildings and public spaces in cities around the world. In the future, even more, real-time data on how the built environment is used and how climatic conditions influence their use will be available. Some of the exciting creative research indicates that there is a high potential for such data to turn into design intelligence and tap into dynamic architectural projects. Throughout the semester, students will be developing a project employing design strategies based on the information obtainable by sensory devices.

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This subject explores an array of philosophical perspectives on design and architecture to enable students to develop a deeper appreciation of pressing contemporary concerns where these impact on creative design practice and on the role of design understood as a world shaping activity.

Theories and concepts predominantly drawn from the work of 20^th and 21^st Century philosophers and theorists will be critically discussed and subsequently applied to contemporary problems relevant to the design disciplines. The course will emphasise the impact of the design disciplines on environmental, material and social concerns including a consideration of gender diversity and intersectionality. Questions concerning the interrelation of design, architecture and philosophy as different ways of thinking and fashioning environments and subjectivities will be raised: What are the ways in which humans are designed by their designs? What might the design disciplines learn from the posthumanities? What could design be, or what might it become, to make the world more hospitable for both human and more-than-human entities?

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SI_ Lab: Spatial Information is part of the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives, which offer students the opportunity to build and demonstrate expertise and competence in the understanding and application of contemporary design tools that inform and shape students’ design process and thinking. Digital Design and Fabrication Electives are based on a culture of experimenting and making – applying contemporary design and making tools to create advanced physical and digital artefacts and environments. For more detailed information concerning the respective tutors, design approaches and previous examples as well as other offerings in the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives suite please check on the ADD+F Research Hub website under teaching and learning: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/addf

SI_Lab introduces students to critical engagement with 3D scanning and virtual reality technologies for the creation, reproduction and representation of spatial environments and novel artefacts. Students gain knowledge and develop skills in immersive digital technologies, geometry, media and theory. In SI_Lab students are introduced to various image making technologies, ranging from 3D-scanning, photography and film, to the use of real-time render engines and Virtual Reality systems, exploring questions of architectural reproduction and representation. While applying new representational technologies students demonstrate a critical understanding and reflection as well as the ability to apply these technologies in a conceptual and designerly manner.

Key architectural sites, situations and events will be chosen to scan, analyse and represent using high resolution 3D point cloud data. Specific training will be provided to develop skills in the analysis and representation of the digital data, with student projects culminating in projects that range from the design of novel representations to virtual reality experiences, generated using real-time rendering engines, to generate innovative tectonic, aesthetic and spatial configurations.

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This subject sets out the key mechanisms by which land use planning can reduce the risks associated with human settlements located in bushfire prone areas. It begins with an overview of bushfire as a natural hazard that occurs in particular landscapes, and the ways that human settlements interact with these to result in spatial and locally particular risk outcomes.

The ways that urban planning mechanisms can influence risk levels in bushfire prone areas are explored. First principles of planning intervention techniques are set out, followed by a detailed explanation of relevant elements of Victorian planning processes. Current regulatory approaches suitable for the treatment of bushfire risk in Victoria are a core learning outcome for the subject, in parallel with developing understandings of the inter-relations between building, planning, response and land management agencies related to bushfire risk reduction.

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This subject covers the fundamentals of how domestic buildings respond to bushfire in a planned environment context and explores how land use planning can help mitigate associated risks. Students work from the science fundamentals through to the policy and legislation frameworks that tackle bushfire risk mitigation through to building design and planning. The course covers essential planning intervention techniques, along with developing understandings of the inter-relations between building, planning, response and land management agencies related to bushfire risk reduction. With successful completion of the course, students will be well equipped to judge and implement design solutions within the scope of building and planning regulations relating to bushfire risk management.

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The course covers the fundamentals of fire behaviour and the key drivers. Students will examine the importance of the key factors affecting fire behaviour including fuels, weather, topography and ignitions. Methodologies for measuring fuels, fuel moisture, and weather will be examined through theoretical and practical approaches. Using these skills, students will learn computer and manual approaches for predicting the extent and intensity of landscape fires in a range of ecosystems. Finally, we will assess the potential changes to fire patterns under global climate change.

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Building Information Modelling (BIM) and its associated technologies and processes can integrate the project team and facilitate high-quality and cost-efficient work. This subject will introduce BIM principles and break down the jargon around the topic of BIM. During tutorials, students will learn about the most popular BIM software in the industry and will work with the software to create and manage building project information throughout the design, construction and operation phases. To this end, students will develop 2D and 3D representations of a building information model using design BIM authoring software (e.g. Autodesk Revit). Later, BIM coordination software (e.g. Autodesk Navisworks) will be used for 3D model checking and detecting clashes in 3D disciplinary models, followed by developing a 4D BIM model (construction planning and simulation) as well as developing a 5D BIM model (quantification) of the given project. Throughout the process, students will use an online BIM collaboration platform to collaborate with their teammates and share project documents and information.

Prescribed software programs with no cost
Autodesk Revit
Autodesk Navisworks Manage

Details of software availability and pricing are captured at: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/current-students/student-experience/it-support

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In this subject, students will explore typical workflows of applying BIM within organisations and on projects by multidisciplinary teams. Topics include:

• Analysis of process
• BIM Execution Planning
• Collaborative model-sharing
• BIM guidelines, standards and policies
• Interoperability and ‘Open BIM’
• BIM’s impact on project procurement
• BIM across the supply chain

As part of this analysis of the process, BIM Execution Planning and collaborative model-sharing will get explained. Also, students will learn about guidelines, standards and policies that help regulate information flow on BIM projects and they will explore how these apply in practice. As part of this topic, students will learn about the concepts behind software interoperability and information-sharing via ‘Open BIM’.

The subject will outline BIM’s impact on project procurement, both in terms of its contractual implications, as well as considering project delivery mechanisms associated with BIM. Under the ‘whole of life’ topic, students will learn to position BIM efforts by various contributors on projects across the entire supply chain, from clients, consultants, contractors, fabricators, and Facility/Asset Managers.

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This subject familiarises students with contemporary housing theory and practice through a research-led teaching approach. It introduces students to emerging housing issues within current research initiatives.

The subject will explore disciplinary contributions to addressing housing challenges, e.g. the role of design, planning, construction, finance, market and policy in housing supply and demand dynamics. Students will critically analyse and examine real-life housing practices and contemporary research questions and projects. Through engagement with housing researchers, students will work in groups to explore pressing housing issues and propose opportunities for industry practitioners or academic researchers. Within this subject, students will learn to bring a systematic and practical approach to tackling housing issues and identify emerging challenges.

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This subject is aimed at Masters-level students seeking to understand the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in architectural design and practice.

The subject will initially approach AI from a broader theoretical perspective to then delve deeply into hands-on practical AI solutions based on a number of case studies and examples from practice. The subject first addresses broader ethical issues associated with AI and its impact on the creative design process, to then introduce students to AI-applications in support of a range of activities undertaken in contemporary architectural practice. The subject is therefore divided into two parts:

The first part combines learning about the historical and cultural context of AI with epistemology about its responsible use in architectural design, design research and its application in support of project delivery. This is where the subject offers an innovative approach to students where they will learn to apply critical and reflective thinking in the way they engage in AI activities (such as prompt crafting). Students will learn to avoid the risks and pitfalls of unregulated AI-use whilst gaining an understanding about originality, authorship and Intellectual Property associated with AI. Here students will learn about the wider implications of AI-use and the way it is changing architectural practice more holistically in terms of staffing needs, changes to the traditional design process, internal communication, and the distribution of labour.

The second part of semester the subject will cover how architecture firms utilise AI to streamline their work-processes from bid-writing to project brief analysis, design development, project performance optimisation, project documentation, and contract administration. Students who undertake this subject will learn how to establish knowledge domains and associated knowledge systems (both practice internal and external). These systems empower AI users to access practice-specific co-pilots that draw on targeted design and delivery knowledge within a firm to then help propel their productivity.

Ultimately, the subject will teach students to critically reflect on, and master the opportunities, challenges and risks associated with the use of AI in architecture. It will allow them to assess the implementation of AI in architectural design and practice in a holistic way, by addressing a broad range of activities on a project and a practice level and by introducing them to a curated set of AI applications most relevant in architecture. In doing so, the subject will empower ABP graduates to become change agents and valuable contributors to Future Practice in a profession that is currently being disrupted by AI.

Key to the way learning for this subject gets assessed is to test the students’ ability of independent and critical reflection on AI. As much as AI is a central component of the subject, students are asked to provide highly situational responses to specific challenges (associated with individual design firms) both in their Essay, their Case Study Proposal, and their Final Presentation. These exercises are set up to offer assurance of learning and the minimisation of contract cheating. Students need to ‘defend’ findings from their Case Study Proposal orally as part of their Final presentation that contains a Q&A component.

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