Arts Design & Architecture

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 114
  • (2007) Segal, Arlene
    Conference Paper
    Adopting an empirical teaching/working experience against an urban design theory backdrop, this paper investigates ‘Design Thinking’ from a personal view. It explores the interplay between the different design disciplines and offers an interpretation on how the lines between them blur and how they may connect(ED) through teaching programs. A brief history of urban design introduces the subject, demonstrates the dynamic forces of the city, touches on the ongoing tussle for definition of Urban Design and ultimate recognition of it’s distinction from Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture as an independent profession. Once the lines are drawn, it is time to move on and acknowledge the indispensable value of crossing the lines & connecting design fields, a function that recognises; ‘…that designing is a multi-layered thing, to be learned slowly, layer by layer, but designers must combine all the layers at once, and understand their interaction…’ (Venturi2004) It is this layering that requires a learning experience and the input of a ‘thousand designers’ in order to create rich and meaningful built environments. With the advent of information technology the design process has been accelerated and the sharp lines of separation between the design disciplines are blurring. A powerful common visual tool has been created that encourages a cross communication of design ideas and broadens the scope for discovery, invention and connection. The educational imperative is determined through a program aimed at a holistic approach to urban design, available to students across the design disciplines in the Faculty of the Built Environment. The philosophy is based on communicating new visual insights, through an interactive participation program that draws on the valuable contribution of personal experiences of students on the course. The program, as a Seminar offers an appreciation of the complexity of the subject through understanding the parts; as in-situ investigations, readings, discussion, drawing, debate & presentation. The focus is the fascination of urban design interventions in the 21st Century and the propensity for rapid change as part of the dynamic process of cities. Intrinsic to the program are primary links to Planning, Architecture and Landscape Architecture in addition to diverse design associated activities. ‘…the new millennium will depend on the creation of bridges that unite conservation technology with an earthcentric philosophy and the capacity of designers to transform these integrated forces into a new visual language’ (Wines 2000: 236).

  • (2007) MacMahon, William
    Conference Paper
    Since the year 2000 Matthew Johnson, artist, and myself, Bill MacMahon, architect and lecturer in the Interior Architecture program at UNSW, have been collaborating upon the incorporation of artworks into buildings. Such multidisciplinary work is having a direct outcome upon my architectural design practice and my work in design studio with Interior Architecture students. As interior architects often work in collaborative teams involving the development of their ideas designs within the work of architects so the work of Matthew and myself might act as a model for Interior Architecture practice. Lessons learnt in the negotiations of changes to architect’s designs can be taught to students of Interior Architecture. It offers lessons in the contextualization of design.

  • (2007) Alic, Dijana
    Conference Paper
    This paper discusses the relevance of historical studies to the ways that architects and architecture students approach the issue of interpretation and representation of "Other". It examines how an architect's "placement" informs the construction and reproduction of architectural knowledge. Adopting a flexible historical framework the paper explores three selected cases of cultural encounters between architects and the historic precinct of Baščaršija, the Ottoman established core of the city of Sarajevo. With the objective of gaining a historically grounded awareness of the complexities of cultural identities the paper considers: (1) The design studio teachings of the well-known Slovenian architect and academic Jože Plečnik who advocated the study of historic architecture as an essential part of an architect's education. (2) The attempts by Plečnik's student and colleague Dušan Grabrijan to open up the terms of engagement with history and allow for a more fluent interpretation of what constituted an understanding of place and its history by introducing the ideas of space, volume and culture. (3) The positions taken by the two architects are finally considered in their relationship to the understanding of the cultural and historical context of Baščaršija presented by the third and fourth year architecture students at UNSW, Sydney Australia in their design of the Town Hall building in Sarajevo. The students' physical and cultural distance from the specifics of the site led to the simultaneous promotion and contestation of the relevance of the historic studies and context analysis.

  • (2007) Ward, Stephen
    Conference Paper
    Industrial designers use various types of drawings, computer illustrations and physical models to represent the things they are designing. These representations are used not only to communicate a design to others but also for the designer to evaluate and stimulate their own thinking. A design process is usually facilitated by movement between different types of representations to explore different aspects of the design. Sometimes, however, student industrial designers appear to become stuck in their design process, favouring one type of design representation and not using another that may have been more informative at the time. In particular, we have noticed students making inadequate use of scale drawings to check the size and arrangement of the elements of a design. This paper presents two examples of teaching and learning scale drawing that are intended to emphasise its role particularly within the early, exploratory stages of a design process. In the first example students were required to measure the external shape of an existing product and then make a 3D model that represents the shape through a sequence of crosssections. A scale drawing of the surface contours of the original object was a necessary step in this process. In the second example students used 2D CAD to make a technical drawing of an object with some moving parts. The drawings were then developed into a sequence to make a “flip book” animation of the movement. In both cases the intention was to create a design project in which measurement and scale drawing were a necessary step towards achieving a successful outcome. The principles underlying the development of these learning experiences are discussed in this paper.

  • (2007) Murray, Peter
    Conference Paper
    The practice of architecture is a complex undertaking drawing on knowledge of and skills in history, theory, environment, human behaviour, services, structure, materials, construction, communications, law, management and more. Professional accreditation requires that all architecture programs recognize and address this diversity of topics within their curricula although the order, emphasis and content detail may vary widely between programs. However this material is dealt with, it is in the design studio that, ideally, all will be manifest in the work students present. Assuming a sound knowledge and understanding of architectural technologies are essential to the creation of successful architecture it is suggested that these are seldom sufficiently acknowledged in the design studio. Based on survey data from University of New South Wales (UNSW) architecture graduands, the first part of the paper reviews factors perceive by students to be significant to their performance in the design studio. In particular it draws attention to the role of the tutor and a perceived lack of recognition given to architectural technologies. In the context of the survey findings, the second part of the paper reflects on two specialist elective technology/design courses available to senior students. The projects are specifically designed to achieve a greater recognition of structural and construction issues in both the design outcome and course assessment.

  • (2007) Serle, Sue; Mate, Kirsty
    Conference Paper
    The Faculty was invited to participate in ‘Dining Design’, an international exhibition which explored ideas of dining culture in different international cities and proposed future possibilities. This paper looks at an independent learning, interdisciplinary approach to teaching, using a real project with an interface between education, industry and design practice.

  • (2007) Ramirez, Mariano Jr
    Conference Paper
    This paper presents examples of projects in a third-year Industrial Design studio course which expose students to a deeper understanding of sustainable design principles, by considering products and systems that promote community cohesiveness, enable user participation, help overcome barriers to sustainable behaviors, reduce lifecycle impacts, and so on. These studio activities foster, among others, a respect for ethical practice and social responsibility, a graduate attribute that most Australian universities aim to desirably develop through students’ learning encounters. The experiences gained from these sorts of projects show that students appreciate the challenging nature of briefs with aspects of sustainability, and their reflections point toward a growing desire to be more responsible future practitioners in the industrial design community.

  • (2007) Ramirez, Mariano Jr
    Conference Paper
    This paper presents the results of student workshops on “Designing Sustainable Futures” conducted in tertiary design institutions in Ahmadābād, Běijīng, Hong Kong and Manila. The diversity of the culturally-referenced solutions – which can be categorized as being either “product oriented”, “use-oriented” or “result-oriented” – is interesting. Students often get pleasantly surprised that sustainable and less material-intensive product service systems exist in their cultures, and which could be used as drivers and inspiration for culturally-appropriate innovation and sustainable solution development.

  • (2007) Ramirez, Mariano Jr
    Conference Paper
    Industrial design course leaders from 221 schools around the world responded to an online survey on sustainability integration within their undergraduate degree programs. The survey showed that the majority of the programs had either compulsory or elective subjects on sustainable design. Prescribing materials with lower environmental impacts, design using recycled or reused materials, design for disassembly and recyclability, as well as life cycle analysis, were the most commonly used approaches for teaching and learning sustainable product development. Respondents reported a very broad range of sustainable design activities initiated within their programs, either as final-year projects or embedded within studio courses.

  • (2005) Razzaghi, Mohammad; Ramirez, Mariano Jr
    Conference Paper
    This paper proposes a framework for examining the influence of the industrial designers’ own culture on their works of design which, in our belief, is a prerequisite to later understanding the relationships between cultures, designers, users and products. An extensive literature search has revealed that in general such non-physical qualities of products as pleasurability, experience and emotion in design, and soul of product and culture are often overlooked or totally ignored in favor of the physical aspects of designing a product like usability, ergonomics and functionality. The authors of this paper deem that culture is one of the most important aspects of our everyday lives and argue that the designers’ own cultural values play a primary role in influencing the design of the product. As far as can be determined, the examination of the impact of the designer’s own cultural dimensions of values over different aspects of product design has not yet been investigated in industrial design research. This paper also submits that the integration of culture into the design process can result in the evolution of the process as well as in tangible benefits to product users.