We’ve moved!

Hi all, just a quick note to let you know the BE blog has moved and now forms part of our new website http://www.be.unsw.edu.au/. Even though we’ve changed location we still welcome your contributions. So, if you have anything you’d like us to blog about please let us know! Visit:http://www.be.unsw.edu.au/blogs

UNSW Built Environment: Utzon Lecture “Sustainable use of Public Space: Cities for Walking, Cycling and Transit” now on UNSWTV

The third instalment of the 2011 Utzon Lecture Series “Sustainable use of Public Space: Cities for Walking, Cycling and Transit” by Lars Gemzøe, Associate Partner, Architect MAA, Gehl Architects, Copenhagen, Denmark is now available for viewing on UNSWTV.

The lecture can be viewed by clicking the icon below.

UNSW Built Environment: Utzon Lecture Series ‘Vertical Density’

The next instalment of the 2011 UNSW Built Environment Utzon Lecture Series is being held tomorrow (Wednesday) night. The lecture is titled “Vertical Density” and will be given by Carol Willis, Adjunct Associate Professor of Urban Studies at Columbia University and Director, The Skyscraper Museum, New York City.

Date: Wednesday 15 June, 2011

Refreshments: 6.15pm – 6.45pm Red Centre, West Wing, Gallery

Lecture: 7.00pm – 8.00pm

Venue: Keith Burrows Lecture Theatre, UNSW Kensington Campus

Cost: Free

Download a UNSW campus map here.

The lecture will explore the different ways to conceptualize urban density: in the ground plane and in the skyline. The world’s densest major cities are Hong Kong, Mumbai, and Dhaka which are wildly disparate models of urban development in the vertical and horizontal dimensions. New York’s density concentrates in Manhattan, where residents number 71,000 per square mile. Using the historical model of New York City and its high-rise zoning regulation, the talk will examine how development pressures, public policy, and urban cultures shape buildings and cities. Further, the talk will consider the correlations of density with affluence–as in Manhattan and Hong Kong–and with poverty. Preferring the density of affluence, the talk asks: Is vertical density a product of rampant capitalist markets, of particular cultures, or can it be planned? Is it a positive goal for cities old and new?

Please register for the event between 6.15 and 6.45 tomorrow night.

 

UNSW Built Environment: Zhaojia (Sky) Ning Wins an iPad

Congratulations Sky Ning!

Sky is now the lucky owner of an iPad 2, simply because he completed his Course Teaching Evaluation and Improvement (CATEI) survey last semester.

The Faculty recognises that its students and their opinions are a significant contributor to our success.  CATEI is important as it provides our teaching staff with valuable feedback on courses and teaching, which in turn, helps us to continuously improve our programs.

The survey is currently open for Semester 1 2011 and another iPad 2 will be given away to one lucky student drawn at random from those who complete the survey.

UNSW Built Environment: Alumni’s Design Featured on ‘New Inventors’

UNSW Built Environment alumnus Justine Smith (Bachelor of Industrial Design 2009) was recently featured on the ABC program ‘New Inventors’ with her Spinovo garment.

Spinovo is designed to offer a holistic approach to the treatment of back pain. It provides therapeutic heating, cooling and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as well as preventing back pain through biofeedback.  Spinovo provides therapy through removable packs which clip into the garment and provide feedback through a remote control interface.

Justine was also a finalist in the 2010 James Dyson Award with her Spinovo garment.

Click the below link and choose Episode Twelve to view the New Inventors program and see Justine’s design.

ABC New Inventors Program

UNSW Built Environment: CAPITheticAL – A Design Ideas Compertition for a Hypothetical Australian Capital City

Do you have a passion for culture, cities and urban planning?

To celebrate the Centenary of Canberra, the design ideas competition CAPITheticAL asks the world’s best designers and artists to imagine how a national capital ‘might’ look if it were created today.  This exciting competition is designed to provoke new thinking about the design, history and future of capital cities, both in Australia and internationally.

Click here for further information or to register.

UNSW Built Environment: Clover Moore MP, Lord Mayor City of Sydney presents Utzon Lecture “Sydney 2030 Vision”

The second installment of the UNSW Built Environment Utzon Lecture Series is being held tomorrow night. The lecture, titled “Sydney 2030 Vision” will be given by Clover Moore MP, Lord Mayor City of Sydney.

Date: Wednesday 6^th April, 2011

Refreshments: 6.15pm – 6.45pm, Foyer area, AGSM Building, UNSW Kensington campus

Lecture: 7.00pm – 8.00pm

Venue: John B Reid Theatre, AGSM Building

Cost: Free

Download a UNSW campus map here.

Clover Moore MP has been an Independent Member of the New South Wales Parliament since 1988 and Lord Mayor of Sydney since 2004. The first popularly elected female Lord Mayor of Sydney, she was re-elected in 2008 with an increased majority.

Throughout her public life, Clover Moore has pursued appropriate sustainable development, better residential and urban amenity, increased open space, improved public transport, action to protect our environment and address climate change, open and accountable government and social justice.

As Lord Mayor she leads Sydney’s City Council to implement Sustainable Sydney 2030, the City’s strategic plan to secure Sydney’s future as a competitive global city and one of the world’s leading green liveable cities.

Please RSVP for this event today to fbeevents@unsw.edu.au

UNSW Built Environment: Associate Professor Madeline Lester appointed Member of the Order of Australia

UNSW Built Environment would like to congratulate Associate Professor Madeline Lester, who has recieved a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to the profession of interior design as a practitioner and educator. Lester joined UNSW Built Environment in 2000 to take up the position of Acting Head of Program, Interior Architecture.  She has over 28 years of professional experience in Interior Design as well as previous educational experience.

Associate Professor Lester now teaches casually at UNSW.

Wentworth Courier: Australia Day Honours Madeline Lester

UNSW Built Evironment: Nissan Australia Industrial Design Scholarship

Nissan has recently donated a $5000 annual scholarship to be awarded to a UNSW Bachelor of Industrial Design student.  

The UNSW Foundation spoke to Jeffrey Fisher, Head of Corporate Communications at Nissan in a recent interview on why Nissan chose to provide financial support to the UNSW Built Environment –

Jeffrey Fisher, Head of Corporate Communications at Nissan

 Article Source: Giving to University of New South Wales, 2008-2010

Writers: Anabel Dean and Theodora Thunder

Nissan’s involvement in the education sector has helped to secure the future for tomorrow’s young designers by providing financial support through The Nissan Australia Industrial Design Scholarship at UNSW.

The scholarship (valued at $5000 annually) is intended to encourage exceptional students to undertake undergraduate coursework in a Bachelor of Industrial Design at the Faculty of the Built Environment.

“Built Environment focuses on the design, construction and management of a valued and sustainable world,” explains Professor Alec Tzannes Dean, Faculty of the Built Environment. “Partnerships with industry are critical for the Faculty’s continued success in the increasingly important role of our graduates in industrial design and the advancement of the built environment professions.”

Nissan’s investment in the next generation of industrial designers in integral to its plan for global growth and the company makes no bones about its objective to entice the most capable design students to a career in the automotive industry.

“Good design is one of our pillars and it’s an area of expertise for which we are world-renowned,” clarifies Jeffrey Fisher, head of Corporate Communications at Nissan. “It’s an important part of how we differentiate ourselves from our competitors.”

Nissan identified three universities – UNSW, Monash and Queensland – in its quest to identify promising design students with an orientation towards the motor industry. “Ultimately, we liked the look of the Faculty of the Built Environment at UNSW and we knew that our largesse would be well managed.”

The inaugural winner of Nissan’s scholarship in 2008, Hollie Baigent, has “proved to be a very worthy recipient”. Although Hollie’s future is not yet determined, automotive design is an attractive prospect for budding design students, many of whom end up working for major automotive corporations in key areas. There is still the frontier of electric vehicle development to be fully explored.

Nissan is considering other ways to express its partnership with UNSW. Jeffrey hopes that it may be possible in the future, to arrange study time at one of its eight international design studios for hands-on practical experience in a global setting.

A good corporate citizen recognises the need to be socially responsible and Professor Tzannes appreciates Nissan’s commitment to the faculty’s Industrial Design students and future alumni.

Please visit our website for more information on scholarships and awards offered by the Built Environment.

UNSW Built Environment: Dr Imriyas Kamardeen profiled in UNIKEN

Dr Imriyas Kamardeen, Senior Lecturer of the BE Construction Management program was recently profiled in the November/December edition of UNIKEN.

If you are interested in reading this article, please click the link or the image below. Dr Kamardeen’s profile is located on the final page.

 

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/uniken/2010/uniken_novdec_2010.pdf