UNSW Built Environment: Riding the Design Wave

Chris Fox’s first-hand experience of the risks associated with water sports led him to design a self-inflating life jacket, which has just won a coveted James Dyson award.

The ‘9th Life’ wetsuit jacket monitors oxygen levels and automatically inflates when the user is at risk of drowning, bringing them into a safe upright position and signally for help via GPS, explains Chris, 23, who graduated last year with a Bachelor of Industrial Design with first-class honours.

It was the drowning tragedy of fellow Queenscliff surf club member Saxon Bird, who was knocked unconscious in a surf-ski accident on the Gold Coast, that highlighted the need for such a design, Chris said.

“My personal experience is through kiteboarding kilometres off shore in windy conditions – I realised that I’m vulnerable if knocked unconscious with no help close by.”

“9th Life is unlike any other life jackets on the market today. It provides users with a high level of safety without restricting their mobility and fits in with the sporting style and beach culture,” Chris told The Sun Herald.
Chris’s innovation won the silver prize in the student awards, presented recently in Melbourne as part of the 2011 Australian Design Awards.

“I like the challenge of solving problems and looking for solutions that are different and that will make a difference to people’s lives. I also enjoy the hands on experience of designing, testing and building products.”

Chris was one of four finalists from UNSW’s Faculty of Built Environment vying for the Dyson Awards.

Dr Miles Park, Director of the Industrial Design Program, said, “This year’s entries continued a very strong run of student design work – the innovative thinking and attention to detail has been outstanding.”

It follows the outstanding success of Samuel Adeloju, who last year won the international James Dyson Award for his Longreach flotation device launcher

Other UNSW design alumni to be recognised in the Australian Design Awards were Craig Burke who won the Housing and Building category for his recently launched product, Klinch tool tether, which allows the user to carry and use multiple tools safely without the risk of being dropped from heights.

“The significance of Craig’s win is that it demonstrates how a design that he first worked on as a student can be successfully commercialised and be award-winning,” said Dr Park.

UNSW Built Environment: 2011 NSW Architecture Awards Ceremony

 

Earlier this month, the 2011 NSW Architecture Awards Ceremony was held at the Sydney Hilton. The Awards celebrate and honour NSW Architects who have worked on public and private projects across Australia which have demonstrated design excellence and innovation. From this talented group many represented UNSW Built Environment as staff and/or alumni.

A total of 41 awards, prizes and commendations across 15 categories were awarded from 191 submissions. Awarded projects are eligible for a national award to be assessed late this year.

This year the UNSW Built Environment community was strongly represented at the awards ceremony. Esteemed UNSW Built Environment Professor and alumnus Glenn Murcutt received the Award for Enduring Architecture for his iconic design of ‘Magney House’ Bingie Bingie on the NSW south coast which was completed in 1984.

The President’s Prize recognises an individual who has made a meaningful contribution to the industry. The 2011 honour was presented to UNSW Built Environment Visiting Professor and NSW Government Architect Peter Mould. NSW President Matthew Pullinger commented that “Peter Mould is a quiet achiever. In his role as Government Architect, he has been a tireless advocate for design excellence. He promotes design quality purely for the benefit of society and the profession.”

UNSW BE graduate Matt Chan (BArch 1996) from Scale Architecture was awarded the Emerging Architect Prize for his hard work and diligence within the industry.  Matt has been creating and working in a variety of facets within the industry developing thinking through teaching, research, discourse and speculative work, as well as collaborative practice.

This year’s top honour the Sulman Award was presented to Bligh Voller Nield (BVN) Architecture for their innovative design of the ‘Brain and Mind Research Institute (BRMI) – Youth Mental Health Building’. BVN received an additional triumph when they were awarded the John Verger Award in Interior Architecture for the ‘BVN Sydney Studio’. Visiting UNSW Professor James Grose was a project principle in both of these winning projects.

Other prizes which were won by members of the UNSW BE community include an Architecture Award in Residential Architecture – Housing to Chenchow Little Architects (BArch 2003/2004 respectively) for their ‘Skylight House’, and an Architecture Award in Commercial Architecture for the ‘ERA’ project to Stanisic Associates Architects, who includes current UNSW studio master Frank Stanisic.

Dean of UNSW Built Environment, Professor Alec Tzannes said “the awards night produced a fantastic result for the Faculty and the University, with recognition going to UNSW Built Environment professors, lecturers and alumnus. These successes help to reinforce this faculty’s position as a highly successful and innovative educational facility who continues to produce individuals who are highly sought after within our industry.”

Professor Tzannes is also Director of Tzannes Associates.  His firm received an Architecture Award in Public Architecture for the ‘Hillingdon Ascham School’ in addition to three Commendations in Residential Housing, Residential Multiple Housing and Commercial Architecture.

We would like to congratulate all winners at the 2011 NSW Architecture Awards.

Click here to view a full list of this years winners.

UNSW Built Environment: UNSW Industrial Design Student Joseph Louis Tan Named one of 50 Finalists for VIVID Awards

The VIVID – Vibrant Visions In Design Awards is a furniture design competition held in Australia, as part of the Furnitex exhibition event, running in tandem with the State of Design Festival in Melbourne. It features the 50 most inspiring and talented designers in Australia for the year with their unique product designs. There are four different categories to participate in: Commercial, Concept, Student and Green.

This year UNSW Industrial Design student Joseph Louis Tan has been named as one of the finalists in the student category with his design MEW Modular Coffee Table. When asked about his reasons for entering the competition Joseph said “ VIVID presented to designers and design students like me an opportunity to showcase and share our designs in Australia’s largest furniture and furnishing trade fair to over 17,000 trade visitors. I hope that by entering VIVID, not only will I be gauging myself against Australia’s talented designers, but also be given a chance to meet and network with them, exhibitors and trade visitors. I was always curious about the underlying process of participating in a huge exhibition like Furnitex and hope to use it as a platform to learn and experience valuable lessons that cannot be taught in university lectures and tutorials. I am also interested in the potential of possibly commercializing my design and VIVID will be an ideal stepping stone in that direction.”

Joseph’s design of the MEW Modular Coffee Table was inspired by traditional Japanese wood joinery and modern cutting technology capabilities. The design is a simple, versatile and interactive modular coffee table that can be rearranged to suit different individuals needs with its three smaller separate tables. Made from water-jet cut locally sourced Hoop Pine plywood, it uses various types of unique slotted connections that allow it to be easily assembled without fixtures or fittings and comes flat-packed for easier transport and storage.

We would like to congratulate Joseph on his achievement.

Click here to find out more about the VIVID Awards.

UNSW Built Environment: Professor Peter Singer to present “Building Values”

The next instalment of the 2011 UNSW Built Environment Utzon Lecture Series will be held on Wednesday the 13th of July in the Faculty of Law Lecture Theatre G04 at 7pm. The lecture is titled “Building Values” and will be given by world renowned philosopher Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics, University Centre for Human Values, Princeton University, USA.

Date: Wednesday 13 July, 2011

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

Lecture: 7.00pm – 8.00pm

Venue: Faculty of Law Lecture Theatre G04, UNSW Kensington Campus

Cost: Free

Download a UNSW campus map here.

This lecture will discuss the way in which our decisions about the kind of built environment we choose to create, and to live in, should take into account the interests of others, whether present or future, human or nonhuman.

Please note RSVP to this event is essential as places are limited and can be made through fbeevents@unsw.edu.au

UNSW Built Environment: Saturday In Design

Saturday in Design is an annual trade event for the design community, which began in Sydney in 2003, and now alternates each year between Sydney and Melbourne. This year will see Sydney showcased on 19 – 20 August 2011.

This event is an opportunity to see what Sydney has to offer in the field of furniture and design. It involves Australia’s premier designer furniture, finishes, fixtures and lighting showrooms opening their doors on a Saturday to allow architects, designers, students and design-savvy members of the public to enjoy these companies’ products in an ‘open house’ environment.

Saturday in Design has traditionally been an opportunity for local and international products from hundreds of reputable brands to be launched to thousands of members of the design community in one day.

To enable hassle-free travel in between showroom venues around the city, a number of complimentary shuttle buses run on pre-arranged routes for the entire day.

Click here to find out more about Saturday in Design.

UNSW Built Environment: Electrolux Design Lab 2011 Semi-Finalists Announced

Modern day living means that time constraints and changing lifestyles are altering consumers needs for household products. Innovative designs are required to cater to these changing needs. This year the Electrolux Design Lab has asked industrial design students and recent graduates worldwide to create home appliances that consider intelligent mobility; their designs need to show a combination of lateral thinking and ingenuity.

There were 1300 entrants and from that 25 semi-finalists have been chosen from all over the world. Three of the semi finalists are from Australia and of those three, two are Industrial Design students from UNSW!

We would like to congratulate Alfred Ching and Saba Zara on their creative and innovative designs. Alfred Ching’s design ‘Honeycomb Modular Induction Tiles’ (pictured above) looks at creating different sized and shaped movable heating surfaces which can be stacked for easy storage. Saba Zara’s design ‘Mywash’ is a communal washing machine with individual barrels which can be controlled via a smart phone.

The 25 semi-finalists will be whittled down to a final eight. The finalists will present their designs to a jury who will consider the entries based on intuitive design, innovation and consumer insight. The winning designer will receive €5,000 ($6,786AUD) and a 6 month paid internship at an Electrolux global design centre.

Click here to visit the website and checkout all the semi-finalists designs.

UNSW Built Environment: Scholars Program

A new initiative called the Built Environment Scholars Program has been created to acknowledge the faculty’s highest achieving students.

The Built Environment Undergraduate Scholars Program is comprised of a group of 20 students who are identified as the BE’s top performing students based solely on their annual academic performance.

For a one year period the BE Scholars will receive recognition from their peers, the faculty and industry professionals. The benefits given to these talented and driven students include a $500 scholarship and vouchers to the UNSW book shop, mentoring and support, special invitations to BE events, a certificate of achievement and more.

The 2010 BE Scholars were formally congratulated at a morning tea on 18 May where they were presented with a certificate of recognition, their $500 scholarship and a $100 voucher for the UNWS bookstore.

We would like to extend our congratulations to all the BE Scholars for 2010.

BIA – Catherine Allington, Tara Christina Gunasekera, Yoshimi Iwaya

B Arch Studies – Mathew O’Brian, Pouwel Frederik Wind, Yun Fu, Cissy Miao Kang, Sean Thien Tran

B Arch Comp – Chor Yan Lau

BCMP – Thomas David Bitmead, Shane Christopher Bleyer, Shane Saba Rouhani, Gary Yaghlejian

B Plan – Ellie-Mae Simpson, Rachelle Ariane Newman, Katherine Louise Tudehope

B Land Arch – Jason Kenneth Cuffe, James Hargrave

B Ind Des – Aryetta Pazpinis, Jason Jian Hao Khiang

UNSW Built Environment: The Good Design Q & A Session

The 2011 Australian International Design Awards are currently underway. For a rare opportunity to meet this year’s judges and view more than 200 innovative products vying for an Australian International Design Award, register to attend The Good Design Q & A session.

The session will be held at the UNSW Roundhouse on Thursday 19 May from 6 to 9pm. Tickets are $50 for corporate and $25 for students.

The evening will be hosted by Michele Elliot, Co Founder of What If! and Director of Inspirate. It will feature a thought provoking and stimulating Q & A session with select members of this year’s Judging Panel including design experts from Mercedes-Benz, Samsung, Designworks USA and more.

Click here to register for this event.

UNSW Built Environment: 2011 Melbourne Planning Summit

The 2011 Melbourne Planning Summit is now open for registration.

This two day event will be held on 18 and 19  May. Speakers will discuss and review the future direction of metropolitan planning in Melbourne in the wake of the recent state election.

This summit will provide analysis of future urban planning policy, the examination of how to achieve sustainable planning solutions for Melbourne’s growing population and the presentation of case studies of innovative and successful planning solutions.

For more information on this event please visit the 2011 Melbourne Planning Summit page.

UNSW Built Environment: 2010 – A Year of Achievements

2010 has been a year full of achievement for the Built Environment Department. As we reach the last weeks of the year, lets take a look at some of the highlights of the year:

• Student Awards and Prizes
  • (BID) Sam Adeloju: Australian International Design Awards – Silver
  • (BID) Sam Adeloju: James Dyson International Design Award – Winner
  • (BID) Alfred Boyadgis: Southern Cross Package Design Award – Commendation
  • (BID) Michael Brock: Cormack Innovation Awards – 3^rd prize
  • (BID) Eric Chau: Cormack Innovation Awards – 2^nd prize
  • (BID) Stanley Darmawan: Southern Cross Package Design Award – Commendation
  • (BID) Tristan Dimitroff: Cormack Innovation Awards – Highly commended
  • (BID) Xiao Ling Li: Southern Cross Package Design Award – Commendation
  • (BIA) Griffin Manan: Design Institute of Australia, Interior Design – First prize
  • (BID) Luane Rowe: The Coles Classic Race – Women’s title, winner
  • (BIA) Trent Schatzmann: Design Institute of Australia, Interior Design – Second prize
  • (BID) Joseph Luis Tan: Cormack Innovation Awards – First Prize
  • (BID) Danielle Taouk: Southern Cross Package Design Award – Silver
  • (BID) Shanshan Wang: Southern Cross Package Design Award – Commendation

• Staff Awards, Prizes and Recognition
  • Ken Maher: Australian Institute of Architects Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture
  • Ken Maher: NSW Architecture Award – Sulman Award for Public Architecture
  • Alec Tzannes: NSW Architecture Award — Wilkinson Award for Residential Architecture

And also in 2010:

A number of individuals affiliated with the Faculty as sessional staff have received awards and significant recognition for their work:

• Neil Durbach: Australian Institute of Architects Harry Seidler Award
• Neil Durbach: NSW Architecture Award – Sir Arthur Stephenson Award for Commercial Architecture
• Richard Francis-Jones: Australian Institute of Architects Award for Public Architecture
• Richard Francis-Jones: Australian Institute of Architects John Verge Award for Interior Architecture
• Richard Francis-Jones: Australian Institute of Architects Milo Dunphy Award for Sustainable Architecture
• Felicity Stewart: NSW Board of Architects Gold Medallion
• Philip Thalis and Sacha Coles: Australian Institute of Architecture – Walter Burley Griffin Award
• Peter Tonkin: International Architecture Award 2010

Congratulations to everyone on a fantastic year, and we wish you all a very happy and safe Christmas break.