Should architects have the final say?
Should engineers be calling all the shots?
Or is the real solution somewhere
in the middle?
What if we revisit the idea of the
master builder,
where engineer is architect,
and architect is engineer.
Engineers are great at technical
solutions,
but fixing traffic jams in cities
shouldn't mean sacrificing our
parks.
Building an earthquake resistant building,
shouldn't mean obstructing
views.
An architectural engineer has to
think like an architect but act like an
engineer,
they want to design spaces that
are right for the user, and for the
environment
so that's what we teach.
Well if you want a successful career in the
built environment industry today
you need to be multidisciplinary in your
approach,
and be able to take a wide view of things.
We have world-class people and
facilities at Swinburne,
and students have all this at their fingertips.
What makes this degree architectural are
the studios and the solution seeking
design processes which students will
apply to their engineering knowledge.
In first-year architectural engineering
students get essential grounding and
core engineering principles before
exploring engineering design and
architectural practice.
In their final year students merge everything they've learned
from both fields in a year-long major project.
At its heart architectural
engineering is about the intense search
for better and more holistic solutions.
We can't fix all the world's problems
but we can create emergency shelters
that are more humane and simpler to set up.
We can harness new technologies to
improve the process of designing itself.
We can use advanced materials, curve
concrete, and make beautiful buildings.
And at Swinburne our students have every
opportunity to work with industry,
to collaborate with researchers,
to innovate.
