Indigenising First Year Design Studio

In 2021 the School of Architecture and Built Environment at the University of Newcastle embarked on an ambitious recruitment drive to increase the representation of First Nations Academics in its teaching staff. The aim was to embed Country led practice across the disciplines of Architecture and Construction Management led by First Nations people.

This presentation examines Design Studios 1 & 2 of the first year Bachelor of Design (Architecture) degree. These two core subjects have been redesigned to not only include, but be focused on designing on, with and for Country. We look at the approach taken to embed Country from two different perspectives; the first being led by Awabakal course co-ordinator Shellie Smith, and the other by non-indigenous course co-ordinator Sam Spurr.

Content, structure and pedagogical approaches are examined, compared and evaluated with the outcomes evident in the quality of student work produced and the student feedback and results of our course evaluation surveys.