Explore, imagine and create cities, cultures and communities
UWA’s School of Design is a collaboration of creative thinkers and makers that includes landscape architects, urban designers, experimental artists, historians and architects. We inspire our students and graduates to be boundary-breakers, navigating knowledge, cultures, habitats and landscapes to the benefit of our communities and environments.
Our School is future-focused and comprehensively prepares graduates for a successful entry into their chosen career of design.
From a unique place, we imagine cities, cultures and communities.
Explore, experiment and create with us.
Welcome from the Dean and Head of School Kate Hislop
Clever and creative design is needed now more than ever. At a time when environments are increasingly coming under threat, we have exciting strategic and instrumental opportunities to make a positive impact on the ways that we understand, shape and inhabit our built and natural landscapes. Preservation and enhancement of public and private realms; considered responses to global and local peoples and cultures; resourceful use of systems and materials; and smart application of technologies are at the forefront of our teaching and research efforts at the School of Design.
Western Australia is a unique place in which to learn and practice within the fields of art and design, and at UWA we distinctively bring these disciplines together. We offer dedicated studio spaces, leading workshop facilities, on-site technical expertise and a range of local and international study destinations. Here, students obtain the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in their chosen careers, guided by dedicated staff internationally renowned as scholars and practitioners. Industry partners and professionals support the School in its mission to educate the next generation of architects, artists, art historians, landscape architects and urban designers. The future of work may be changing, but for these careers there will always be a place.
Look closely, think boldly, work skilfully, act generously. Join our vibrant community and make your future here.
Disciplines and Courses
We deliver courses and research in the following areas
Architecture
Fine Arts
Landscape Architecture
Urban Design
History of Art
Building Information Modelling
Research
LAWN Project
The LAWN Project explores sustainable solutions for lawns in Perth in times of drying climate.
Bio-based Materials Design Lab
The BBMLab is a multicultural and interdisciplinary community that conducts cutting-edge research, develops solutions and fosters innovation
Visualising Batavia Silverware
Imaging and analysing VOC's previous metal trade objects for Mughal India
News
MORQ wins at VL50 Awards
MORQ wins at VL50 Awards
MORQ architecture, established by UWA School of Design Associate Professors Andrea Quagliola and Emiliano Roia together with Matteo Monteduro are the winners of VL50’s Architect on the Ascent, presented by Poltrona Frau at the recent Vogue Living VL50 awards.
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From the Vogue Living:
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"MORQ’s ancient futurism, for want of a better term, anchors deep in research conducted by two of its practice co-directors who are both associate professors in architecture at the University of Western Australia. And it serially awards with an entry in Europe’s AD100—Conde Nast’s whittle down of world’s best design talent to a mere 100."
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Read more about MORQ’s place in the VL50 list of 2025 in Vogue Australia.
How Lyndsay is bringing her passion for Architecture back home to Albany
How Lyndsay is bringing her passion for Architecture back home to Albany
Hear from Lyndsay, UWA Bachelor of Environmental Design and Master of Architecture graduate, about her experience studying at the School of Design and her life as a graduate architect.
Lucina Tassone awarded at The Lester Prize
Lucina Tassone awarded at The Lester Prize
Congratulations to UWA School of Design Fine Arts student Lucinda Tassone on being awarded the $20,000 Minderoo Foundation Spirit Prize at the Lester Prize for her painting 'I love fast food'.
Image credit: Lucinda Tassone, I love fast food, 2024. Oil on Masonite, 122 x 91 cm
Maria Ignatieva awarded the IFLA President's Award 2024
Maria Ignatieva awarded the IFLA President's Award 2024
Congratulations to UWA Professor in Landscape Architecture Maria Ignatieva on receiving the 2024 IFLA President’s Award!
The IFLA President’s Award recognises the contribution of an individual or organisation for the advancement of the profession of landscape architecture through their participation in IFLA and have made a fundamental difference to the global profession of landscape architecture. This award celebrates excellence and acknowledges the profound difference that a dedicated individual can make in our global community.
Dr Ignatieva’s work has spanned continents, bridging gaps and fostering collaboration in the pursuit of sustainable and biodiverse urban landscapes. Her tireless efforts in research, education, and practice have left an undeniable mark on the profession.
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Read more here
Officer Woods wins at National Architecture Awards 2024
Officer Woods wins at National Architecture Awards 2024
Congratulations to Senior Lecturer Jennie Officer and the team at Officer Woods on their recent awards!
Spinifex Hill Project Space by Officer Woods has won a National Award for Public Architecture and the National COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture in the 2024 National Architecture Awards.
Hope Street Housing by Officer Woods Architects and MDC Architects received a National Commendation for Urban Design in the 2024 National Architecture Awards.
In addition, Officer Woods’ ‘Unfinished Finished’ terrace design has been announced as one of the winners for the NSW Government’s Pattern Book Design Competition, an international competition seeking to accelerate the delivery of new low to mid rise housing in NSW. The competition sought a design for terrace houses both specific to a nominated site and with the ability to develop into patterns for scalable, replicable application over a variety of sites, orientations and topographies
Image: Spinifex Hill Project Space | Traditional Owners: The Kariyarra People | Architects: Officer Woods | Builder: Cooper and Oxley | Photographer: Robert Frith
Hatched 2024
Hatched 2024
We are very proud to announce that UWA School of Design Fine Arts Honours graduate Esther Forrest has been selected as one of 22 artists from 21 art schools across Australia for this year’s ‘Hatched’ exhibition at PICA. Now in its 33rd year, Hatched continues to provide an essential platform for early-career artists, presenting their works to a national audience. The exhibition runs from 3 August-13 October.
Events and community engagement
UWA Open Day 2025
Join us on campus on Sunday 30 March from 10am to 3pm and discover the moments that will shape your future. Explore our campus and talk to our students, academics and graduates to find out more about what your life could be like studying at UWA.
Design@Home Webinar
Wednesday 21 May, 5-6pm
Online
Are you an aspiring architect and landscape architect from regional WA looking to start your design degree?
Join us for an online info session to hear about how we our Design@Home can help you start your journey from the comfort of home.
Urban Biodiversity and Design (URBIO) in Australasia Conference
31 July 2025 - 2 August 2025
University of Western Australia
Urban biodiversity and designing biodiversity-friendly environments are acute themes for research and teaching globally. This conference will introduce URBIO ideas and provide an opportunity for stronger integration into international research and teaching activities.
UWA School of Design Catalogues
Our alumni
Emilia Galatis
Curator, writer, consultant and facilitator
Emilia Galatis
Curator, writer, consultant and facilitator
Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
As a Fine Arts (Honours) graduate, Emilia has worked freelance for over 10 years across urban and remote areas seeking to strengthen and support community-led commercial artistic practice for artists and their arts organisations. She has delivered projects and major exhibitions for Indigenous-owned art centres and national institutions and held roles as creative director of Revealed for Fremantle Arts Centre in 2016 and 2017; co-curator and community liaison for Desert River Sea: Portraits of the Kimberley for the Art Gallery of Western Australia; and arts and business manager of Warakurna Artists the remote Ngaanyatjarra lands. Her current clients include AGWA, AACHWA and Martumili Artists.As a current Churchill fellow, she has been developing international business opportunities and advocating for Indigenous contemporary arts inclusion in broader contemporary dialogues.
Looking back on her studies at UWA, Emilia says she had no idea how her life was going to pan out at the time.
“I was able to choose electives that enriched my intellectual capacity and extend my critical thinking. After getting to third year psychology, I decided that I didn’t want to be a psychologist. I did extra units to finish my degree with two different majors in Archaeology and Fine Arts theory. I then completed an honours dissertation in Fine Arts. After psychology and my deep interest in human behaviour, these two majors, on reflection, are oddly in line with that interest. I enjoyed the study of the output of humanity rather than the flesh itself. Darren Jorgensen and Clarissa Ball at Fine Arts and Jane Balme and Alistair Patterson at Archaeology were formative in my future career pathways and knowledge.”
Photograph by Casey Ayres
Abel Feleke
Norman Foster Foundation Scholar
Abel Feleke
Norman Foster Foundation Scholar, Madrid
Bachelor of Environmental Design and Master of Architecture
Abel is an Ethiopian-Australian designer working across architecture and urbanism with a strong interest in city futures. In investigating innovation through design he has taught and worked alongside communities across the globe. The sole recipient of the 10th Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Norman Foster Travelling Award, he is a Norman Foster Foundation Scholar and contributing writer to ArchitectureAU. He has worked in the international studios of Kengo Kuma & Associates (Tokyo), Foster + Partners (London) and the Norman Foster Foundation (Madrid), collaborated alongside the Australian Urban Design Research Centre (Perth), and taught at the UWA School of Design.“The part of the course that I enjoyed the most was getting to form a close network of friends and mentors. Being able to learn in the classroom is important, but what I found of great value was the opportunity to come across a lot of curious minds with differing perspectives. It's really this access to a wealth of experience coupled with the opportunity to debate opinions that I found most beneficial to my personal growth.”
Christina Chau
University lecturer
Christina Chau
University lecturer, Perth
PhD (History of Art and Communication Studies)
Since completing her PhD, Christina has been working as a lecturer, first at UWA and now at Curtin University. She has published a book titled Movement, Time, Technology and Art and presented on ABC TV about contemporary art in Australia. Christina has also published academic articles on kinetic sculpture, contemporary art theory, post-internet aesthetics, robots, contemporaneity, Henri Bergson, and Gilles Deleuze.“What sticks with me the most are memories of the conversations that emerged during and after the tutorials. Through talking about the readings in the tutorials, I learned a lot about how to be a decent human being, but also how to engage with ideas that I found uncomfortable or challenging. I learned how to think, what to think about, and how to think through problems. I also learned how to have conversations with people that thought differently to me, without having a fight about it,” she says.
“I love that my career requires me to commit a lot of deep thinking time to my areas of expertise. I also love that academia is a lot more collaborative and social than I first thought. Being able to talk through ideas, theory, and ethics with colleagues and students is immensely nourishing.”
Photograph by Bo Wong
Jenny Watson
Associate at ARM Architecture
Jenny Watson
Associate at ARM Architecture, Melbourne
Bachelor of Environmental Design and Master of Architecture
Jenny is now a Melbourne-based Associate at ARM Architecture. She has worked on a wide range of large projects all over Australia including RAC Arena, Elizabeth Quay, Melbourne’s Southbank Theatre and, currently, the Gold Coast’s HOTA Gallery and Geelong Arts Centre. She has a keen interest in computer-aided 3D design, and is skilled at virtual 3D modelling for designing buildings and for communicating them to clients and the public.The things she enjoyed most about studying at UWA were “The complex, varied, often contradictory passions of each of the staff, which showed me how many different ways there are to approach architecture and be an architect. Also, of course, the lifelong friends I made during long hours in the studio, the computer lab and the library.”
Joe Bean
Co-founder of ‘Brave and Curious’
Joe Bean
Co-founder of ‘Brave and Curious’, WA
Bachelor of Design and Master of Architecture
Throughout his studies, Joe became increasingly interested in how design relates to ecological and social contexts and finished his master’s by travelling to the Philippines to intern with Habitat for Humanity Asia-Pacific and writing a dissertation on climate-induced displacement.After graduating he worked for residential architecture practice David Weir Architects, then lived in remote north-western Zambia for a few months working with Orkidstudio (now Build X and BuildHer), working on design and project managing construction of doctors’ and nurses’ housing. There he learnt a lot about the potential of a construction process to promote change, equality and wellbeing in a community, as well as the opportunities, constraints and nuances in getting humanitarian projects off the ground.
He’s now relocated to the south west and runs a small business called ‘Brave and Curious’ with his friend and mentor Greg Grabasch, working across urban design, landscape architecture and architecture.
“My UWA degree provided me with a broad set of skills which I have been able to apply to a wide range of projects. I have worked across a huge range of scales already – from large trail mapping projects through to detailing bathrooms. I am grateful that by offering a wide range of electives, my course facilitated this jack of all trades (master of none at this stage!) approach. The course also encouraged me to form a world view and design approach that I have been able to test and bounce off collaborators, clients and the local seals, with positive results so far.”
Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard
Landscape architect and lecturer
Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard
Landscape architect and lecturer, Sydney
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (Hons)
Sara is a Registered Landscape Architect (AILA), PhD candidate (UWA) and Lecturer in Landscape Architecture at UNSW. She was awarded the Jeppe Aagaard Andersen scholarship to travel in Denmark in 2006, where she worked on projects including the London Olympics and the Aalborg Music Hall. She has held several leadership positions with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) and has recently been a juror (2019) and co-host (2020) of Channel 10’s Australia By Design – Landscape Series alongside Jamie Durie.“I knew Landscape Architecture was the right degree for me – it’s the perfect balance between the arts (design), science (natural systems) and human culture (geography/anthropology). Landscape Architecture is a diverse and growing profession which is gaining increased profile within Australia and abroad. The profession is well equipped to deal with some of the biggest challenges this century including climate change, rapid urbanisation, preventative health measures, access to open space, species diversity as well as political activism.”
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Contact the School of Design
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