Students of the School of Built Environment at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) showcased their design projects as part of Dezeen School Shows. This school show was organised as a partnership between Dezeen and UNSW, and featured several landscape and design projects by students of the Landscape Architecture, Industrial Design and Computational Design courses.
Here are some of the highlights from the school show:
Routes of Regeneration, Onebygamba/Carrington Newcastle Australia by Latham Brook
Landscape Architecture student Latham Brook offers a remediation solution for coal mines using a combination of compost, hemp and oysters.
“Compost and hemp can phyto-remediate mining sites, whilst oysters provide a filtration system for toxins entering the harbour from the former steelworks,” he explains.
“Lime derived from oysters and hemp can be converted into hempcrete, a carbon negative product. What if areas at risk of rising sea levels could relocate with this regenerative building material?”
“Routes of Regeneration offers a phasing strategy to integrate regenerative industries for the remedial transition away from coal extraction in the Hunter Valley.”
Course: Bachelor of Landscape Architecture
Tutors: Patrick Franklyn, Ben Allen and Mike Harris
Bardwell Creek, Bardwell Valley Parklands, Sydney by Iris Wang
Iris Wang’s project site, Bardwell Creek is located 14km from the Sydney CBD adjacent to Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport terminal, and is the largest public green space in the Bexley region, complete with undulating topography, difficult wayfinding routes and high levels of weed invasion within the creek system.
“Through the redesign of the ecological, hydrological, circulation and recreation systems of the Bardwell Creek, this project seeks to make the site highly walkable and environmentally sustainable, as well as provide the opportunity for the local community to gather and express their culture and identity,” she explains.
Course: Master of Landscape Architecture
Tutors: Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard and Marc Deuschle
HeartHub fully implantable ventricular assist device by Dorcas Chu
Industrial Design student Dorcas Chu designed a wearable medical device called HeartHub to “improve clinical outcomes and user experiences of patients with end-stage heart failure.”
A fully implantable LVAD (left-ventricular-assist-device) featuring a long-distance wireless charging system, HeartHub uses high-capacity rechargeable graphene batteries that enable a compact and lightweight design without compromising battery life.
“HeartHub pairs with a cloud-based app via Bluetooth, facilitating access to crucial information such as pump statistics and emergency signals,” she explains.
“In the event of pump failure, the controller will vibrate, sound an alarm, display flashing LED lights, and call emergency services. The patient’s pump information is then transmitted to specialists for immediate analysis.”
Course: Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours)
Tutors: Mariano Ramirez, Gonzalo Portas and Oya Demirbilek
Optix smart cycling helmet by Keith Perry
Also an Industrial Design student, Keith Perry designed the Optix smart cycling helmet to address the high casualty rates of what he calls “avoidable vehicle related accidents.”
“Designed for cyclists who constantly battle dangerous riding conditions, the Optix smart helmet forewarns of dangers around bike riders while simultaneously alerting other road users to their presence,” he explains.
“Connected to the C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything) platform, Optix notifies its wearer of vehicles pulling out of driveways, parked cars about to open doors, and cars approaching from behind. An augmented reality (AR) lens displays maps, weather reports, and imminent hazards. Its compression zone mesh decelerates the skull slower than conventional helmets, potentially saving riders from serious head trauma.”
Course: Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours)
Tutors: Gonzalo Portas and Oya Demirbilek
Soft robotics acoustic panel by Anthony Franco
Computational Design student Anthony Franco designed the soft robotics acoustic panel to address the shortcomings of existing acoustic panels in modern offices.
“Open floor plans and activity-based work in offices generate different acoustic profiles due to various activities such as in office conversations, online meetings, kitchen use, etc. Yet most acoustic panels used in offices cater only for one fixed acoustic profile,” he observes.
Franco’s design allows control of each of the acoustic patterns pneumatically.
“The resulting design can be seen as a single element in a group of soft robotics acoustic panels that can direct themselves towards the sound source via the robotic arm and alter its acoustic pattern depending on the activity.”
Course: Bachelor of Computational Design
Tutor: Daniel Yu
Images: Courtesy Dezeen and University of New South Wales
Source: Dezeen