Dear staff,

Fabricate is the official student newsletter at the Melbourne School of Design. You are receiving this email as a current student or staff member of the Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning. The cover image is of the Plan Voisin which was a proposal for the redevelopment of the centre of Paris by the father of modern architecture, Le Corbusier. In the early 1920s, Paris experienced an urban housing crisis due to the growing number of slums in and around the city. The proposal by Le Corbusiers consisted of 18 cruciform shaped skyscrapers which would accomidate up to 3 million people. This would free up the ground floor level for roads and highways and (even an aircraft runway), glorifying the use of the automobile. If implemented this plan would have resulted in the demolition of most of central Paris north of the Seine.

Dates: Wednesday 27 February - Thursday 28 February
Locations: Parkville campus & Williamstown

One Hundred and Twenty commencing Local and International students attended the two day 2013 Semester 1 MSD Pre-Semester Program.

The first day consisted of students undertaking group activities and attending workshops, giving them the opportunity to meet and mix with new students and staff members as well as familiarize themselves with the Faculty and University prior to the commencement of Semester One.

Click on the button below to read about the second day and view more photos from the program

Date: Tuesday 23 April
Time: 12.30 – 1.30pm
Venue: Baldwin Spencer Theatre, Baldwin Spencer Building

Thinking of going on exchange this year? Looking for some guidance with your exchange study plan?

We will be holding a short information session to assist students currently preparing their exchange application for the upcoming deadline. The last few minutes of the presentation will be dedicated to answering questions you may have about exchange.

Click on the button below to register

Date: Applications close Monday 24 June
Prizes: a total of 4000€

Deep and controversial economical transformations have been hitting Europe. On one side they show a highly destructive potential; on the other side they are the key to undiscovered scenarios once unimaginable. Beneath the remains of ancient systems often lays the opportunity to write new cultures.

Shipbuilding industry has been hardly struck by crisis: while great arsenals are in distress, medium and small ones ceased to work time ago. Therefore plenty harbor areas are now in search of a new vocation since they have a strategic role for the urban, economic and landscape value of the city.

Which future to imagine for such areas? This is the challenge YAC proposes designers. YAC invites to redesign an old dismissed harbor area in a play-area that can take advantage of the particular situation between the sea and the city. The aim is to offer tourists and citizens a modern and appealing wellness and entertainment centre.

Click on the button below for more information

Date: Semester 1, 2013

Academic Skills invites students to attend upcoming workshops in April. These workshops aim to assist students in the development of skills essential to maximising their academic performance. Workshop topics include:

• What is reflective writing?
• Writing longer assignments
• Getting the most out of lectures
• Writing with clarity and focus

The full workshop program and enrolment details are available on the Academic Skills Calendar

Click on the button below for more information

Content by: Gwyllim Jahn
Creative team: Stanislav Roudavski, David Lister, Ex-Lab & Elseware

The studio investigates computational processes in design and parametric modelling using Grasshopper, the visual programming plugin for Rhino3d.

A new series of video tutorials have been produced for MSD students and are now available online. If you are interested in experimenting with digital design processes or unleashing more possibilities in your design modelling regardless of your involvement in the studio this resource is a great introduction with the content already being accessed by like-minded designers internationally. Tutorial videos use Grasshopper release 0.9.0014.

Click on the buttons below for more information

Location: Parkville campus

The Young Builders Alliance is an organisation developed to create constructive and entertaining opportunities for students to network among one another, with recent graduates and experienced industry professionals to jump-start their career. If you would like to get involved and become a member, find us on Facebook!

Click on the button below for more information

Date: Applications close Saturday 31 August

Terreform ONE has announced the 4th annual ONE Prize Competition.

This year’s competition is set in the context of severe climate dynamism: how can cities adapt to the future challenges of extreme weather? The ONE Prize is a call to deploy sophisticated design to alleviate storm impact through various urban interventions such as: protective green spaces, barrier shorelines, alternative housing, waterproofing technology, and public space solutions.

This is an international competition and is open to everyone from professionals to students.

For more information contact Maria Aiolova by clicking on the email button below.