Department of Architecture

The Department of Architecture at Monash University has developed a rigorous, research-driven studio culture grounded in the realities of practice and the urban and climatic transformations shaping the Indo-Pacific. Based at our Caulfield campus in Melbourne, the department works across Australia and Southeast Asia, positioning architecture as a discipline capable of generating measurable climatic, cultural, and urban impact across the region.

Studio diversity is central to this approach. In Semester I of 2026 the department offers 12 Masters studios and 18 vertical studios shared by second- and third-year Bachelor students, and two Master of Urban Design and Planning studios, forming a large, rigorous and expansive studio ecosystem. The vertical studio model reinforces peer exchange, mentorship across cohorts, and collective authorship, establishing a shared culture of critical review, design research and experimentation.

The Bachelor of Architectural Design foregrounds environmental transformation and the spatial consequences of climate change through material exploration, making, and digital investigation. Studios are curated around contemporary themes including Cities, Infrastructure & Urbanism; Housing, Health & Wellbeing; and Decolonisation, Inclusivity & Diversity, positioning design as a tool to interrogate social, cultural, and environmental change.

The Master of Architecture connects students directly to live research and practice contexts. All studio leaders are practicing architects, ensuring that design teaching remains embedded in contemporary practice. This year’s studios include a cross-university collaboration with RMIT University and the Melbourne School of Design exploring campus decarbonisation and adaptive reuse; work with The Fulcrum Agency on Country in the Tiwi Islands examining housing futures and intergenerational living; and a collaboration with Tarrawarra Museum of Art exploring the intersection of art, architecture, and regional landscapes.

Regional engagement across the Indo-Pacific is reinforced through three travelling studios located in the megacities of Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Seoul, positioning fieldwork, climate, and urban observation as central design methods. The Jakarta studio is led by the Informal Cities Lab, the Kuala Lumpur studio is led by Erik L’Heureux examining equatorial climate-responsive architecture, and the Seoul studio is led by Hae-won Shin of Lokal Design, focusing on dense urban revitalisation.

The Master of Urban Planning and Design uses Melbourne as a living laboratory, engaging students directly with real planning challenges through projects that connect policy, governance, and spatial design. One current studio includes a collaboration with the City of Maribyrnong examining the redevelopment potential of municipal car parks in Footscray for housing and public space. The other studio includes planning design research undertaken with the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, investigating backstreet infrastructure and new models of urban mobility.

Throughout the semester the department convenes leading voices from architecture and allied disciplines, embedding global dialogue within both the university and Melbourne’s professional community. Visiting contributors this semester include Koki Akiyoshi (VUILD, Tokyo), Peter Ferretto (Chinese University of Hong Kong), and François Decoster (L’AUC, Paris). This semester’s partnership with RMIT and the University of Melbourne as part of the New Normal, is also accompanied by a Melbourne lecture series with practices including Baracco + Wright, NMBW, Wardle, Fender Katsalidis, Fieldwork, and Brew Koch.

Advanced Studies units extend the department’s research-led ethos through focused experimental projects. This semester includes a design–make unit exploring augmented reality and upcycled construction materials; a collaboration with Maribyrnong Park Bowls Club during Melbourne Design Week; and units examining housing justice, migration and architectural knowledge, geological mapping, and speculative world-building. International study opportunities continue through travel studios to Prato, Italy.

Professional engagement remains fundamental to the department’s ethos. The Work Integrated Learning (WIL) program places students directly within practice environments, allowing them to connect academic inquiry with professional responsibility. Since its launch in 2023 the program has expanded rapidly, with more than fifty students undertaking 100-hour placements across Melbourne practices and organisations. Our network of WIL collaborators includes Bates Smart, Edition Office, Grimshaw, Hayball, Hip V. Hype, Kennedy Nolan, Kerstin Thompson Architects, NMBW Architecture Studio, Studio Bright, Woods Bagot, among many others.

Together, these initiatives define the department’s ethos: a diverse studio culture, a strong Indo-Pacific orientation, and sustained engagement with professional practice—preparing architects to operate across climates, cultures, and cities undergoing rapid transformation.

About Monash Architecture
Embedded within Monash University—Australia’s largest research-intensive university and a member of the prestigious Group of Eight—the Department of Architecture is a globally connected community of more than 900 students, 50 international faculty, and 100 sessional staff.  We offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in Architecture and Urban Planning and Design that engage the city of Melbourne, Greater Australia, and the Indo-Pacific region as living laboratories for design research.

Our research and teaching converge around some of the most urgent issues of our time: advancing housing, social and environmental justice, innovating construction processes for accessibility and affordability, addressing the challenges of informal settlements and environmental repair, radically reducing carbon emissions and energy use, and imagining new spatial, technological, and cultural futures for the planet. Over the past five years, architecture faculty members have secured more than USD 12.5 million in competitive research funding, supporting both cutting-edge traditional scholarship and creative practice based research.

Through our distinctive model of creative-practice impact, the Department of Architecture at Monash University tackles the major challenges facing society today with innovation, impact, and criticality. Our work is animated by a belief that architecture can be an agent of change—shaping a world that is more just, sustainable, and beautiful.

*Image above: Left to right, front to back: (front) Hae-Won Shin, Bella Singal, Hosna Eqbal, Sophie Adsett, Jack Lee, Eric Yuen, (row two) Wendy Li, Mark McQuilten , Dr. Erik L’Heureux FAIA, Alonso Gaxiola Gomez, Dr. Laura Harper, Dr. Jacqui Alexander, Dr. Kathy Waghorn, (row three) Dr. Tanvi Maheshwari, Dr. Tom Morgan, Lucinda Mason, Anna Nervegna, Dr. Michaela Prescott, (row four) Jessica Bourke , Fernando Pavez, Anne Barlow, Annabelle Low, Justin Mallia, Dr. Jean-Paul Rollo, Greta McMillan, Dominique Pozvek (row five) Dr. Brendan Josey, Dr. Nigel Bertram FRAIA, Danielle Peck, Dr. Timothy Moore, Linghao Wu, Bader Rizk, Ciaran Snooks, Tina Atic, James Fletcher, Ross Brewin, (back) Dr. Rachel Couper, Bernadette Wilson (Department Manager), Priscilla Adeline (Admin Officer).