Dezeen School Shows: a centre for developing handmade paper is among the projects from students at Swinburne University of Technology.

Also featured is a tool to support those living with dementia and a mural that reflects the role of women and technology in the design industry.

Swinburne University of Technology

Institution: School of Design and Architecture
Courses: Bachelor of Design, Bachelor of Design (Communication Design, Hons), Bachelor of Design (Architecture), Bachelor of Design (Fashion), Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design, Hons), Bachelor of Design (Interior Architecture, Hons), Master of Architecture, Master of Architecture and Urban Design, Master of Design, Bachelor of Engineering (Architectural, Hons) and Bachelor of Engineering (Product Design, Hons)
Tutors: Simon Bronson, Jane Connory, Nicholas Chia, Phuong Quoc Dinh, Julia English, Sebastianus Funke Genaamd Kupper, Joanna Gardener, Peter Hvala, Markus Jung, Debra Kunda, Antony Linden, Simon Lloyd, Morganna Magee, Andrew Milward-Bason, Diego Munoz, Michele Murray, Charlie Ranscombe, Mark Strachan, Fanny Suhendra and Shivani Tyagi

School statement:

"At Swinburne's School of Design and Architecture, we empower creative thinkers to shape a better future. Our world-class education and research connect design, technology and industry to address real-world challenges and create meaningful impact.

"We explore emerging technologies, design for health and wellbeing, and sustainable approaches to the way we live, work and interact.

"Our courses are grounded in design history, culture, diversity and critical thinking, encouraging students and researchers to collaborate across disciplines and engage with global issues.

"Our graduates are recognised around the world for their creativity, innovation and leadership, making Swinburne ready to make a difference."

Park Weave by Brendan David O'Mahony and Pablo de Lascurain Zambrano

"Research into 106 John Street identified Brunswick East's transition from a low-density residential and industrial suburb to a series of transit-oriented urban centres focused on public transport, walking and cycling.

"This change is driven by an increasing population of highly educated adults aged 25 to 39, who now comprise 44.9 per cent of residents.

"In response to higher rates of de facto relationships, fewer children and elderly residents, the proposal delivers medium-density housing with adaptable shared spaces that support evolving household structures, including multigenerational living.

"By balancing private living with meaningful shared spaces, the project creates enduring social value and supports a more connected, adaptable and sustainable Brunswick East."

Students: Brendan David O'Mahony and Pablo de Lascurain Zambrano
Course: Bachelor of Design (Architecture)
Tutor: Debra Kunda
Email: brendan.o.drafting[at]gmail.com and plascurainz[at]gmail.com

Mutt. A Comic-Inspired Typeface. by Kina Kavak

"This project explored the role of typography in sustaining and reactivating print culture within Melbourne's contemporary design landscape.

"It investigated how typography could re-engage Melbourne's creative community with printed media in an increasingly digital environment.

"The project developed a typographic system and advertising identity for Studio Archive, culminating in a physical exhibition of typefaces and printed materials.

"The exhibition emphasised the tactile and spatial qualities of print, encouraging audiences to engage with design beyond the screen.

"Together, these outcomes formed a cohesive communication design campaign that positioned typography as a cultural medium celebrating Melbourne's independent print and street art communities."

Student: Kina Kavak
Course: Bachelor of Design – Communication Design
Tutor: Michele Murray
Email: kk[at]nakina.world

Group project: Modular Laser-Cut Garments

"Laser cutting offers new approaches to both manufacturing and design for fashion, as instead of relying on mass manufacturing, you can now create hyper-local and made-on-demand production.

"You can start to ask how laser cutting can create new experiences, from downloadable modular patterns and open-source design to etching and customisation for unique customer engagement strategies.

"We can design not only products, but innovative approaches to design and manufacturing for a technologically driven future for the Australian fashion industry."

Group: Emerging Technologies in Fashion and Textile Design Class of 2026
Course: Bachelor of Design (Fashion)
Tutor: Julia English
Email: jjenglish[at]swin.edu.au

Mira Living by Giulia Cilotti Bueno

"Mira Living is a line of products designed to support people living with dementia and their caregivers to co-manage and maintain routine.

"The ecosystem includes Mira Home, an e-ink display that emits gentle task reminders around the house; Mira Go, a portable version that guides users through activities outside the home; and Mira Board, a magnetic board that enables patients and caregivers to build their routine in a fully analogue way.

"By combining digital and tactile tools, Mira Living promotes cognitive engagement, helps build independence and eases caregiver burden, creating a more engaging and dignified environment for life with dementia."

Student: Giulia Cilotti Bueno
Course: Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design) (Hons)
Tutors: Charlie Ranscombe and Nicholas Chia
Email: giuliacbueno[at]uol.com.br

Made/Human by Alyssa Payad

"Made/Human explores the role of analogue making in a design landscape increasingly shaped by automation, precision and artificial intelligence (AI).

"Developed through a publication and interactive exhibition, the project reframes analogue processes as tools for emotional expression, material exploration and meaningful connection.

"Combining design-led research, material experimentation and contributions from practising designers, each publication explores relationships between specific analogue methods, materials and emotional tones, revealing diverse visual languages and interpretative possibilities.

"Made/Human advocates for hybrid creative practices that balance digital efficiency with embodied knowledge, human values and the expressive possibilities of making by hand."

Student: Alyssa Payad
Course: Bachelor of Design (Communication Design) (Hons)
Tutors: Shivani Tyagi and Fanny Suhendra
Email: alpadesignmelb[at]gmail.com

Beyond the Senses: An Exhibition Journey Through Healing Spaces by Joice Gia Linh Nguyen

"This project reimagines spatial experience as a means of supporting emotional recovery and well-being in modern life.

"Drawing upon the five human senses – sight, sound, touch, scent and taste – it translates therapeutic principles into immersive environments that evoke calm, awareness and self-reflection.

"Located in Port Melbourne, the exhibition unfolds along a guided pathway through five stages of psychological recovery. Each spatial cluster explores a distinct sensory experience, gradually shifting emotions from tension toward tranquillity.

"Extending beyond these senses, a sixth sense, an interior garden, creates a contemplative landscape that encourages connection, pause, reflection and inner clarity.

"Ultimately, the project envisions interior architecture as a non-verbal form of therapy, where sensory perception becomes a gentle guide toward healing and balance."

Student: Joice Gia Linh Nguyen
Course: Bachelor of Design (Interior Architecture) (Hons)
Tutors: Phuong Quoc Dinh and Simon Lloyd
Email: ndglinh1507[at]gmail.com

BrickHaus by Nam Bui

"BrickHaus by Nam Bui applies the Baugruppe development model to a three-storey apartment building in Brunswick, Melbourne. Replacing two detached houses, the proposal accommodates 15 dwellings alongside a shared rental space and flexible workshop.

"Curved brick facades bring warmth and texture while carefully arranged external circulation enables cross-ventilation, privacy and generous outlooks.

"Two co-apartments use shared kitchens and operable walls to balance community and privacy while reducing floor area and construction costs.

"Minimal car parking preserves space for landscaping and tree planting, while car-share spaces and secure bicycle parking support more sustainable patterns of urban living within a compact site."

Student: Nam Bui
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutor: Andrew Milward-Bason

Growth Lines by Sara Manfre and Ellie McGhee

"Growth Lines explores how architecture and landscape can support climate adaptation in Hawke's Bay (New Zealand) while protecting the productive landscapes central to the region's economy.

"Facing increasing risks from flooding, sea-level rise, extreme rainfall and changing growing conditions, the proposal reimagines relocation as an opportunity for renewal rather than retreat.

"The low-lying coastal community of Clive gradually moves inland along the river through a connected network of housing, public spaces and productive landscapes.

"Water acts as critical infrastructure, capturing seasonal flows to sustain agriculture year-round. Developed across three adaptive phases, the project demonstrates how resilient communities can grow, thrive and prosper in response to climate change."

Students: Sara Manfre and Ellie McGhee
Course: Master of Architecture and Urban Design
Tutor: Markus Jung
Email: 103956041[at]student.swin.edu.au and 103861284[at]student.swin.edu.au

Group project: Monster Mural – Women, Technology and Teratology in Design

"As part of the Master of Design at Swinburne University, students were challenged to design an individual 40 by 40 centimetre mural tile exploring women, technology and teratology in design.

"Each tile investigated overlooked women in design, emerging technologies and the idea of the 'monster' as a metaphor for challenging social and technological boundaries.

"Using digital fabrication technologies in the ProtoLAB, students created layered spatial artworks that combined into a permanent collaborative mural, transforming a university space into a public statement advocating for gender equity, critical design thinking and creative experimentation."

Students: Bhanush Bhaskar Shetty, Steven Connelly, Cori Emmolo, Gayani Kaushalya Wijesekara, Ganitharathna Banjanayalage, Sofie Svele Graee, Mishka Greene, Zitong (Tommy) He, Nakyoung (Loha) Heo, Kimhour Hok, Chintong Hor, Denis Kiprop, Amith Paul, Soksan Seak, Stephy Ann Shibu, Maxwell Tong, Thi Ngan Giang (Janet) Tran, Jiannan Wang and Buddhika Ranmini (Minnie) Wijesinghage
Course: Master of Design
Tutors: Jane Connory, Niqui Toldi, Maia Kjendle, Elliot Henkel and Ravi Bessabava

Loop de Loop by Jerry Nguyen

"Jerry Nguyen's Loop de Loop showcases the creativity, technical craft and visual experimentation developed through Swinburne's Motion Design programme.

"Created in response to a brief exploring energy through an infinite 3D loop, the work transforms music into a continuously evolving visual experience.

"A spinning record player opens into kaleidoscopic tunnels, musicians, abstract forms and bursts of light before seamlessly returning to its beginning.

"Through bold colour, stylised 3D modelling, lighting, animation and carefully choreographed transitions, Jerry demonstrates how motion design can combine storytelling, sound and digital image-making to create distinctive, immersive visual worlds."

Student: Jerry Nguyen
Course: Bachelor of Design/Communication Design – Motion Design
Tutor: Simon Bronson
Email: quangcanh.jb367[at]gmail.com

SyriSter UV-C Sterilisation for Syringes by Hannah Gough

"Worldwide, 40 per cent of all injections are delivered using unsterile, re-used syringes, causing 1.3 million preventable deaths per year.

"The SyriSter is a sterilisation device for syringes, targeted for use in disaster/crisis zones and hospitals that are economically disadvantaged or in crisis.

"In these circumstances, syringe re-use is common or necessary practice. The SyriSter aims to make this practice safer through reliable UV-C sterilisation to remove the risk of pathogen and disease transmission between patients.

"The design focuses on usability, field-use practicality and design for manufacture. SyriSter has been recognised with the James Dyson Award and was a winner in the Australian Good Design Awards' Next Gen category."

Student: Hannah Gough
Course: Bachelor of Engineering (Product Design) (Hons)
Tutors: Mark Strachan, Sebastianus Funke Genaamd Kupper and Peter Hvala
Email: hannah_gough[at]outlook.com

The Immigration Museum Re-Imagined by Alex Cox

"Developed as part of an industry brief to re-imagine Melbourne's Immigration Museum through a fresh visual lens, these two images from a larger series trace the layered, moving experience of the city of Melbourne.

"This treatment positions colour itself as a kind of migration: moving through, layering over and connecting disparate parts of the city, echoing journeys of arrival and passage rather than illustrating them literally.

"Alex's treatment of the brief allowed for a new dynamic reading of the importance of the journey and the destination."

Student: Alex Cox
Course: Bachelor of Design/Communication Design – Photography
Tutor: Morganna Magee
Email: alexcoxfhd[at]gmail.com

Intake Nutrition Tracking Dashboard by Joleen Adriana Gandakusuma

"Intake is a nutrition tracking dashboard designed to make daily food and nutrition logging clearer, more accessible and easier to maintain.

"The project was developed through an iterative research and design process, beginning with literature and competitor analysis, followed by handmade prototyping and focus group testing.

"Insights from testing informed the structure, interactions and visual design of the final dashboard. The experience prioritises reducing cognitive load while presenting nutritional information in a way that is simple to understand and act upon.

"Through a combination of research, interaction design and visual communication, Intake explores how thoughtful dashboard design can make everyday health tracking feel more intuitive and manageable."

Student: Joleen Adriana Gandakusuma
Course: Bachelor of Design/Communication Design – UX Interaction Design
Tutors: Antony Linden and Diego Munoz
Email: joleenadriana[at]gmail.com

Paper Nest by DucThang Pham

"Paper Nest reimagines handmade papermaking as a contemporary spatial experience.

"Inspired by the woven structure of a bird's nest, the project brings together craft, community and sustainability through organic forms, natural textures and a handcrafted visual identity.

"Conceived as a 'home of handmade paper', visitors experience the transformation of discarded fibres into paper, objects and artworks through making, touch and observation."

Student: DucThang Pham
Course: Bachelor of Design/Communication Design – Experiential Design
Tutors: Joanna Gardener and Simon Lloyd
Email: ducthang.des[at]gmail.com

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Swinburne University of Technology. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.