George Gialis

Bachelor of Design (Architecture)

My name is George Gialis, born on January 7, 1999, and as of 2020 I am 21 years of Age. As an aspiring Architect, I have completed my Diploma of Building Design (Architectural) at Box Hill Institute, Victoria, while now currently completing a Bachelor of Design (Architecture) at Swinburne University, Victoria. Like many at a young age, I was pulled to the interest of Architecture through LEGO and the video game The SIMS where I would spend countless hours designing buildings and houses with the feeling that this is the profession that is for me. Major Influences in my life in the design world include Bjarke Ingles of the BIG Group and Santiago Calatrava, both architects aspirations is to be different and to create unique structures which has been a driving point in my own design aspirations, the need to have a sense of identity in each building designed is something pushing me to Design creatively and something I hope to achieve in my design career.

Simon Wonga Bridge & Train Station Proposal

Simon Wonga Bridge & Train Station Proposal (Exterior Render)

Simon Wonga Bridge & Train Station Proposal (View from Bridge Render)

Simon Wonga Bridge & Train Station Proposal (Railway Museum Render)

Acknowledgement of Country

The School of Design and Architecture respectfully acknowledges the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners and knowledge-keepers of the lands, waters and sky that surround us, where we work, learn, create, communicate and make place. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded and this always was and will always be Wurundjeri Country. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who continue to make a better world through design.

We extend our acknowledgement to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, students, alumni, real-life clients, and knowledge keepers, who have contributed to our own education diversity and growth. We will continue to ensure that staff and students respectfully honour ancestral connection to Country and Place in everything that they do.

We are dedicated to the notion of design to make a better world and we acknowledge that making tools, shaping place, sharing stories, making meaning, wayfinding and collaborating have long been and continue to be both central and integral to First Peoples' cultures. We recognize that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ cultural contributions have continued relevance to design practice and commit to: reconciling ancestries of design and contemporary practice as well as pursuing culturally and professionally appropriate ways to engage with a diverse population of colleagues, industries and clients. In a time of treaty-making and voice we understand that there are overlaps between caring for Country and the sustainable production of goods, services, experiences, products and buildings.

Guided by the principles of respect, reconciliation, and reciprocity we undertake to indigenising and decolonising design practice by dismantling colonial structures and challenging biases that have marginalised Indigenous voices and design.

As students of SoDA you will be given opportunities to both engage with and educate yourself in Indigenous creative practices and cultural protocols through a lens of inclusivity, diversity, respect, mutual understanding, inter-cultural dialogue in all aspects of design practice. Indigenous people have been telling stories, making tools, and connecting to Country through visual media, placemaking and place marking for more than 60,000 years and these practices are part of an ongoing, evolving and live tradition.