Mitch Brouwer

Bachelor of Design (Architecture)

My name is Mitchell Brouwer, I grew up In Hobart, Tasmania and moved to Melbourne to study Architecture at Swinburne. My passion for design started in the middle years of my secondary schooling. I had aspirations to pursue an interest in graphic design. Through the later secondary school years, I entered subjects that focused more on housing design. Architecture and housing design quickly became the field I was most interested in, I felt most connect to this area of design and I could constantly relate what we were learning in the classroom to the practical side. This was because I had spent a lot of time helping my father (who is builder) with building houses and on job sites.

I think that having so much exposure to the construction gives me a slight edge because I have grown up with a hands on perspective which makes it easier for me to understand what I am drawing on paper and how it is going to translate to a job site.

As a future architect, I’d like focus on sustainable design, I think it is key for shaping our cities for the future, architects as a collective have the responsibility to consider the impact we can have on our planet.

'EVER FLOWING' A0 POSTER

'EVER FLOWING' DESIGN PROPOSAL

ADAPTIVE FACADE RETROFIT OF AMDC

'EVER FLOWING' PROJECT RENDERS

'VORONOI SANDS' DOCKLANDS PROMENADE PROPOSAL

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.