Selam Gelaw

Interior Architecture

Background:

I've worked in the hospitality and customer service industry for over 8 years, my most recent role is a faults & emergency operator for Melbourne. I found Interior Architecture at 18 years old when I became fascinated with how a space can influence a person's experience and then I learnt that interior architects are the ones who design them.

Interests:

- Learning new things and continuously challenging my understanding of the world around us

- Photographing built entities from houses to products and nature to see the details in their form

- Using my skills and developing solutions for those close to me

- Exploring my creative thinking and turning them into real-life design solutions

- Using design thinking to solve problems or create new opportunities in the world

My Design Philosophy:

My design philosophy is to create inspiration in everyday life, by using design solutions that uplift and reinforce the belief in goodness, hope and positivity through the encompassment of human experience-based design in the built environment.

I believe that the ability to create is by far the most incredible gift and responsibility any individual can possess. It is that which allows us to see a reflection of ourselves in the world around us, as we exercise the ability to create.

To Dwell - Cafe

The Corroboree Centre - Stage

To Dwell - Quiet & Calm

The Green Office

To Dwell - Sky

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.