Michael Haggett

Product Design Engineering

I have always been intrigued to learn how and why things work, pulling things apart from a young age and teaching myself how it all fits together. This curiosity has fuelled my passion for product design engineering and all that it entails. The act of creation, from the earliest fleeting ideas that lead to the final tangible result you can touch and feel is a source of constant inspiration for me, and something that I always want to be a part of.

I also have a passion for sustainable design, which I tend to bring to almost every project I am a part of in one way or another. It was this passion that helped spark the idea for my final year project.

I call it 'Saber', which means 'knowledge' in Spanish, and is appropriate because it is an interactive exhibition space designed to disseminate critical information to the public about plastic and how it is recycled, as well as what the future of recycling plastic could look like. The unit is a product in its own right, but it is also the seed for a larger goal. Acting as the first step in creating a national decentralised recycling network that utilises the most advanced plastic recycling techniques available.

'Saber' in context

'Saber' showing users

Interior render

Interior LED lighting & entry

'Saber'

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.