Amy Rodda

Master of Architecture & Urban Design

My name is Amy Rodda & in June 2021 I completed my Master of Architecture & Urban Design [MARCHUD] degree with a High-Distinction Weighted Average Mark and a 4.0 GPA in my final semester. I am also a recipient of the 100% Dean's Inaugural Scholarship.

My graduating thesis, Interactive Memory, was centred around multi-sensory design with the idea that by ensuring that our urban realm uses multi-sensory agents to create transient atmospheres that evoke sensory responses, we can create more memorable places, thus creating inclusive design for all.

In addition to being part of the first MARCHUD cohort at Swinburne, I have played an active role in Swinburne Architecture Students Association [SASA]. SASA advocates for supportive and innovative social experiences within the FHAD community. I have been part of SASA from its inaugural committee as both the club's secretary and as the club's event manager.

Outside of Swinburne, I have 2+ years experience as a Revit Structural Draftsperson at Indesco Pty Ltd. In this role, I was promoted within my probationary period, which eventually resulted in me being the Precast Documentation specialist of my team, due to my ability to work efficiently & effectively in order to strive for excellence.

I also have an invested interest in interdisciplinary design thinking - whether that be architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, industrial design, graphic design or engineering, etc. - as I believe that it is through reintegrating interdisciplinary design thinking that we can best solve complex challenges such as sustainability, durability, place-making, integration and inclusionary design thinking.

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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.