Wendy Zhang

Master of Architecture & Urban Design

My name is Wendy Zhang, I was born and raised in China and moved to Melbourne during high school. After graduating my bachelor degree of Architecture from University of Melbourne in 2015, I have experienced various kinds of jobs before working in a local architectural design firm for two years.

During my time there, I was responsible for preparing full complement of town planning and construction documents for commercial, mixed-use and mostly residential properties including single dwellings, townhouses, apartments, offices and shops and coordinated various consultants and work streams under demanding deadlines among with many other roles. I am self-considered hardworking and highly effective at contributing ideas and transforming thoughts into realised plans.

In order to improve my career and surpass myself, I chose to go back to study for a master degree of architecture, and these two years at Swinburne university of Technology (2020-2021) surely expended my thinking.

I believe that great architectural design is the result of passionate, innovative and sensitive values that transform spaces and places into unique solutions that meet human needs, and I believe we can go as far as our thinking and imagination are.

In addition to my dedication to design, I also have my passion in other art fields such as photography, drawing, dancing and music. This lifestyle I’ve chosen can also bring great inspiration to my architectural designs.

StudioD SECTION

StudioD FRONT

StudioD EXHIBITION

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StudioD PLATFORM

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.