Charlotte Henderson

Interior Architecture

My love for interior architecture has only evolved further over the last four years of studying. I have grown a huge passion for history, architecture and exploring unique places. I believe the design of a space must serve it's purpose to the users but more importantly, must create emotional connections. Space is a powerful tool to enhance the user’s experience and create a desire to stay. After all, life is all about what spaces we choose to spend our time in.

For my Capstone Project, I decided to research the complex relationship humans have with death and understand why it is inevitably reflected in the architecture where we spend our final days. I discovered a need for a building that promotes death positive behaviour and makes patients and their families feel loved and at peace during such a sensitive time. This led to the creation of Eve, an end-of-life care retreat that re-imagines the way we spend our final days on earth. I was inspired by Kübler-Ross’ 5 Stages of Grief, with a focus on the user’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Overall Eve promotes the idea that space has the power to foster a better end-of-life experience.

After graduation, I look forward to exploring this world and seeing what amazing spaces will inspire me in the future.

End-of-Life Care // Capstone Project

Hen House // Residential Project

Museum of the Handmade // Studio Project

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.