Ruby Lam

Master of Architecture & Urban Design

I'm Ruby Lam, a Master of Architecture graduate from Swinburne University, deeply committed to using architecture as a tool for positive social impact. I view architecture as a means to benefit broader societal and cultural contexts, particularly through projects that address social inequities and create opportunities for those who are often underrepresented. My goal is to contribute meaningfully to social housing in Melbourne, developing spaces that foster stability, dignity, and community for people facing disadvantage.

I believe that architecture has the power to bridge communities and uplift lives, and my design philosophy revolves around understanding the complexities between space, program, and their combined potential. I am passionate about research, especially when it involves designing on First Nations land, respecting cultural histories, and tailoring spaces to specific demographics. This sensitivity allows me to create designs that not only respond to user needs but also respect and integrate into the surrounding context.

Sustainability is also central to my work. In light of today’s climate challenges, I feel a strong responsibility to create projects that have a lasting, positive impact on the environment. My aim is to work with materials, techniques, and programs that align with ecological resilience, ensuring that my work contributes to a sustainable future. Through my approach, I hope to leave an imprint that respects culture, builds community, and fosters environmental stewardship.

Project: Folia

Render of the public interface of Folia in Richmond, a project aimed at early intervention methods for youth facing high rates of homelessness in Richmond, providing access to mental health care, social workers, work and education as well as spaces coordinating with global programs like Proxy Address, giving those without a home a local address and a local, consistent and accessible address.
With Nader Burjawi

Project: PROV-en

A redesign of the Public Records Office of Victoria, making records publicly accessible and a place to redefine ones sense of place. The programs are public and are designed in terms of spatial quality, allowing for programs like theatres, social support and exhibitions spaces as well as workshopping rooms to write and discuss individual and collective history. With Nader Burjawi

Project: Productive City (Church on Chapel)

This was a group project, which fit within a precinct in Cremorne. Our own projects collaborated together withing the block, to enhance one another, but within the context of students, workers, the housing crisis and the design and working-class history of the site.

Project: Folia

My interest in research as the primary influence of a design. I was strongly motivated by the housing crisis and the propensity for those who experience homelessness to have recurring issues with a consistent address throughout their lives. All of the internal programming stemmed from this specific research, interviews etc that was conducted.

Project: Church on Chapel

Church on Chapel aimed to serve as a gateway into the 'Productive City' as an icon showcasing student and residency craftsmanship of furniture design, a prominent theme within Cremorne. We also offered affordable student and residency housing for short-medium term stays with flexible but comfortable layouts and shared communal spaces.

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.