Amber Hughes

Hi, I’m Amber Hughes! I’ve officially completed my final year studying Bachelor of Design (Architecture) at Swinburne University.

Studying architecture has always been a career that interests me as it combines the ability of being creative, whilst still challenging my problem solving and critical thinking skills. When designing, I look forward to creating spaces that fulfil functionality, comfort and aesthetic appeal. I enjoy designing spaces that have a connection to nature or spaces that focus on the human emotional experience. I believe creating a design with emotional value to it and designing from the perspective of what a human experiences, makes a space come alive.

Over the duration of my three-year course, I have developed my passion for architectural design and expanded on my skillset such as attention to detail, teamwork and leadership skills. I look forward to further developing my passions and skills moving forward into the future.

Architectural Design Studio 5 - Flora Discovery Museum

The Flora Discovery Museum in Newport is designed primarily for students, tourists and families. Through the inspiration of a greenhouse design and garden rooftops, it enhances the connection to nature and blurs the boundary between interior and exterior spaces.
Group Members: Cassie Guo and Katherine Lodkowski

Architectural Design Studio 5 - Flora Discovery Museum

This rendered interior view highlights the proposed greenhouse design apart of the Flora Discovery Museum, which showcases the native and local flora found within Newport. This design promotes biodiversity and the integration of flora into industrial areas.
Group Members: Cassie Guo and Katherine Lodkowski

Architectural Design Studio 4 - Yarrawell Hybrid Living

Yarrawell Hybrid Living is a residential development designed for students and young adults, that aims to foster inclusivity and a healthy community lifestyle. The project integrates residential spaces, a wellness centre, and a cultural riverside market to create a seamlessly connected and vibrant mixed-use environment.
Group Members: Emily Awad and Jordan Divitcos

Architectural Design Studio 4 - Yarrawell Hybrid Living

The Yarrawell Hybrid Living offers a rooftop sound therapy garden within the wellness centre, designed to promote relaxation and mindfulness. Natural greenery and flowing water features help create a soothing and tranquil atmosphere where residents can unwind and destress. This calming environment enhances the overall wellbeing of residents.
Group Members: Emily Awad and Jordan Divitcos

Architectural Design Studio 2 - Beyond Isolation | Active For Life

The Active for Life retirement housing encourages seniors to stay active and socially engaged through communal outdoor and indoor facilities. To combat residents feeling lonely or isolated and to ensure they maintain their physical fitness, this design features garden terraces with facilities such as bocce, walking tracks, and designated gardening areas. This helps to encourage community connection with other residents and members of the public in an active way.

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.