Erica Whitelock

Email Address

Erica is a graduate of Interior Architecture at Swinburne University in Melbourne. In 2024 she undertook an internship in South Korea, where she gained hands-on experience working within a collaborative studio environment and deepened my understanding of cross-cultural design approaches. Erica also contributed to a local multi-residential kitchen renovation project, where she was involved in the documentation phase. These experiences have strengthened her practical skills and broadened her perspective on interior design.

Interplay_Quiet Garden

Interplay is a school reimagined in a post covid climate. Mental health considerations are part of a holistic shift of pedagogy. Integrating nature in to learning creates a better school environment for the student community.

Interplay_Site Plan 1:500

The existing language of the hexagon is fragmented and pulled apart to create fractured learning spaces, small meeting grounds to participate in spontaneous learning.

Interplay_Interior Circulation

Drawing language from existing site conditions, Interplay imagines an internal streetscape for school buildings to congregate around, forming interesting side "pockets" for spontaneous learning to occur.

Interplay_Internal Classrooms

Students and teachers alike benefit from flexibility in education, the facilities of a school need to reflect the consistent evolution of the education industry.

Interplay_Existing Classrooms

The existing 1950's era classrooms were built with new learning models in mind, as pedagogy is again shifting, the circulation proves to be a key factor in the current learning environment.

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.