RMIT School of Architecture & Design Exhibition June/July 2014

Having been recently included in Jebiga's (I should stress highly subjective) list of the top 10 architecture schools in the world, RMIT's School of Architecture and Design's end of semester exhibition recently drew to a close.

Held from June 30 through July 4 at the Design Hub, the end of semester exhibition - for the first time - combined the works of its Masters and Bachelors students into a single exhibition kick started by the traditional Friday night launch.

The RMIT masters degree culminates with a final semester design project through which students are able to reflect upon, consolidate and extend the knowledge they have gained in the program. Students set their own design research questions and parameters in consultation with an individual supervisor, opening up future practice and research trajectories. The semester culminates with an exhibition showcasing the ambition and diversity of projects by graduating students.

As a RMIT alumni, I'm always an interested observer at these exhibitions, to see how the architects of tomorrow address some of the issues confronted with today. While the standard of projects is mostly high, they tend to vary in quality of presentation and in degree of investigative rigour undertaken to develop and address briefs.

One criticism I have is the quantity and over-reliance on spiffy renders over other mediums to convey the design and its drivers. In my opinion, these should be support material, not the be all and end all of a student's 5+ years at the school.

Nonetheless the end of semester exhibitions are always worth a look for anyone with an interest in architecture and the built environment.

While finished for another semester, you can check out the photos from the RMIT School of Architecture and Design's Flickr gallery.

Article image copyright Flickr / RMIT School of Architecture and Design.