Janet McGaw

This award recognises improvement or impact on the quality of students’ learning experiences, and on the relevance of subject content and skills at ABP.

It is open to all ABP staff and is awarded to A/Prof Janet McGaw with Jason Tamiru and with special mention of Dr. Kelum Palipane and Kristen Wang.

This award recognises the efforts to restructure and reframe the MSD Master of Architecture design studio curricula with a focus on Indigenous competencies as required by the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia. This adjustment reinforced both the university’s and the profession’s recognition of Australia’s indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples and marks a timely epistemic shift.

Janet drew on her research activities, skills and community connections to develop Studio C. She invited Yorta Yorta creative artist Jason Tamiru to act as a senior cultural advisor for this subject and to provide feedback to students across the year. A day long mini symposium at the start of each semester introduces a focus on Indigenous competencies. This includes a site visit to Gertrude Street and Atherton Gardens guided by the award-winning Yalinguth app, followed by conversations with Indigenous elders.

Practices of walking, listening, storytelling and informal gathering orient students towards Indigenous life-worlds and epistemes encouraging them to move beyond superficial representation. Janet has also encouraged meaningful reinterpretation of the competencies for international students unlikely to practice in Australia, in ongoing revision and adaptation of studio offerings. With support from BEL+T and Learning Environments, and through FlexAP, Janet has developed educative videos, specialised rubrics and assessment guidance for studio leaders. She has continued to refine the studio outline throughout the year, through sensitive introduction of content in response to redress and reconciliation goals, in turn shaping the core values in the next generation of designers.

Congratulations Janet, Jason, Kelum and Kristen!