Dean's Teaching Awards

Image caption: Maryanne Coutts, Melbourne, 2007.

Maryanne Coutts a drawing lecturer of Department of Fine Art is the winner of the Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence for 2007.

The Dean's Awards for Teaching Excellence recognise and celebrate outstanding contributions to the Faculty of Art & Design teaching programs made by individuals or teams. 

Maryanne is also the winner of Portia Geach Memorial Award 2007 - The Portia Geach Memorial Art Award is Australia’s prestigious portrait prize for female artists. It is a celebration of female Australian artists and has been tantamount with the developing profiles of female artists in Australia.

This Award recognises trends in contemporary art. It is awarded annually ‘for the best portraits painted from life of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters or the Sciences by any female artist resident in Australia’.

Mark Richardson in clay modelling studio.

“Redesign” is an emerging sustainable design methodology currently being explored as an interdisciplinary undergraduate pilot study between Monash University, the Victorian Eco Innovation Lab (University of Melbourne) and RMIT. The aim of the study is develop new ways of teaching sustainability to the next generation of architects and designers and give them the skills to incorporate sustainability into their eventual practice.

The study introduces the conceptual field of redesign to undergraduates.  It currently replaces a select number of student’s regular studio projects, providing alternative tuition in design practice.  It covers emerging design theory including sustainability issues, materials technology, rapid manufacturing, open source methodology and virtual design interface. 

The study focuses on a new ecology of products and product service systems. It explores a world of modular, reusable, adaptable and long-life products and product assemblies to replace or extend the functions of today’s discrete terminal products. The project addresses the understanding product assemblies, re-manufacturing, new ways of thinking about fabrication and assembly systems, nodes, connections, digital technologies and systems (information and communications technology), and new product service paradigms. 

We are interested in testing these new methods and strategies to offer commercially viable, sustainability focused alternative designs in the Australian or Asia-Pacific region.  Students are encouraged to alter the way they perceive the roles of design in a changing world, and actively participate in sustainable practice.  It is anticipated that the next generation of young designers, if adequately trained, can make a positive contribution to developing environmental systems and reduce material waste.