New Architecture Dean gives Melbourne Model the ‘nod’
[ UniNews Vol. 15, No. 20
30 October - 13 November 2006 ]
The University’s Melbourne Model approach to higher education delivery has won approval from the newly-appointed Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning.
Professor Thomas Kvan who will take up the post in late January 2007 says that if the architecture profession is to be able to challenge conventions, students need broad intellectual and cultural exposure while they are gaining skills related to the profession.
He points out that sustainability is as relevant as, for instance, development economics, business processes, sociology, or computing.
Professor Kvan, who is currently Dean of Architecture at the University of Sydney, says this approach is well supported by the Melbourne Model.
In 2008, the Faculty’s undergraduate students will undertake a Bachelor of Environments where one-quarter of their course will be taken outside, but adding value to, their core area of study. The Faculty’s professional degrees will be offered at Masters level.
Professor Kvan believes that the design professions will benefit from welcoming graduates with a wide range of preparation.
An outstanding academic and practitioner, Professor Kvan brings a wealth of experience in research, teaching, management and leadership – and as a practising architect and continuing partner of the Coxe Group, a world-wide design management practice based in Seattle, USA.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis says the University of Melbourne was delighted to be appointing an academic and practitioner of Professor Kvan’s calibre to the important role of Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning.
“The Faculty is one of the first in the University to move to the Melbourne Model in 2008 so Professor Kvan’s leadership over the transitional period will be critical, as will be his contribution to the broader communities of the University of Melbourne, and to the world of built environment practice in Melbourne and Australia.”
Professor Kvan previously spent 12 years teaching at the University of Hong Kong where he also served as Dean of Architecture for three years, and held the role of Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor (Staffing) on numerous occasions.
Professor Kvan holds a PhD from the Open University in England in computer-supported collaborative design in architecture; a Master of Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles, specialising in computer applications in architecture; and a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he read architecture.
He has been educated, worked and practised in many countries and organisations, large and small, and speaks several languages including Cantonese.
Professor Kvan has continued to teach internationally on topics such as research project management and leadership at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and the Graduate School of Design, Harvard, and has been a visiting professor and teacher at universities in China, Australia and the Netherlands, amongst many others.
He has also initiated and run Virtual Design Studios and joint studios with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of British Columbia. As documented in his more than100 publications, his funded research addresses a variety of topics including aspects of digital design and practice; he has also attracted substantial teaching development funding.
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