Bachelor of Building Design

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Plan, implement and manage the delivery of efficient and effective building design strategies over the course of building design and construction processes in diverse contemporary contexts using independent thinking and judgement;
2. Generate creative solutions to a range of complex building design problems, taking into account issues of compliance with relevant codes and standards, building construction process, technical and innovative changes, ethics and environmental sustainability (commercial and environmental) with initiative and professional judgement;
3. Critically evaluate sources and validity of information and use established processes for information management, integrating BIM and the latest architectural software, and including international perspectives and codes of practice as appropriate;
4. Advocate building design objectives and outcomes effectively to specialist and non-specialist stakeholders using a variety of professional forms (oral, written, working drawings);
5. Exemplify collaboration and requisite interpersonal and supervisory skills and characteristics to influence personal work, community and networks;
6. Apply personal and interpersonal competencies including organisational and collaborative skills necessary to operate within broad parameters in the immensely divergent and complex global and Australian cultures;
7. Negotiate, respect and value cultural diversity and indigenous rights and develop capacities and creative solutions to contribute to a sustainable world; and
8. Exhibit responsibility and accountability for own learning and professional practice in collaboration with others and within broad parameters.

Studying in multidisciplinary teams with classmates from allied building-industry study programs (construction management, building surveying and engineering), you’ll get real-world experience in a studio-based learning environment right from the start of your studies.

Together, you'll build your skills with a focus on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Indigenous culture and inclusivity. 

All your assessments in your building design degree will involve working on real-life projects. You could find yourself working on industry projects similar to these recent examples:

• a Serbian Community Centre in Cairns, Queensland, designed by second and third year students
• Banksia Gardens community centre playground, Broadmeadows, co-designed by second year students
• a new VU building in Werribee, landscape design by students
• collaboration with paramedicine team on design of public access cabinets for automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), by first year students.

You may also take on opportunities to experience overseas industries, such as funded trips to Asia as part of the New Colombo Plan.

Connect with VU’s extensive industry network, thanks to our strong standing in the construction industry as a leading provider of both higher education and TAFE courses.

As a VU student, you’ll connect with industry via regular real-world projects, learn from guest speakers, visit work sites, attend industry expos and experience work placements.

Our network includes:

• Multiplex
• McKenzie Construction Group
• John Holland
• Built.
• Victorian Building Authority
• City councils for Melbourne, Wyndham, Hume, Maribyrnong, Brimbank and Kingston
• Infrastructure Sustainability Council
• Simonds Group.

In your third year of this degree, you’ll integrate all the knowledge and skills you’ve learned into a major design project. Working either individually or within small teams, you’ll work on real industry projects to design a low-rise building (of one to three storeys high) and a high-rise building (over 25 metres high).

For both of these projects, you’ll get experience managing the end-to-end design process, taking responsibility for the design, planning, organisation, implementation and evaluation of the various components required.