The following paper presents an interdisciplinary design studio program at the School of Architecture and Built Environment, Deakin University, referred to as the ‘UrbanHeart Surgery’. This is a design based research forum that attempts to facilitate a landscape of decision-making that stimulates an integrated approach to design within the urban context.
The Urbanheart program has developed into a very successful teaching, research and public/community relations program. It has not only secured an ongoing relationship with various planning authorities, but its core of industrial partnerships has expanded to include four regional councils (Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Surfcoast and Warrnambool), three metropolitan municipalities (Melbourne City, Port Phillip, Wyndham and Maribyrnong) and close links with various Victorian State government departments.
The program actively integrates postgraduate students from Architecture, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture and Planning. The different scales of resolution at which the unit operates would welcome further integration with students from Mechanical Engineering, Art and Design, Information Technology and Environmental Science.