The Key Centre for Design at RMIT

The Centre for Design at RMIT was designated a National Key Centre for Teaching and Research in May 1989. The establishment of a Key Centre in Design was a recognition by the Commonwealth government of the critical strategic role that design would play in Australia's economic, cultural and environmental development.

The Centre for Design's goals are:

1. to focus the work of Australian designers, researchers, industry and government on the changing relationship between design, production and consumption;

2. to develop community and industry awareness and understanding of the role of design in achieving national economic, environmental and cultural goals;

3. to construct an expanding program of applied and speculative research projects in environmental design related to new or emerging technological, cultural, environmental or economic conditions;

4. to engage with industry, the professions and the community in the design of new systems for sustainable development;

5. to establish the Centre as a national laboratory for the development of tools and concepts and as a critical node in a network of knowledge and information, related to the above.

In achieving these goals we aim:

1. to span a range of design domains, with a particular focus on interdisciplinary projects;

2. to develop appropriate public education and training programs that broaden the impact of research activities;

3. to carry out research that is problem setting as well as problem solving;

4. to bring a national and global perspective to all our work by establishing links with a range of national and international institutions and individuals, and

5. to integrate and interrelate post-graduate teaching and research activities.

Education and Training Programs

• Master of Arts (Design) by project
• Annual National Design Winter School
• Lectures, Seminars and Workshops
• Brief courses on design topics
• National Design for Plastics Recycling competition
• Green Technology Quest

Research Projects

• EcoReDesign® - redesign of manufactured goods
• Database on environmentally-redesigned products
• National EcoDesign Strategy
• Visiting Fellows & Associates program
• Sustainability in the Built Environment
• Design for Greenhouse reduction
• EcoDesign® of Packaging
• Design Education
• Telecommuting

Publications

• Australian Design Education Review
• EcoDesign One: Conference Proceedings
• Design for Plastics Recycling
• Winter School Work
• EcoDesign - an overview
• Agenda: Australian Contemporary Art Magazine

Facilities

• Electronic document imaging database
• Computer graphics and CAD laboratory
• Access to the comprehensive research centres of Australia's largest Technical University - RMIT

For more information please contact:

Professor Chris Ryan - Director
The Centre for Design at RMIT
RMIT University
P.O. Box 2476V
Melbourne
Victoria 3001
Australia

Ph: +61 3 660 2362
Fax: +61 3 639 3412
E-mail: cryan@rmit.edu.au
cfd@rmit.edu.au

Copyright © 1994, 1995 National Key Centre for Design at RMIT
PO Box 2476V, Melbourne Victoria 3001, Australia
Vox: +61 3 9660 2362 Fax: +61 3 9639 3412
URL: http://www.cfd.rmit.edu.au/CfD.html
Email: cfd@rmit.edu.au

HTML by Michael Abdilla - webmaster@cfd.rmit.edu.au
Last updated 3 October, 1995