UON Masters of Architecture Student awarded 2019 MADE scholarship

Tom Dufficy, a current UON Architecture final year student, has been selected as one of five scholars forming a multidisciplinary team to participate in the 2019 MADE scholarship.

The prestigious MADE scholarship was established at the Sydney Opera House's 40th Anniversary in 2013. An Australian-Danish exchange program that seeks to celebrate and foster the international and interdisciplinary links first forged by Jørn Utzon's masterpiece. Each year, five students from a NSW university and five students from a Danish tertiary institution will participate in the program in Denmark and Australia respectively.

Tom, who transferred to Newcastle for his Masters of Architecture brings a love of technology, programming and mechanics to the team – he is an absolute treasure chest of knowledge when it comes to all things digital (much to the delight of his peers in the studio). We sat down with Tom to discuss the scholarship, and how his Architectural education has shaped his practice, and ethic.

“Having studied at both UTS (University of Technology Sydney) and UON, I’ve found myself in two very different learning environments, and in doing so have been challenged with finding a way to combine the strengths of both into my own approach. I’ve been taught some cutting edge technologies such as methods of scripting and coding, but so too have I learnt to slow down and consider the wider implications of the tools I chose to use and the effects of my architecture beyond itself. I’ve come to find I am passionate about embracing emerging technologies and methods, but with a focus on harnessing them for holistic, socially aware, considered architectural interventions.”

Having previously participated in two SABE overseas electives, one to Southern China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China the other to Aarhus School of Architecture (AARCH) in Aarhus, Denmark, Tom has a well-rounded appreciation of the power of international exchange, and the joy of cross pollinating creative ideas, disciplines and cultures.

“I’ve come to realise just how important designing with an awareness of a wider, international context is to me, and MADE offers the opportunity for me to become even more involved in multi- and interdisciplinary design and an international community.”

Tom will be joined by the four other scholars; Billie-Grace Dunk (University of Sydney), Nicholas Bucci (University of Sydney), Jack Jeffries (University of Technology Sydney) and Josephine Nicholas (University of Sydney). The team is set to collaborate in a six-week project in Denmark, which will take the form of an internship within a firm. The six weeks will be peppered with masterclasses, workshops and mentorships. The experience is topped off by a week in residence at Jørn Utzon’s Can Lis residence in Mallorca, Spain.

To follow Tom’s journey head to https://www.instagram.com/sodi...

For more information on MADE scholarships please go to www.sydneyoperahouse.com/MADE

MADE Scholar Tom Dufficy head shot - photo credit: Bader Al Moulah

MADE Scholars 2019 group shot - Left to right: Tom Dufficy (University of Newcastle), Billie-Grace Dunk (University of Sydney), Nicholas Bucci (University of Sydney), Jack Jeffries (University of Technology Sydney) and Josephine Nicholas (University of Sydney) - photo credit: Jaqcuie Manning