VENTUROUS exhibition charts a decade of innovative design research and practice from RMIT PhD alumni in Architecture & Urban Design

VENTUROUS exhibition charts a decade of innovative design research and practice from RMIT PhD alumni in Architecture & Urban Design

RMIT Galleries’ latest exhibition brings together the work of 23 practitioners, all alumni of RMIT’s School of Architecture & Urban Design’s pioneering design practice PhD program.

VENTUROUS: Design Practice Research Futures in Architecture & Urban Design draws on the last decade of graduates from the RMIT School of Architecture & Urban Design’s design practice PhD program. For nearly 40 years, RMIT’s School of Architecture and Urban Design has been a world leader in design practice research methods. The associated groundbreaking design practice PhD program offers candidates the opportunity to conduct their research through design practice itself, rather than through traditional PhD research methods.

Untitled design - 2Installation view of ‘VENTUROUS: Design Practice Research Futures in Architecture & Urban Design’, RMIT Design Hub Gallery, Melbourne, 2026. Photo by Christian Capurro.

Curated by Professor Vivian Mitsogianni, Professor of Architecture and Dean of RMIT’s School of Architecture & Urban Design; Dr Leanne Zilka, Associate Dean, Research and Innovation; and Sophie Sung, Architecture Associate Lecturer, the exhibition showcases the exploratory research, projects and design practice of exhibiting practitioners through a series of mini documentaries. 

The documentaries trace the development of each practitioner’s work from their original PhD research through to their current practice, making visible the projects, processes, propositions and innovations that have emerged from their design-practice explorations. 

"Our aim for the exhibition is to make visible how design practice research operates, particularly in developing new ideas and design processes for the design of our buildings, spaces, and cities,” said Professor Mitsogianni. 

"For almost four decades, the RMIT School of Architecture & Urban Design has been an innovator in design practice research methods. We wanted to capture this moment in time and look forward to the future of our disciplines, while having a conversation about the various forms and contexts of applied research in our professions," she continued. 

The exhibition spans a wide range of contemporary concerns, including regenerative and sustainable design, designing with Country and First Nations empowerment in the built environment, housing affordability, inclusive public space, and the ethical use of generative AI in design.

14 August 2026

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Untitled design - 3Installation view of ‘VENTUROUS: Design Practice Research Futures in Architecture & Urban Design’, RMIT Design Hub Gallery, Melbourne, 2026. Photo by Christian Capurro.

VENTUROUS showcases work from nationally and internationally renowned practitioners, among them is Professor Carey Lyon, co-founder of architecture practice Lyons and PhD alumnus of the program. 

Lyon completed his design-practice PhD, Design by Discourse, in 2018, and examines the design processes and completed projects that have defined his design practice over three decades.  

Speaking to the value of undertaking research through design practice, Lyon said, “RMIT's PhD program is an important opportunity for practitioners to not just undertake research about architecture, but research through architecture.” 

"The design research showcased in this exhibition is only a small part of a much larger body of work that adds up to an extraordinary, and unprecedented, body of knowledge about architecture and architectural culture in Melbourne,” he continued.

Untitled design - 4Opening celebration for ‘VENTUROUS: Design Practice Research Futures in Architecture & Urban Design’, Design Hub Gallery, Melbourne, 2026. Photo by Keelan O'Hehir.

“The exhibitors have been selected on a spectrum of different practice and experimentation modes,” Mitsogianni said.  

London-based Belgian architect, Dr Gilles Retsin, completed his design practice research PhD in 2023, titled Parts That Precede Buildings: Architecture in Large Quantities. 

His research focused on his long-term experimentation with architectural design processes, inspired by the potential of new emerging digital design tools, fabrication and construction systems, AI and robotics. 

Retsin co-founded AUAR Ltd (Automated Architecture) in 2019 with Mollie Claypool, and is positioned as a technology startup specialising in AI and robotic micro-factories to build sustainable, affordable timber homes at scale in European markets. 

Proud Gamilaraay and Gomeroi man, Dr Beau de Belle’s design-practice research PhD, is titled Message Stick Protocols: Fostering First Nations’ Cultural Empowerment in the Built Environment (RMIT 2024).  

Through formal and informal observations, de Belle’s project documents experiences and outcomes with First Nations’ communities to develop a framework, or ‘Message Stick Protocols’, for embedding First Nations cultural knowledge in Australia’s built environment.  

De Belle notes that his work, “aims to foster cultural empowerment,” ensuring First Nations’ perspectives are foundational in built environment projects, highlighting architecture’s potential as a tool for social justice through culturally inclusive design.

Untitled design - 5Opening celebration for ‘VENTUROUS Design Practice Research Futures in Architecture & Urban Design’, Design Hub Gallery, Melbourne, 2026. Photo by Keelan O'Hehir.

At the exhibition’s opening event, Distinguished Professor Calum Drummond AO, RMIT Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, said: 

"RMIT is described as a University of Technology, Design and Enterprise, and this is what the VENTUROUS exhibition showcases – the interface between technology, design and enterprise.” 

"It is exciting to see the calibre of work our PhD alumni have produced from their practice-based research at RMIT,” he continued. 

VENTUROUS will be accompanied by a wider public program, featuring events, workshops and talks. Stay tuned for details on the RMIT Galleries website. 

Untitled design - 1Installation view of ‘VENTUROUS: Design Practice Research Futures in Architecture & Urban Design’, RMIT Design Hub Gallery, Melbourne, 2026. Graphic design by Stephen Banham, Letterbox. Photo by Christian Capurro.

VENTUROUS: Design Practice Research Futures in Architecture & Urban Design is located at the RMIT Design Hub Gallery and runs from Friday 31 July to Saturday 19 September 2026. Free entry, no registration required.   

VENTUROUS features the work of: Natalie Alima, Alisa Andrasek, Michael Banney, Beau de Belle, Matias del Campo, John Doyle, Anthony Hōete, Emma Jackson, Mark Jacques, Gwyllim Jahn, Roger Kemp, Christian Lange, Michael Lavery, Erik L'Heureux, Carey Lyon, Patrick Macasaet, Sandra Manninger, Eva Prats, Gilles Retsin, Deborah Saunt, Roland Snooks, Fleur Watson and Leanne Zilka. 

Graphic design for the exhibition is by Stephen Banham of Letterbox. 

This exhibition is presented by the School of Architecture & Urban Design and the College of Design and Social Context at RMIT University. 

 

Banner image: Installation view of ‘VENTUROUS: Design Practice Research Futures in Architecture & Urban Design’, RMIT Design Hub Gallery, Melbourne, 2026. Photo by Christian Capurro. 

 

Story: Duncan Scott

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14 August 2026

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