150 papers
7 daily parallel sessions
100 Universities
32 Countries represented

FUTUREGROUND is the one design research conference you can't afford to miss this year.

Monash University, one of Australia's leading research universities, is proud to host the Design Research Society International Conference - FUTUREGROUND, in Melbourne during November 2004.

The conference will debate directions emerging from design research around the world. No researcher, educator, practitioner or research student should miss this opportunity.

The conference will cover an extensive range of topics including human-centred design, sustainability, architecture, industrial design, engineering, philosophy, visual communication, design practice and education amongst many others.

The evolution of research in our field is at a critical point. The conceptualisation of research 'in' and 'by' design focused on design's cultural contribution as well as on its functionality, and the emergence of a studio-based 'research practice', challenges many current notions of design research. As well as the interrogation of current research thinking by the keynote speakers, the conference will also be the forum for 'The Third Degree' debate, in which the 'comfort zones' of current research will be vigorously challenged. FUTUREGROUND may well be a watershed in this evolution - you need to be there! The scope of the conference ensures that your research and/or professional area will be covered. The international spread of speakers provides a major networking opportunity for designers and researchers.

Keynotes from:

Professor Mark Burry
Director, Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory,
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Professor Burry's spatial information architecture laboratory uses high level software to explore the built environment, and to synthesise new possibilities in fields as diverse as the acoustics of a city, through to enabling the completion of Gaudí's Sagrada Família. Much of his research is practice-based, and is of direct application in design and architecture. He has published widely on design, construction, and the use of computers in design theory and practice, and has challenged architecture through both theory and practice. He is particularly well known for his publications on the life and work of architect Antoni Gaudí.

Dr John Armstrong
Department of Philosophy, Melbourne University
The unifying theme of Dr John Armstrong's work is 'the quality of experience'. Across three books, The Secret Power of Beauty (2004), Conditions of Love (2002) and The Intimate Philosophy of Art (2000), he examines some of the deepest and most satisfying - as well as most elusive - kinds of experiences, but ones which are central to a vision of design as a cultural activity. In his keynote speech, The Eloquence of Silent Objects - research projects for Design Philosophy, Dr Armstrong will speak on the potent but intangible concepts of function, symbol and expression as they relate to design. He will draw attention to the very different attitudes and resources people bring to their encounter with objects, and helps to re-position the object as a focus of design research.

Clive Dilnot
Parsons School of Design, New York
Design historian and theorist Clive Dilnot will speak on Mapping the Discipline of Design Research. Clive has taught design theory and critical studies at institutions including Harvard University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as universities in Australia, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. He has published widely on topics in design history, theory, and pedagogy.

The full list of speakers can be viewed at the presentations page. Regular updates will be issued from now including the schedule, speaker profiles, and special features of the conference.

Early bird registrations close 1 October 2004.

Conference details:
17-21 November 2004
Monash University, Victoria, Australia

Conference dinner:
The stunningly redesigned Mario Bellini/Metier 3 National Gallery of Victoria

Register online for the conference or download a registration form here.