TAFE Queensland student wins Building Design Queensland Regional Award

The awards night was held at Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast and brought building design industry professionals, industry guests, sponsors, clients, and peers together to enjoy the gala evening.

Anthony's project, Cedar House, was recognised for the quality of its design, promoting connection with family, the environment and sustainability.

"I was inspired to design a Palm Cove beach house, inspired by local architect Shaneen Fawtin, who promotes 'Less walls more living,' - topics that are very important at the moment," explained Anthony.

The award vindicates Anthony's decision to change careers from information technology (IT) professional to building designer.

"My father was a bricklayer and builder, and I always visited his building sites as a kid. My interest in architecture grew as I got older, but never followed it. Then, when my interior designer daughter Olivia encouraged me to do building design, I decided to give it a go," he said.

After three decades in various IT roles, Anthony enrolled to study for the Diploma of Building Design (CPP50921) at TAFE Queensland's South Bank campus.

While he was daunted about changing careers in his 50s, his fear was quickly alleviated by the course structure, the teachers and his classmates.

"There is a lot of theory, but the resources provided were great, and the teachers bring so much industry experience to the classroom, so it's a good mix."

During the 12 months of his course, Anthony learned specialist building design skills for residential and small-scale commercial projects from his industry-expert teachers.

He learnt how to develop building design concepts and create sustainable solutions, using software programs for Building Information Management (BIM), to produce and present building drawings and models compliant with work health and safety and building code requirements.

"I found the face-to-face training and interaction with my classmates invaluable. It's such a nurturing environment, and sharing ideas with other students fosters healthy competition and a wonderful learning atmosphere," explained Anthony.

Further enhancing Anthony's training were the guest speakers and site visits that gave him and his class deeper insights into the industry.

"Everything our teachers did supported our learning, and they invited wonderful guest speakers to class and took us to the Aurecon building (The tallest mass-engineered timber commercial building in Australia) at 25 King Street in Bowen Hills, which was brilliant," he said.

Anthony was quietly confident after submitting his Building Design Queensland Regional Awards entry, thanks to his faith in the skills he's developed through his training.

On the evening of the awards, four of the five finalists were from the design class taught by Sharon Turner French, Senior Building and Interior Design Teacher.

"I was nervous and excited, but being surrounded by my classmates was reassuring. We had a sense of camaraderie, having all done a lot of late nights of hard work. They were all deserving."

Anthony describes the moment his name was announced as the winner as a surreal vindication that his decision to change careers was right.

"The award represented that all the effort and hard work that I'm putting in means I'm on the right track, and it has given me the confidence to kick on to study further or get a job in the industry."

Thrilled that he chose TAFE Queensland to help him change careers, Anthony now has sage advice for others.

"People can think they're not good enough, but do it, see what happens – and don't be afraid, you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain."

"TAFE Queensland's experienced teachers, their industry connection, and the encouragement and nurture they give is incredible - they will support and help you get to where you want to be," concluded Anthony.

The Student Design Award was sponsored by Polyfor, who generously gave the opportunity for student finalists to attend the Awards for free and provided the winners prize money.