Capping Off an Advanced Diploma with a National Win

Michael Boar enrolled in the Advanced Diploma of Building Design (Architectural) at Box Hill Institute in March 2018. He completed the course earlier this year and recently received the Best Digital Presentation Award from the 2020 Design Matters National Building Design Awards.

Michael said, "I'm so grateful to the judges for selecting my work as the winner, but I had already gained so much knowledge and experience from the process of developing my design that I didn't need to win to be proud of what I had achieved.” 

Michael has been designing building since he was young. He started playing with wooden blocks before moving on to Lego and finally to Sims. He said, “One day, I was watching a design/renovation TV show and realised that this is a possible career path for me. I don't know how I didn't realise it sooner.”

Leaving high school after Year 11, Michael started studying graphic design at Box Hill Institute, completing a Certificate III, Certificate IV, and Diploma. He then enrolled in the Advanced Diploma of Building Design. “As the course went on, I found my passion for design and Susan Morris, the course coordinator, goes above and beyond to provide opportunities to those willing to seize them," he said.

Susan helped Michael get a scholarship, which allowed him to study for a month at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary, Canada. He said, "I will always be incredibly grateful to the building design faculty for helping me find my footing and pointing me in the right direction."

Of all the work Michael has completed as part of his course, he is proudest of his final project, The Terrarium. The project required students to develop a concept for an apartment complex made from Cross Laminated Timber. Michael said, “There was so much freedom to explore ideas and concepts using a material that is just starting to emerge in the Australian construction industry."

Michael was inspired by Arkadia by DKO Architecture and Breath Architecture. He said, “The sustainable aspects of the structure spoke to me, and I aimed to interpret them my own way into the project.”

Michael is currently studying a Bachelor of Design with a dual major in Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Melbourne. With an international exchange experience, multiple industry connections, work as a sole trader, and a passion for design, he is excited about the future. He said, "With Victoria starting to relax the lockdown laws and this win behind me, I'm feeling keen to get into a building design firm and be a part of a team."

A massive congratulations to Michael for his well-deserved win. We look forward to seeing more of his designs in the future.