UTS Architecture was acknowledged at the 2022 Sustainability Awards on 10 November with Alumna, Marni Reti named Emerging Sustainable Architect/Designer and Systems Reef 2 (SR2), a research collaboration between UTS and BVN, acknowledged with the Green Building Material/Product Award.
Marni Reti, a proud Palawa and Ngātiwai woman, graduated from the Masters of Architecture at UTS where she was one of the first recipients of the inaugural Droga Indigenous Architecture Scholarship, a prestigious scholarship aimed at fostering new Indigenous talent in the world of architecture.
Marni also holds a specially created position for an Indigenous architecture student at award-winning firm, Kaunitz Yeung Architecture. She has dedicated her professional and academic career to engaging Indigenous knowledge keeping into architectural practice and design
Systems Reef 2 (SR2) is the world’s first 3D printed air distribution system. It was made from recycled waste plastic and designed for circularity .
The 3D-printed air-diffusion system was made in the UTS Advanced Fabrication Lab.
SR2, which was built in the UTS Advanced Fabrication Lab, takes a radical approach to how air is delivered in buildings, incorporating a new air distribution system designed to replace traditional steel tertiary air distribution systems.
To achieve this, the team used an industrial robot which was programmed to create the components, placing thousands of tiny tailor-made pores in elongated tubes that slot together to create a networked system.
SR2 exemplifies a successful industry and university research collaboration, with each bringing unique insights, knowledge and expertise.
“The project has not only moved the boundaries of what is possible in architecture using computation, robotics, large-scale 3D-printing and low-embodied energy materials, it has also opened an entirely new research direction by envisioning new ways of designing and making new building services,” said Associate Tim Professor Schork.
“Only by working closely together were we able to design and fabricate this unique system.”