What Happens When Monoliths Reshape the World?

Media release – University of Tasmania, 12 September 2025

Students reimagine architecture’s role in society to win national competition

What happens when seven mysterious black monoliths appear across the world, reshaping public spaces and the way people live?

In False Idols, three University of Tasmania students imagine how communities might respond, inventing new rituals, beliefs and behaviours around these strange objects. The project asks us to see architecture not just as buildings, but as a force that helps societies adapt when the familiar rules of life are suddenly upended.

That bold vision has seen School of Architecture students Luke Pendergast, Zachary Tregenza and Jacob Tripp win both the state and national titles in the 2025 National Super Studio Design Competition. Competing as team Effort, the trio impressed judges with their originality and ambition.

The national jury described the project as “dystopically original”, praising its conceptual depth and imaginative execution. “False Idols delivers a bold and conceptually rich vision, positioning architecture not merely as a product of culture, but as an active participant in shaping it,” the jury said.

For the three students, inspiration came from dystopian cinema.

“Films like Blade Runner, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Akira gave us a language to explore big emotional themes and to think about the way human behaviour and architecture constantly shape one another,” they said.

The win is also a milestone in their final year of study.

“To be recognised nationally at this point in our journey is both reassuring and energising,” the students said. “It really gives us confidence to keep pushing our ideas further.”

The Tasmanian jury highlighted the team’s ability to turn abstract ideas into a compelling narrative, blending theory, humour, tragedy and architectural imagination.

This is the second consecutive year that University of Tasmania students have won the national Super Studio title, cementing the School’s reputation on the national stage. In 2024, students tackled a real world challenge, designing resilient housing solutions for communities affected by floods, bushfires and cyclones. In 2025, the brief shifted entirely, inviting designers to explore speculative “design fictions” in response to the mysterious arrival of seven monoliths. More than 80 teams from across Australia took part.

Professor Julian Worrall, Head of the School of Architecture and Design, said the back-to-back national wins demonstrated the strength of the School’s education and students.

“Winning two very different briefs, in consecutive years, against more than 80 teams from across Australia highlights the quality and depth of learning in our School. It also shows the creativity, critical audacity and intellectual ambition of our students, who can rise to challenges that demand both practical insight and speculative imagination,” Professor Worrall said.

The students said the project gave them the chance to push the boundaries of design and test how architecture can spark new conversations.

The School of Architecture and Design is based in Launceston, where the city’s strong design culture and heritage create a unique setting for students to test ideas and imagine new futures.

The Super Studio competition, run by the Student Organised Network for Architecture with support from Alspec, is one of the country’s most prestigious student architecture contests.

Each year students have one week to respond to a brief that pushes the boundaries of architectural thinking.

Winning the national title offers mentorship from leading architects, publication in Architecture Australia and valuable opportunities to build their professional profiles.