A multidisciplinary team of UNSW staff produced the new mace in University makerspaces.
UNSW’s new ceremonial mace had its first official engagement at the University’s recent graduation ceremonies. Last week, its designer, Noah Jugow, received his Bachelor of Architectural Studies at one of those ceremonies.
Noah, an Arts, Design & Architecture graduate, won the design competition for the mace held in 2024 as part of UNSW’s 75th anniversary celebrations. A multidisciplinary team of staff then produced it in University makerspaces.
“This was a unique project bringing together teams from across UNSW – including both students and staff – to celebrate a significant milestone in our history,” said Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education & Student Experience Professor Sarah Maddison.
“A great deal of thought, collaboration, discussion and effort have gone into designing, prototyping, testing and manufacturing the new mace. Congratulations to Noah on his outstanding design and the entire production team for creating such a beautiful representation of our University. The mace they’ve created will now become part of new traditions for UNSW’s future.”
A design for the future, drawing on UNSW’s past and present
The mace design competition encouraged entrants to create a design that encapsulated the University’s essence, was reflective of its position as a global leader in higher education, illustrated a connection to Country, and was able to be made on campus using sustainable materials.
“It was an awesome project to be involved in. It was a great opportunity to contribute something, to leave something behind now that I’ve graduated,” Noah said.
From 18 submissions, Noah’s entry was unanimously selected the winner. The expert panel of judges included UNSW Chancellor David Gonski AC, Registrar Dr Jonathon Strauss, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Professor Leanne Holt and staff from UNSW Engineering, Arts, Design & Architecture and Archives.
Noah included detailed schematics, illustrative renders, material suggestions and manufacturing guidance in his entry.
He said his design was intended to represent the whole of UNSW.
“I wrote a list of things I wanted to incorporate, which included UNSW’s Values in Action, represented by the five brass fins at the top, and a brass waratah, which represents New South Wales.”
Noah’s design features a wooden globe nested beneath the waratah, sitting atop a staff formed in three sections to symbolise the University’s future, present and past.
Original artwork by Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay artist and UNSW alumnus Dennis Golding is engraved into the wooden staff, which is made from reclaimed Tasmanian Oak salvaged from the Randwick stables site.
“The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Office has been integral in allowing UNSW’s specially commissioned Indigenous artwork to be used on the mace shaft,” said Daniel Crosariol, Head, Stakeholder Relations – Registrar's Office & Directorate of Student Services.
“Dennis Golding has created a stunning graphic that represents the lands and waters across all the spaces where UNSW has campuses and research spaces, topographically presented.”
The University’s motto Scientia Corde Manu et Mente is engraved in brass around the neck of the mace, with the UNSW logo embedded in the base of the staff.
Collaborative production
Noah’s Architectural Studies degree offered numerous opportunities to work with other students on design projects. The production of the new mace was another opportunity for collaboration, this time with professional makers.
The unique project involved multiple faculties and workshops across the University’s makerspace network, with collaboration between teams in UNSW Engineering’s James N Kirby space, Arts, Design & Architecture’s Design Futures Lab and the Michael Crouch Innovation Centre (MCIC).
Makerspace staff contributed skills and expertise in laser cutting, engraving, procurement, the processing of salvaged timber, production of 1:1 scale protypes and the creation of the mace components.
Noah now works in the modelmaking team at SJB Architects, building scale models for their projects. He is also a workshop technician at a local high school, supporting senior students on major projects. Helping them with ideas on how they might fabricate a prototype or how they might come up with design solutions has been invaluable in ensuring the feasibility of his mace design, he said.
The two most challenging elements to take from design to production were the waratah and globe in the mace’s crown. It was also difficult selecting and procuring the right materials and coordinating the workflow for the manufacturing process. The multidisciplinary production team’s diverse technical expertise in product design and development helped solve these problems.
"Moving from early concept designs to the production of a physical object that demonstrates its aesthetic value and functionality is no simple task,” said Gabriel Undery, Design Futures Lab Technical Officer and Wood Workshop Supervisor, who was part of the production team.
“The finished article had to be true to the original design brief and serve as a functional artefact and symbol of UNSW for many years to come.”
The new mace is now part of UNSW’s mace collection to be used in special ceremonies and where graduations are held across multiple venues. When not in use, it will be displayed at the University.
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