Max Doran

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I am a designer and draftsperson with a practical and production led approach to making. I enjoy creating from desktop to final product, focusing on the detail that will lead to a finished product. Much of my work has focused on assisting in the fabrication of student and research projects, utilising CNC Routing, timber and metal machinery, and finishing processes.

My architectural interest centres around public and interstitial spaces, and how these spaces influence everyday activities. I enjoy the documentation of everyday moments, and diving into the factors that facilitate these. My interests are also driven by sustainable and practical thinking, advocating to make the most out of materials, lowering our impact, and promoting a circular economy.

CONTACT

Education

Bachelors of Design (Architecture) with Distinction
The Univeristy of Newcastle
Nov, 2024

Higher School Certificate
Barker College
2021

Employment

Technical Officer
Architecture and Built Environment Workshop
The University of Newcastle
Feb 2025 - Present

Supervisor
Go-Karts-Go
Apr 2023 - Sep 2024

Sales Assistant
Camera House Hornsby
Nov 2022 - Feb 2023

Area Leader
McDonald’s Australia
Apr 2019 - Sep 2022

Referrals

Irene Perez Lopez
Senior Lecturer
The Univeristy of Newcastle
irene.perezlopez@newcastle.edu.au
02 4921 6608

Oscar Smith
Technical Officer
Supervisor - Architecture and Built Environment Workshop
oscar.smith@newcastle.edu.au
02 4921 6373

William Belcastro
Manager - McDonald’s Australia
william.belcastro@gmail.com
0486 010 850

Skills

AutoCAD
Rhinoceros

Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Indesign
Adobe Photoshop

Rapid prototyping
CNC Machining
Timber Machining
Metal Machining

Highlights

WaterTalks
Tin Sheds Gallery, USYD
Aug 2025
Project Contributor

Field Rooms
Danks St South Precinct, Waterloo
Sep 2025
Project Contributor

FAST SLOW
Narrara Ecovillage
Oct 2025
Project Contributor

A City within the City
UON Undergraduate Exhibition
2024
Exhibiton Coordinator and Curator

Red Pen
Masters of Architecture Exhibition
2024 (Tusculum)
Featured Work

Art of the Public
Public Art Competition
Sep 2024

SONA SuperStudio
Student Architecture Competition
Aug 2024

Costal Imaginaries
Intensive Project - Denmark
June 2024

Sustainable Practices
Intensive Projecct - India
Feb 2024

Last updated 6.12.2025

SELECTED WORKS

Canoe | River Perspective. 2025 by Shellie Smith and Max Doran. Courtesy of Max Doran

Deepwaters. 2025 by Irene Perez Lopez, Max Doran and Ethan Cranfield. Courtesy of Max Doran

The Sand Still Remembers the Water, 2025 by Tom Condurso, Max Doran, and Ethan Cranfield. Courtesy of Lexi Owen.

1. WaterTalks

WaterTalks
August 2025
Exhibition at Tin Sheds Gallery
Dr Irene Perez Lopez + Maria Cano Dominiguez

WaterTalks explores the Coquun (Hunter River) as a living entity, examining the social and ecological impacts of colonialism and industrialisation on the surrounding environment. I contributed to the design and fabrication of multiple exhibition elements, producing detailed drawings and using metal machinery and CNC routing to develop both prototypes and final fabricated components.

Field Rooms. 2025 by Hugo Moline, Heide Axelsen, Peter Begg, Oscar Smith, Tom Condurso, Ethan Cranfield, Max Doran and the University of Newcastle Architecture Students. Courtesy of Max Doran

Field Rooms Test Build. 2025 by Hugo Moline, Heide Axelsen, Peter Begg, Oscar Smith, Tom Condurso, Ethan Cranfield, Max Doran and the University of Newcastle Architecture Students. Courtesy of Max Doran

2. Field Rooms

Open Field Agency
September 2025
Public Art and Infrastructure
Hugo Moline + Heidi Axelsen, MAPA

Field Rooms is an artist residency and public art initiative exploring the role of public art within private developments, inviting community engagement in traditionally restricted spaces. The project’s structural frame was produced within the Architecture and Built Environment Workshop using a CNC router and hand tools. Working on Field Rooms, I largely contributed to the fabrication process, preparing and organising CNC router files, working closely with students and the Research Team.

Model Newcastle. 2025 by Timothy Burke, Peter Begg, Tom Condurso, Ethan Cranfield and Max Doran. Courtesy of Paul Read

3. Model Newcastle

Newcastle Museum Exhibition
September 2025
Dr Timothy Burke, Peter Begg

Model Newcastle - “Big Stories, Little Things” is an exhibition of models that reflect Newcastle’s history and celebrate its community. Developing this centrepiece model with Dr Timothy Burke expanded my knowledge of exhibition production while working under a tight time frame. For Model Newcastle, I assisted in the fabrication and assembly of elements, whilst also preparing CNC router files.

FAST SLOW Test Construction. 2025 by Hugo Moline, Sarah Breen Lovett, MUDTEC, Oscar Smith, Tom Condurso, Ethan Cranfield, Max Doran and The University of Newcastle Architecture Students. Courtesy of Max Doran

FAST SLOW Test Construction. 2025 by Hugo Moline, Sarah Breen Lovett, MUDTEC, Oscar Smith, Tom Condurso, Ethan Cranfield, Max Doran and The Univeristy of Newcastle Architecture Students. Courtesy of Max Doran

University

4. FASTSLOW

Earth Building
October 2025
Sustainable Infrastructure
MUDTEC, Dr Hugo Moline, Dr Sarah Breen Lovett

FAST SLOW investigates the integration of prefabricated structural systems with natural material infill to create sustainable housing prototypes. I contributed to the project by writing and producing CNC files for all CNC fabricated components and facilitating student activity in finishing and assembly.

The Interstitial Shelter - Model. 2023 by Max Doran. Courtesy of Max Doran

The Interstitial Shelter - Render 01. 2023 by Max Doran. Courtesy of Max Doran

The Interstitial Shelter - East Elevation. 2023 by Max Doran. Courtesy of Max Doran

5. Disconnection

Studio 3
June 2023
The University of Newcastle
Max Doran

Disconnection responds to a brief centred on Glenrock Lagoon, questioning what a hiking cabin truly needs to be, and whether a simple, unobtrusive shelter is enough. The project explores the site’s layered history; once an Awabakal corrobboree ground, later shaped by the extractive operations of the Burwood Colliery, and now used as an educational landscape. Disconnection highlights the fragmentation between these eras.

Hiking trails unintentionally serve as the only connectors across this disjointed past, converging and diverging at trail forks throughout the valley. The Interstitial Shelter draws its form and principles from these forks, reducing its impact on Country while maximising adaptability and responsiveness to place.