Simon Bodycoat

Simon Bodycoat serves as a part-time lecturer at the University of Western Australia (UWA) School of Design since 2024 and as a practice partner at the University of Notre Dame Australia since 2021. A registered Architect since 1992, he is founding Director of Rodrigues Bodycoat Architects (RBA) with 30+ years of practice across residential, commercial, institutional, and educational building typologies.

Education:

• Bachelor of Architecture (First Class Honors), Curtin University, 1989

His research focuses on architectural design methodology integrating traditional hand-drawing with digital technologies (BIM, 3D printing, drone photography). He emphasizes the neurological connection between manual drawing and cognitive design processes, advocating for sketch-based conceptual development before digital implementation. This philosophy informs his work across diverse building typologies with particular expertise in residential and commercial architecture.

Bodycoat actively contributes to architectural education through secondary student mentoring at Methodist Ladies' College (2008-2021) and Shenton College (2023), plus tertiary instruction at UWA and Notre Dame. He serves on the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA) Accreditation Review Panel since 2010, evaluating programs at multiple universities, and was Architects Board of Western Australia board member (2005-2015) including Deputy Chair (2010-2014).

At Rodrigues Bodycoat Architects, he leads a studio combining traditional design techniques with advanced technologies: ArchiCAD BIM for 3D modeling, Bambu Lab 3D printers for physical models, DJI Mavic Pro drones for site analysis, and Insta360 cameras for Matterport point cloud documentation. The firm's workflow prioritizes manual sketching in initial design phases before transitioning to digital tools for technical delivery.