Dr Hannah Robertson

Lecturer

Biography

Hannah combines a socially driven and contextually responsive design and construction approach with policy experience to work with remote communities. She has worked on building, design and research project with Indigenous communities in remote Cape York and Arnhem Land, Australia.

Her master's thesis 'Bush Owner Builder' involved collaborative self-building on homelands surrounding Hope Vale, Cape York and was awarded the prestigious Royal Institute of British Architect's President's Dissertation Medal (2011) and a commendation in the Architecture Institute of Australia's Colorbond Steel Biennale (2012).

Hannah's PhD was based in remote Northeast Arnhem Land and investigated how a territorial and regional resource based approach to building can contribute to the development of local industry and the enhanced satisfaction of human needs. It involved the development of a theoretical framework and designs a technical system using appropriate technologies for building in the region. Her PhD received the John Grice Award for best Architecture PhD at The University of Melbourne (2019) as well as the Chartered Institute of Building Research Award (2019).

Upon the submission of her PhD, Hannah took up the position of Innovation Fellow (2018-2019) at Monash University's Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture where she developed an interdisciplinary and collaborative teaching and research project with the Centre for Appropriate Technology and the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation to co-design a Cultural Knowledge Centre at Sandy Creek Bore, Cape York. The educational contribution of this project was recognised as a finalist in the Association of Architecture Schools of Australasia's Education Prize for Early Career Academics (2019). In 2020, Hannah returned to The University of Melbourne as Lecturer in Construction Management to continue research and teaching in these pursuits.

Disciplines

Architecture Construction

Research directions

Cultural and Sustainable Landscapes Healthy Communities and Infrastructure Indigenous Place Practice and Construction Innovation

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