Rory Hyde takes on new role at the Melbourne School of Design

After seven years working as the Curator of Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Associate Professor Rory Hyde is returning to Australia to work with the University of Melbourne.

Rory Hyde portrait

Hyde will take up the position of Associate Professor in Architecture (Curatorial Design and Practice) at the Melbourne School of Design where he plans to combine his architectural training with his experience as a curator to develop new forms of design practice, and to experiment with ways of initiating positive change.

"I am thrilled to be joining the Melbourne School of Design, and to be working with its many brilliant researchers and practitioners across the built environment” says Professor Hyde.

“I am excited to return to Melbourne, especially at this moment of reflection after a difficult year. The priorities seem to have shifted, and new ideas and new ways of living seem within reach, a brief window of opportunity to address some of the major challenges facing the city today.”

Throughout his career as a designer, writer and curator, Hyde’s areas of interest have always been grounded in the ways in which new forms of design practice can benefit the public good, and how the role of the contemporary designer can be redefined.

In his latest book Architects After Architecture, co-edited with Harriet Harriss and Roberta Marcaccio, Hyde continues to explore how the concept of architecture can be expanded far beyond the idea of only designing buildings. Through interviews and case studies, the book explores how architects have used their training and experience in new and resourceful ways to tackle the climate crisis, work with refugees, advocate for diversity, start tech companies, become leading museum curators, tackle homelessness, draft public policy, become developers, design videogames, shape public discourse, and much more.

Hyde’s new role at the Melbourne School of Design will go beyond his teaching and scholarship, says Professor Julie Willis, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning; “we are thrilled to welcome Rory as an Associate Professor at our Faculty, and look forward to him playing a key role in engagement with University partnerships with the City of Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria and other collecting institutions”.