Episode 117: Architecture & Education - Julie Willis

This week we launch our new series for 2017, Architecture and Education. The importance of the educational process for architects is frequently undervalued, and many courses seem to be following a well-trodden path that dates back decades and seems firmly rooted in Modernism (graduates from Australian architecture courses still seem starstruck with Mies and Corb!). This new series seeks to discuss, through engaging with Australia’s leading architectural educators, the issues facing the future of the profession in a world that is changing far faster than the current national curricula.

In the first story in our series, Jan Henderson talks with Professor Julie Willis who is the new Dean of Architecture at The University of Melbourne. They discuss University of Melbourne’s approach to the discipline, the introduction of the new Bachelor of Design course, and the delivery of education through new technologies.

Julie Willis is an authority on the history of Australian architecture 1890-1950 and has undertaken significant projects researching the development of modern hospital architecture in Australia; the importance of small public buildings in community and civic identity; architecture during wartime and its subsequent impact on practice and production; and the embodiment of nationalism and identity in Australian government architecture.

She is currently involved in major projects examining the development of innovative school architecture in Australia; and equity and diversity in the Australian architectural profession.

This story brought to you by:

Henderson Media Consultants

Producer: Jan Henderson Director: Ron Brown Camera Operators: Andrew Cox and Sean Smith Editor: Andrew Cox