Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning

Associate Professor Julie Willis

BPD BArch (Hons) PhD (Melb)

Associate Professor in Architecture

Associate Dean (Research)

Email: j.willis@unimelb.edu.au

 

Associate Professor Julie Willis is an authority on the history of Australian architecture 1890-1950 and has undertaken significant projects researching 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 modern hospital architecture in Australia and the importance of small public buildings in community and civic identity. With Professor Philip Goad, she is an editor of the proposed Encyclopaedia of Australian Architecture.

Her work on the history of women architects in Australia garnered significant attention, being awarded a commendation in the category of Best Art Book Published in 2001, by the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand, the National Bates Smart Award for Architecture in the Media in 2002, and named a Year of the Built Environment Exemplar in 2004.

Julie is past editor of the refereed journal Fabrications and now a member of its editorial board, and a member of the advisory board of Architectural Theory Review. She previously held an appointment at the Louis Laybourne-Smith School of Architecture & Design at the University of South Australia, and has been a visiting scholar at McGill University. She teaches architectural design and history and is the Faculty’s Associate Dean (Development).

 

Current Teaching Responsibilities

702-431 Australian Architecture

702-232 Modern Architecture B

702-474 Investigation Proj A

702-475 Investigation Proj C

 

Current Administrative Responsibilities

Associate Dean (Development)

 

Research Interests

 

Funded Research

Project Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds: Designing Everyday Modernism for Australian Communities 1920–1970 (with Dr Hannah Lewi and Professor Philip Goad (and Professor Kate Darian-Smith & Assoc. Professor John Murphy, the Australian Centre, University of Melbourne))
Year: 2006–2008
Source: ARC Discovery Project grant

 

Project Leading the world: modern hospital design in Australia 1925-1960 (with Professor Philip Goad)
Year: 2006
Source: Melbourne Research Grants Scheme

 

Project Future Melbourne (with Dr Paul Mees, (with Dr Andrew Brown-May (Arts: History), Michael Cathcart (Arts: the Australian Centre) and Professor Susan Sawyer (MDHS: Paediatrics), University of Melbourne))

Year: 2005-2006
Source: University of Melbourne Steering Committee grant

 

Project Nationalism and Identity: Government Architecture in Australia 1900 –1950 (with P Goad)
Year: 2000-2002
Source: Australian Research Council (ARC) Large Grants

 

Project Architecture from WWII: Australian Architects and the Allied Works Council (with P Goad)
Year: 2000
Source: Australian Research Council (ARC) Small Grants

 

Awards Received

 

Recent Publications

Books

Goad PJ, Wilken RC & Willis JL. 2004. Australian Modern: the Architecture of Stephenson and Turner. Carlton, Australia: Miegunyah Press (Melbourne UP).

Willis, J. & Hanna, B., 2001, Women Architects in Australia: 1900–1950, Melbourne, Australia: Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

 

Book chapters

Willis JL. 2004. Designed Reinvention, 1918-45. In PJ Goad & B Starr (eds), Bates Smart: 150 Years of Australian Architecture. Melbourne, Australia: Thames and Hudson, pp. 112-145.

Willis JL & Goad PJ. 2004. Modernism from Empire: the Charting of an Australian Government Architecture 1901-1950. In K Darian-Smith, PA Grimshaw, KJE Lindsey & SF MacIntyre (eds), Exploring the British World: Identity - Cultural Production - Institutions. Melbourne, Australia: RMIT Publishing, pp. 822-839.

 

Refereed journal articles

Willis JL. 2005. Celebrating the Everyday: Modernism, Citizenry and Civic Identity in Australian Architecture, 1930-1950. In A Leach & G Matthewson (eds), Celebration: XXII Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand. 379-384. Perth, Australia: Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ).

Willis JL. 2005. In Australia, between America and Europe, Beaux-Arts and Modernism, scholarship and qualification: the Melbourne University Architectural Atelier 1919-1947. Journal of Architectural Education. 58(3):13-22.

Willis JL. 2004. Conscious Design: the Melbourne University Architectural Atelier 1919-1947. Fabrications. 13(2):43-62.

Goad PJ & Willis JL. 2003. Invention from war: A circumstantial modernism for Australian architecture. Journal of Architecture. 8(1):41-62.

Kaji-O'Grady SL & Willis JL. 2003. Conditions, Connections and Change: reviewing Australian architectural theory 1880-2000. Architectural Theory Review. 8(2):219-229.

 

Refereed conference papers

Willis JL. 2005. In Australia, Between America and Europe, Beaux Arts and Modernism, Scholarship and Qualification: the Melbourne University Architectural Atelier, 1919-1947. Journal of Architectural Education. 58(3):13-22.

Willis JL. 2005. Celebrating the Everyday: Modernism, citizenry and civic identity in Australian architecture 1930-50. Celebration, Papers from the Twenty-second Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia & New Zealand. 379-384. Napier, NZ: Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ).

Willis JL. 2004. Style/Scale/Status/Site: the Sensibility of Architectural Eclecticism. In H Edquist & H Frichot (eds), LIMITS: Proceedings from the 21st Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand . 533-538. Perth, Australia: Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ).

Willis JL & Goad PJ. 2002. The Imaging of Government 1918-1945: Modernity, Tradition or Progress. In J MacArthur & A Moulis (eds), Additions to Architectural History: XIXth Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand. 1-10. Perth, Australia: Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ).

Willis JL & Goad PJ. 2001. Revisiting the Search for an Australian Style: Late Nineteenth Century Arguments for a National Idiom. In H Lewi (ed), In the Making: Architecture's Past. 66-73. Perth, Australia: Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ).

Goad PJ & Willis JL. 2001. War and the Necessity of Invention: A Circumstantial Modernism for Postwar Australian Architecture. In H Lewi (ed), In the Making: Architecture's Past. 74-83. Perth, Australia: Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ).

Willis JL & Goad PJ. 2000. A myth in its making: Federation style and Australian architectural history. In A. Leach & E. Petrovic (eds), Formulation Fabrication: the Architecture of History. 17h Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand. 113-118. Wellington, New Zealand: Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ).

 

Contributions to Major Reference Works

Willis JL. 2003. 1888 Building. In Chris McAuliffe & Peter Yule (eds), Treasures: highlights of the cultural collections of the University of Melbourne, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. 86-87.

Willis JL. 2003. Old Arts Building. In Chris McAuliffe & Peter Yule (eds), Treasures: highlights of the cultural collections of the University of Melbourne, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. 274-275.

Willis JL. 2003. Chemistry Building. In Chris McAuliffe & Peter Yule (eds), Treasures: highlights of the cultural collections of the University of Melbourne, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. 292-293.

 

Research Supervision

 

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