The University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning announces the appointment of 13 new members from across the world to their staff. Appointed to teaching and research roles to address the School’s expanding research interests and growing student base that has increased by 35 per cent in five years, the new staff members specialise in various disciplines including architecture, architectural science, design and urbanism.

According to Professor John Redmond, Dean of the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, the injection of new talent from Sydney, interstate, Europe, Asia and the United States brings industry specialists, international experts and global thinkers to the School.

Professor Andrew Leach and Dr Arianna Brambilla join the architecture discipline in research and teaching.

Leach was previously Professor of Architectural History at Griffith University where he was instrumental in establishing a new architecture program. His broad research extends from the history of the baroque, to the architecture and urban history of the Gold Coast that resulted in his 2016 book, Off the Plan: The Urbanisation of the Gold Coast. Prof Leach’s latest book, Rome is an unconventional guide to one of the great cities of the world.

A graduate in building engineering and architecture from the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy, Dr Brambilla joins the School from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. Her research in the psychology of human comfort focuses on sustainability and technological innovation.

Professor Jianlei Niu was the Director of the Research Centre for Building Environment Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Appointed as Professor of Building Environment and Energy, he brings a strong international research background in the field of indoor office environments and energy-efficient buildings.

Dr Tooran Alizadeh, Dr Non Arkaraprasertkul and Dr Dallas Rogers will join as Senior Lecturers in urban and regional planning and policy. 

Dr Tooran Alizadeh is the new Program Director of the Master of Urban Design. She comes from Griffith University where she was a Senior Lecturer in Urban and Environment Planning. Her research is on the policy and planning implications of telecommunications, with an interest in Australia’s National Broadband Network, telework and smart cities.

Dr Non Arkaraprasertkul previously held teaching and research positions at Harvard and New York universities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of South Florida. His research addresses the urban design and problems of Asian cities, including mega-cities, through the lenses of design and social science.

Dr Dallas Rogers comes from Western Sydney University where he was a graduate and lecturer in urban studies in the School of Social Sciences and Psychology. His extensive housing research spans foreign investment, global real estate, global cities and citizenship, housing affordability, digital technologies and future urban communities.

The three new design appointments include Dr Naseem Ahmadpour, Associate Professor Cara Wrigley and Dr Kazjon Grace.

A Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Design Innovation at the Swinburne University, Dr Naseem Ahmadpour joins as a new lecturer in design thinking.  Her research contributes to the understanding of design for human wellbeing.

Associate Professor Cara Wrigley will lead Design Innovation. A Principal Research Fellow in the Design and Innovation Research Centre at the University of Technology Sydney, she has worked with start-ups, small to medium companies, and multinational corporates.

Having completed both his doctorate and post-doctorate at the School, Dr Kazjon Grace returns as the fulltime Program Director of Design Computing and is undertaking Design Lab research dedicated to improving human interaction and experiences using digital technologies.

Four postdoctoral research fellows, Dr Ljudmila Koprivec, Dr Eugenia Gasparri, Dr Sarah Breen Lovett and Dr David Kroll, join the Innovation in Applied Design Lab, and will work under the leadership of Associate Professor Mathew Aitchison.