Sarah Rees

Sarah Lynn Rees is a Palawa woman descending from the Trawlwoolway people of north-east Tasmania. She is a Lecturer at Monash University, Associate at Jackson Clements Burrows Architects (JCBA) where she also is also a Lead Indigenous Advisor: Architecture and Design, she is program advisor and curator of the BLAKitecture series for Mpavilion, a Director of Parlour: Women, Equity, Architecture, and a member of the Victorian Design Review Panel for the Office of the Victorian Government Architect and Co-Chair of the Australian Institute for Architects First Nations Advisory Working Group.

Sarah’s practice, advisory and research interests are geared towards a long term aim of Indigenising the built environment. Awarded the Charlie Perkins scholarship, Sarah attended the University of Cambridge where she produced a thesis on Indigenous housing in remote Australian communities and graduated with an MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design. Sarah is widely published in architectural media, and speaks regularly at architecture and design conferences both locally and internationally. Her current research focus is on developing resources for built environment practitioners to improve collaborative engagement processes with Traditional Owners and Indigenous communities throughout each stage of architecture from procurement to media and awards.

Sarah has practiced architecture in both Melbourne and London, most notably with Stirling Prize Winner Will Alsop’s London based practice aLL Design before returning to Jackson Clements Burrows Architects in Birrarung-ga (Melbourne). Sarah’s appointment at Monash is a practice-based research and teaching role that is an ongoing partnership with Monash University Department of Architecture and Jackson Clements Burrows Architects.