Dr Timothy O'Rourke
Senior Lecturer in Architecture
School of Architecture, Design and Planning
+61 7 336 53848
Researcher biography
Tim O'Rourke's research investigates past and present applications of cross-cultural design across different building types and settings. Such projects often require multi-disciplinary approaches to the study of architectural problems, informed by the histories of buildings and the people who use them. A Discovery Project on healthcare architecture combined different research methods to ask if design can improve the experience and participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in hospitals and clinics.
Tim's current research focuses on the design and social histories of Indigenous housing from the 1950s assimilation era to the 2000s. These studies seek to answer questions about design intentions and the origins, development and evaluation of architectural methods that improved public housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. His PhD examined the history and use of Aboriginal building traditions in the Wet Tropics Region of Queensland. He has contributed to a range of research projects related to Indigenous housing, settlements and landscapes. Research topics include self-constructed dwellings and vernacular building technologies, cultural tourism, adaption to climate change and housing sustainability. Results from these studies have been published in technical reports, conference proceedings, journals and book chapters.
Tim is a registered architect, having worked in architectural practices in Brisbane and Sydney, and he maintains an interest in timber construction and joinery. As a sole practitioner, he has designed residential projects and worked on a range of building types for Aboriginal communities. He teaches architectural technology and design and has offered a range of research topics in the Master of Architecture program.
Memberships
Fellow Australian Institute of Architects
Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand
Environmental Design Research Association,
Publications
Book Chapters
Timothy O'Rourke (2023). Adaptive uses of traditional windbreaks and bough shades for Indigenous housing in Australia. Design and the Vernacular: Interpretations for Contemporary Architectural Practice and Theory. (pp. 105-116) edited by Paul Memmott, John Ting, Tim O'Rourke and Marcel Vellinga. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury. doi: 10.5040/9781350294349
O'Rourke, Timothy, Mapar, Mandana, Memmott, Paul and Aird, Michael (2022). Camps, cottages and homes: an introduction to the exhibition. Camps, cottages and homes: a brief history of Indigenous housing in Queensland. (pp. 4-17) edited by Timothy O'Rourke and Mandana Mapar. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland, School of Architecture.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2022). State designs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing. Camps, cottages and homes: a brief history of Indigenous housing in Queensland. (pp. 62-73) edited by Timothy O'Rourke and Mandana Mapar. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2022). Cherbourg prefab: Aboriginal-built housing for Queensland. Camps, Cottages and Homes: a brief history of Indigenous housing in Queensland. (pp. 82-91) edited by Timothy O'Rourke and Mandana Mapar. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2022). Housing commission homes in suburbia. Camps, Cottages and Homes: a brief history of Indigenous housing in Queensland. (pp. 106-113) edited by Timothy O'Rourke and Mandana Mapar. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2022). Native cottages and time for "the new order of things". Camps, Cottages and Homes: a brief history of Indigenous housing in Queensland. (pp. 42-51) edited by Timothy O'Rourke and Mandana Mapar. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2018). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander domestic architecture in Australia. The handbook of contemporary Indigenous architecture. (pp. 25-56) edited by Elizabeth Grant, Kelly Greenop, Albert L. Refiti and Daniel J. Glenn. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-6904-8_2
O'Rourke, Timothy (2018). Indigenous traditional knowledge and contemporary architecture in Australia. The handbook of contemporary Indigenous architecture. (pp. 413-432) edited by Elizabeth Grant, Kelly Greenop, Albert L. Refiti and Daniel J. Glenn. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-6904-8_16
O'Rourke, Timothy and Memmott, Paul C. (2009). Sustaining Indigenous cultural tourism: Aboriginal pathways, cultural centres and dwellings in the Queensland wet tropics. Indigenous/Aboriginal tourism research in Australia (2000-2008): Industry lessons and future research needs. (pp. 78-79) edited by Pascal Tremblay, Aggie Wegner and Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism.. Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia: CRC for Sustainable Tourism.
O'Rourke, Tim and Memmott, Paul (2007). Constructing cultural tourism opportunities in the Queensland wet tropics: Dyirbalngan campsites and dwellings. Striving for Sustainability: Case Studies in Indigenous Tourism. (pp. 371-402) edited by J. Buultjens and D. Fuller. Lismore, NSW: Southern Cross University Press.
Journal Articles
O’Rourke, Timothy (2025). Formative cross-cultural design practice in the 1970s: the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing panel in Aurukun. Fabrications. doi: 10.1080/10331867.2024.2443283
Marnane, Kali and O’Rourke, Timothy (2024). Informal settlements and the continuity of Gujarati building traditions in Ahmedabad. The Journal of Architecture, 29 (3), 406-432. doi: 10.1080/13602365.2024.2350990
O'Rourke, Timothy (2023). Evaluating histories of Indigenous housing. Inflection Journal of the Melbourne School of Design, 10 4, 14-25.
Sully, Nicole, O'Rourke, Timothy and Wilson, Andrew (2021). "Design". M/C Journal, 24 (4). doi: 10.5204/mcj.2848
O'Rourke, Timothy, Nash, Daphne, Haynes, Michele, Burgess, Meredith and Memmott, Paul (2020). Cross-cultural design and healthcare waiting rooms for Indigenous people in regional Australia. Environment and Behaviour, 54 (1), 001391652095244-115. doi: 10.1177/0013916520952443
Nash, Daphne, O’Rourke, Timothy, Memmott, Paul and Haynes, Michele (2020). Indigenous preferences for inpatient rooms in Australian hospitals: a mixed-methods study in cross-cultural design. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 14 (1), 1937586720925552-189. doi: 10.1177/1937586720925552
O’Rourke, Timothy (2020). Uses of the vernacular in the design of indigenous housing. Fabrications, 30 (1), 1-24. doi: 10.1080/10331867.2020.1721104
O'Rourke, Timothy and Nash, Daphne (2020). Designing hospitals for First Nations people. The Health Advocate (58), 18-20.
Haynes, Michele, O'Rourke, Timothy, Nash, Daphne, Baffour, Bernard, York, Sue, Chainey, Carys, Betros, Georgia and Memmott, Paul (2019). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander preferences for healthcare settings: effective use of design images in survey research. Australian Health Review, 44 (2), 222-227. doi: 10.1071/AH18196
O'Rourke, Timothy and Nash, Daphne (2019). Aboriginal yards in remote Australia: adapting landscapes for indigenous housing. Landscape and Urban Planning, 182, 124-132. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.10.013
O'Rourke, Timothy (2018). The architectural politics and practice of Indigenous housing in Australia. Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Working Paper Series, 304.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2016). Sharing plans for Aboriginal housing. Architecture Australia, 105 (5), 37-38.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2015). The construction of Aboriginal dwellings and histories in the Wet Tropics. Fabrications, 25 (1), 4-25. doi: 10.1080/10331867.2015.1006760
Buultjens, Jeremy, Brereton, David, Memmott, Paul, Reser, Joseph, Thomson, Linda and O’Rourke, Tim (2010). The mining sector and indigenous tourism development in Weipa, Queensland. Tourism Managment, 31 (5), 597-606. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2009.06.009
Memmott, Paul, Hyde, Richard and O'Rourke, Tim (2009). Biomimetic theory and building technology: Use of aboriginal and scientific knowledge of spinifex grass. Architectural Science Review, 52 (2), 117-125. doi: 10.3763/asre.2009.0014
O'Rourke, T. (2006). Architectural traditions a product of tourism: Reproducing Aboriginal built environments in the twenty-first century. Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review, 18 (1), 75-75.
Conference Papers
O’Rourke, Timothy, Sully, Nicole and Chaddock, Steve (2023). From rambling to elevated walkways: piecemeal planning histories in national parks. The 39th annual conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand; 16th conference of the Australasian Urban History / Planning History Group, Auckland, New Zealand, 25 - 27 November 2022. Auckland, New Zealand: SAHANZ. doi: 10.55939/a5034pmvqv
O'Rourke, Timothy and Loy, Wei Win (2021). Architecture as Indigenous heritage: extant and virtual dormitories in Cherbourg. What If? What Next? Speculations on History’s Futures. 37th Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand, Perth, WA, Australia, 18-25 November 2020. SAHANZ.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2017). The Goorawin Shelter: Ed Oribin's contribution to the Aboriginal Housing Panel. Quotation: 34th Annual Conference of the Society of Architecutural Historians, Australia and New Zealand, Canberra, 5-8 July 2017. Canberra, Australia: SAHANZ.
O'Rourke, Timothy and Greenop, Kelly (2014). Self-constructing sovereignty: Aboriginal housing and rights to land on Stradbroke Island, Queensland, Australia. 23rd IAPS Conference, Timisoara, Romania, 24-27 June 2014. Timisoara, Romania: Universitatii de Vest.
Timothy O'Rourke (2014). The influence of culture on reducing energy consumption: Aboriginal housing in arid regions of Australia. 30th International PLEA Conference 2014, Ahmedabad, India, 16-18 December 2014. Ahmedabad, India: CEPT University Press.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2014). Architectural experiments in Aboriginal housing in the early 1970s. Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Annual Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 2-5 July 2014. Gold Coast, QLD, Australia: SAHANZ.
O'Rourke, Timothy and Memmott, Paul (2014). Rejection and reuse of traditional building technologies: case studies of two Aboriginal thatching materials. IASTE 2014: Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 14-17 December, 2014. Berkeley, CA, United States: International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2013). Water quality in Dajarra, Northwest Queensland. WSUD 2013: 8th International Water Sensitive Urban Design Conference, Gold Coast , Australia, 25 - 29 November 2013. Gold Coast, Australia: WSUD 2013 / Engineers Australia.
O'Rourke, Tim (2013). Aboriginal camps and ‘villages’ in Southeast Queensland. Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Annual Conference, Gold Coast, Australia, 2–5 July 2013. Gold Coast, Australia: Society of Architectural Historians Australia & New Zealand.
O'Rourke, T. (2012). Mining Aboriginal building traditions: a spinifex case study. The 6th International Seminar on Vernacular Settlements - ISVS, Farmagusta, North Cyprus, 19–21 April 2012. Famagusta, North Cyprus: Eastern Mediterranean University Press.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2011). Skill in Aboriginal building traditions: The wellcrafted mija. Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Annual Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 7-10 July 2011. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ).
Gamage, H., De Silva, S., Flutter, N., O'Rourke, T., Memmott, P., Martin, D. and Schmidt, S. (2010). Green building materials from spinifex. XXIII IUFRO World Congress, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 23-28 August, 2010. United Kingdom: Commonwealth Forestry Association.
O'Rourke, Tim, Flutter, Nick and Memmott, Paul (2010). Prototyping spinifex as thermal insulation in arid regions of Australia. Australian and New Zealand Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA) Annual Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 24-26 November 2010. Auckland, N.Z.: Architectural Science Association.
Memmott, Paul, Hyde, Richard and O'Rourke, Timothy (2009). Biomimetic theory and building technology: use of Aboriginal and scientific knowledge of Spinifex grass. 42nd Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA), Newcastle, NSW, Australia, 26-28 November 2008. Sydney, Australia: Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney. doi: 10.3763/asre.2009.0014
O'Rourke, Timothy (2009). The continuity and loss of Girramay building traditions. Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Annual Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 2-5 July 2009. Auckland, New Zealand: University of Auckland.
O’Rourke, Tim (2002). Notes on Dyirbalngan dwellings ethno-architecture in the rainforests of northeastern Queensland. XIX Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand, Brisbane, Australia, 4-7 October 2002. Brisbane, Australia: SAHANZ: Society of Architectural Historians, Australia & New Zealand.
Newspaper Article
O'Rourke, Timothy and Nash, Daphne (2019, 12 06). Making space: how designing hospitals for Indigenous people might benefit everyone The Conversation
Thesis
O'Rourke, Timothy Charles (2012). The well-crafted mija: traditional Aboriginal building skills and knowledge in the Australian Wet Tropics. PhD Thesis, School of Architecture, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/284528
Department Technical Report
O'Rourke, Tim and Memmott, Paul (2005). Sustaining Indigenous Cultural Tourism: Aboriginal Pathways, Cultural Centres and Dwellings in the Queensland Wet Tropics. Destination Management, 10. Aboriginal Environments Research Centre, School of Geography, Planning and Architecture, University of Queensland.
Research Reports
Memmott, Paul, Reser, Joseph, Head, Brian, Davidson, James, Nash, Daphne, O'Rourke, Tim, Gamage, Harshi, Suliman, Samid, Lowry, Andrew and Marshall, Keith (2013). Aboriginal responses to climate change in arid zone Australia: regional understandings and capacity building for adaptation. Southport, QLD, Australia: National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.
O'Rourke, Timothy (2011). Delivering drinking water to Dajarra, North West Queensland. DKCRC Research Report Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, Alice Springs, NT, Australia.
Fisher, Steve, Elvin, Ruth, McFallan, Stephen, Memmott, Paul, O'Rourke, Tim, Peter, Sonja, Porter, Rae, Stanley, Owen, Sullivan, Patrick, Tedmanson, Deidre and Young, Metta (2011). Desert services that work: Demand responsive approaches to desert settlements. Alice Springs, Australia: Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre; Ninti One Limited.
Fisher, Steve, Elvin, Ruth, McFallan, Stephen, Memmott, Paul, O'Rourke, Tim, Peter, Sonja, Porter, Rae, Stanley, Owen, Sullivan, Patrick, Tedmanson, Deirdre and Young, Metta (2010). Desert services that work; Demand responsive approaches to desert settlements. Alice Springs, N.T: Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre.
Brereton, David, Memmott, Paul, Reser, Joseph, Buultjens, Jeremy, Thomson, Linda, Barker, Tanuja, O'Rourke, Timothy and Chambers, Catherine (2007). Mining and indigenous tourism in Northern Australia. Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.: Co-operative Research Centre (CRC) for Sustainable Tourism.
Brereton, David, Reser, J., Buultjens, Jeremy, Memmott, Paul, Barker, Tanuja, Thomson, Linda, O'Rourke, Tim and Chambers, Catherine (2006). Mining and indigenous tourism in Northern Australia: Summary of findings. St Lucia, Brisbane, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Memmott, P. and O'Rourke, T. (2004). Dyirbal sustainable tourism projects: Dyribalngan campsites and dwellings: Sustaining cultural tourism opportunities in the Wet Tropics. St Lucia, Qld, Australia: Aboriginal Environments Research Centre, University of Queensland.