Lindsay Asquith

Lindsay is a social and service designer and vernacular architect with an interest in using design to transform the life chances of marginalised people. Her current research is focused on designing for care in both the disability and aged care spaces. She takes a collaborative and strengths-based approach that embeds lived experience at the heart of major societal and systems change. Current projects include a partnership with disability services provider Northcott Innovation. Called A Good Life, the project is part of The Supported Living Lab, a co-design space in which Northcott clients and staff partner with service designers to create new solutions for a range of disability needs. Other recent work includes a project to reframe the challenge of damage to social housing properties, and another to effect behaviour change to minimise violence and aggression in hospital emergency departments.

Previously, Lindsay was the Director of the UTS Design Innovation Research Centre (2019-2021) and a senior researcher in the UTS Designing out Crime research group. Over 12 years, she worked on more than 100 externally funded research projects for public and private sector clients, including the NSW Department of Justice, Nepean Health, the City of Sydney and Broadspectrum. Many of these projects were informed by her background in vernacular architecture, which is concerned with the everyday practices and rituals of those that inhabit the built environment.

Lindsay is an experienced workshop facilitator who has delivered workshop-based, problem-reframing services to public and private agencies, service providers, social enterprises, local governments and communities. She was the co-editor of Vernacular Architecture in the 21st Century: Theory, Education and Practice (2006), a former guest editor for the Crime Prevention and Community Safety international journal, and a recent contributor to the Architecture Off Centre podcast.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Lindsay has a particular interest in student projects that are focused on designing for inclusivity, designing for disability and aged care, designing for marginalised populations, human-centred design and vernacular architecture.

TEACHING INTERESTS

Lindsay teaches into the Master of Design and Graduate Certificate in Social and Service Design. She is passionate about creating opportunities for students to work on real-world, complex problems, empowering them to develop and hone their design skills while making a meaningful contribution to society at large. She brings her wealth of knowledge from her industry- and government-partnered research projects into the classroom, engaging students in the future world of work from the start of their learning journey.

Supervision

Lindsay supervises postgraduate research in the UTS Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building and the UTS Business School. She is currently the currently principal supervisor for one PhD student and co-supervisor for two others.

NIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY APPOINTMENTS

• Senior Lecturer University of Technology Sydney, School Of Design, Sydney, Australia1 Jan 2022
• Director Design Innovation Research Centre, University of Technology, Sydney, Faculty of Architecture Design and Building, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia4 Jan 2021
• Assistant Director University of Technology Sydney, Design Innovation Research Centre, Sydney, Australia19 Aug 2019 - 19 Aug 2020
• Research Fellow University of Technology Sydney, Design Innovation Research Centre and Designing out Crime, University of Technology Sydne, Sydney, Australia1 Aug 2017 - 1 Aug 2018
• Research Officer University of Technology Sydney, Designing Out Crime, Ultimo, Australia1 Oct 2011 - 1 Oct 2014

NON-ACADEMIC POSITIONS

• Night Time City Manager City of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaNov 2014 - Aug 2017
• Strategy Advisor City of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaJul 2016 - Feb 2017
• Director Women2WorkNov 2009 - Oct 2011
• Project Consultant Talent DrainOct 2009 - Sep 2011
• Head of Research, Asia Pacific DEGWSep 2007 - Oct 2008

DEGREES

• PhD, Architecture Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom1998 - 2003
• MA (Hons), History University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom1981 - 1985

AVAILABILITY

• Masters Research or PhD student supervision
• Collaborative projects
• Industry Projects

DISCIPLINES

• Interaction and experience design