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AProf Marina Lommerse

MA (Design) Curtin University, BID, University of Manitoba, Licensed Interior Designer, Alberta
Image of Staff Member
    • Role:
    • Associate Professor
    • Department:
    • Dept Architecture & Inter Architecture
    • Location:
    • Architecture and Planning 632
    • Telephone:
    • +61 8 9266 7876

Designer Researcher Curator Educator Strategist

Marina’s research centres on community engagement and creative practice in the visual arts, in spatial design and through curatorship. Creative and engaged design finds solutions to the most complex problems. In her research and community work, Marina works with designers and communities to strengthen individual and collective capacity to live more creatively in sustainable environments. Curatorship showcases good design to the profession and the public, and promotes new directions in the arts of the built environment. Marina has curated a number of successful state exhibitions, and the international exhibition at the Milan ‘Salone Internazionale del Mobile’, showcasing Australian furniture designers. Her contributions to a new book published by the Interior Architecture team — Life from the Inside: Perspectives on Social Sustainability and Interior Architecture (2011) — feature her research in community engagement and interior architecture.

Marina’s varied and long career in design has spanned commercial practice, teaching and research, and her experience of managing large organisations has developed her ability to see to the heart of a problem, be it in design, in the creative industries or in teaching, to mentor people to express their unique creativity and work in a team, and to develop strategies for win-win solutions. She has been: Managing Director, Marshall Cummings and Associates, now MC / IBI ; founding Department Head of Interior Architecture at Curtin University; Chair IDEA: the Interior Design/Interior Architecture Educators Association and founding Program Coordinator, Interior Architecture International Programs.

Work in Progress links

Marina is part of the dynamic, global change community of focused thinkers, activists and leaders who seek innovative solutions to seemingly intractable problems caused by the perpetuation of unsustainable practices. Two current projects are:

Involved Design and The IOU Project with Cizak Dalmas’. In cooperation with the Centre Georges Pompidou and Vitra Design Museum.

Brisbane Hothouse: Design, Action, Leadership and the Future , with Tony Fry, author of Design Futuring—Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice.

As mentor and educator, Marina involves her students in her cutting edge work with design groups and the community at large.

Watch this space for news of the progress of these projects.

Publication links

The book Life from the Inside: Perspectives on Social Sustainability and Interior Architecture  challenges those associated with the creation of interiors to re-valuate the way the discipline conceptualises itself, and to consider how it may contribute to addressing the pressures of contemporary society. Co-edited by Dianne Smith, Marina Lommerse and Priya Metcalfe.

Permeable Boundaries: Interiors — a Field of Possibilities. , co-edited by Marina Lommerse & Dianne Smith. The catalogue presents and analyses the research that produced the exhibition of the same name in 2010. What is the nature of interior architecture now and in the future? The authors reflect on this question through the politics and debates about creative industries worldwide and the works and career trajectories of interior architecture graduates. The catalogue explores the definition of interior architecture as a field of possibilities, and the opportunities for Interior Architecture in contemporary society. Prospective and current local and international interior architecture students will find the catalogue instructive and inspirational for planning their careers. Substantive essays from the Government and leading national and international educators and professionals in Interior Architecture are included in the catalogue. It can be purchased by contacting L.Burnett@curtin.edu.au.

The exhibition and catalogue provided a benchmark for Western Australian furniture and object design. Riches of Isolation: unearthing the creative potential of Western Australia. Co-edited by Rebecca Eggleston & Marina Lommerse.

Designing Futures: A model for innovation, growth and sustainability of the craft and design industry.  Led by renowned design mentors, FORM’s Designing Futures Cluster Program delivers business skills and product development mentoring to specially selected “clusters” of Western Australian designers. Co-authors Marina Lommerse, Rebecca Eggleston & Kris Brankovic.

Facilitating Cultural Transformation: Redefining Indigenous identity through architecture. This investigation of a Canadian contemporary indigenous building has findings that are relevant to cross-cultural architecture in Australia and New Zealand. Author Marina Lommerse.

Selected publications on culture and space, and developing a creative career 

Exhibitions links

Currently showing in the Curtin Vice-Chancellory Gallery, Permeable Boundaries: Interiors — a Field of Possibilites, explores the definition and the opportunities for Interior Architecture in contemporary society. Co-curated by Marina Lommerse & Dianne Smith

Exhibited in Milan and Perth, Riches of Isolation: unearthing the creative potential of Western Australia , intended to nurture Western Australia’s design talent and help build a dynamic culture of creativity in the State. A collaboration between Curtin and FORM co-curated by Marina Lommerse, Penelope Forlano, Kris Brankovic & Rebecca Eggleston.

Exhibition, design mentoring workshops, and catalogue, Made in Midland  showcased the results of one of FORM’s Designing Futures projects, aimed at assisting the business and artistic development of a cluster of seven fine-wood designers in the Midland region. Co-mentored & co-curated by Marina Lommerse, Rebecca Eggleston & Jon Goulder.

Unveiled, was the culmination of 14 months work centred on advancing the Perth designers’ business strategies and goals, developing designs, fostering retail-ready products, and assisting individual designers with the issues each faced in their practices. A FORM Designing Futures project co-mentored & co-curated by Marina Lommerse & Rebecca Eggleston.

Research Projects

Designing Futures Cluster Program

FORM invited me to work with them to research and develop a model to bring together clusters of artists and designers. Over two years we worked collaboratively, through action research with pilot clusters, building the Designing Futures Cluster Program, conceptualised as asset-based, and structured by systems thinking. The research culminated in a written program and tools for various facilitators. The framework forms the model of learning in the Midland Atelier, a creative arts Western Australia. Led by renowned design mentors, Designing Futures delivers business skills and product development mentoring to specially selected “clusters” of Western Australian designers.’ Each cluster focus is adapted to address different gaps in knowledge and learning, from initial product concepts and development, through to more advanced business mentoring or market placement. Co-Collaborators: FORM, Rebecca Eggleston and Kris Brankovic

Permeable Boundaries: Interiors — a Field of Possibilities

Co-curated with Dianne Smith, Permeable Boundaries exhibition conceptualised interior architecture as an emerging and evolving field (in Bourdieu’s terms) that offers permeability yet definition to the careers of the professionals working within it, who in turn shape it through their beliefs, practices and outcomes. The exhibition was structured and informed through action research, choreographing the career trajectories of top graduates from Curtin over the past 20 years. From the data collected, nine generic fields of practice (totems) emerged; they in turn intersected with three broader conceptual models of Community Engagement, Cultural Heritage, Social Sustainability/Social Justice. The exhibition and the substantive catalogue published redefine the profession of IA in the contemporary workplace and in education and challenge the common perception of Interior Architecture as being about the decoration of space with objects and furnishings.

Awards

  • Finalist, Australian Awards for University Teaching 2001
  • Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence 2006
  • Curtin Excellence and Innovation in Teaching Awards 2001, 2002, 2007
  • Pro-Vice Chancellor’s Humanities Awards for Excellence 2000, 2010

Publications

Book Chapters (Authored, Research Quality)

  • Beeck, S, Metcalfe, P, Smith, D, and Lommerse, M. 2011. An Introduction to Social Sustainability & Interior Architecture. In Life From The Inside Vol 1 Perspectives on Social Sustainability & Interior Architecture, eds Dianne Smith, Marina Lommerse & Priya Metcalfe, 10-21. Imago: Paper and Pencil.
  • Lommerse, M. 2011. Chapter 2 Working Together: Interior Architecture creating with the community. In Life from the Inside: Perspectives on Social Sustainability and Interior Architecture, eds Smith, Lommerse, Metcalfe, 24-57. Perth: Paper and Pencil.

Refereed Articles (Scholarly Journals)

  • Eggleston, R, Lommerse, M, and Brankovic, K. 2011. Designing Futures: A Model for Innovation, Growth and Sustainability of the Craft and Design Industry. Design Principles & Practices: An International Journal 5(4): 385-404.
  • Lommerse, M, and lommerse, J. 2007. Self-Determined Architecture: Facilitiating cultural futures and education with the First Nations Longhouse. The International Journal of the Humanities 4(8): 19-33.
  • Lommerse, M. 2003. Raising Understanding of Indigenous Australian Culture through Creative Production in Interior Architecture. IDEA 2003: 57-69.
  • Spanbroek, N, and Lommerse, M. 1999. Interior Architecture in Australia and Canada; part two: a comparative study of the development of university education of interior designers/architects in Australia and Canada. IDEA 1(1)(1): 18-27.

Fully written papers (Refereed Conference proceedings)

  • Lommerse, M. 2009. Facilitating Cultural Transformation: Redefining Indigenous identity through Architecture. Cultural Crossroads: SAHANZ Auckland 2009, 02/07/2009. University of Auckland, New Zealand: The Socielty of Architectual Historians, Australian and new zealand (SANHAZ).
  • Spanbroek, N, and Lommerse, M. 1996. Facing global change: Strengthening lifelong learning in interior design education. Different Approaches: Theory and Practice in Higher Education.. HERDSA, 08/07/1996. Perth: © Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Inc.

Major Creative Works

  • Lommerse, M, Smith, D, and Beeck, S. 2010. EXHIBITION DESIGN for Permeable Boundaries: Interiors- a Field of Possibilities. Perth, Australia: John Curtin Gallery.

Minor Creative Works

  • Lommerse, M, and Smith, D. 2010. A permeable field of possibities. Perth, Australia: John Curtin Gallery.
  • Lommerse, M, and Smith, D. 2010. The MAJOR PUBLIC EVENT at the John Curtin Gallery that launched Permeable Boundaries: a field of possibilities. Perth, Australia: John Curtin Gallery.
  • Lommerse, M, Brankovic, K, Eggleston, R, and Forlano, P. 2006. A matter of attitude - "The phenomenon of the 'designer-maker' is probably characteristic of Australian designers - that Antipodean ethic of self-reliance.". Perth: FORM Gallery, Perth.
  • Lommerse, M, and Forlano, P. 2006. Curators Essay. Milan: Milan International Furniture Fair.
  • Eggleston, R, Brankovic, K, and Lommerse, M. 2006. Made in Midland. Perth, WA: FORM.
  • Lommerse, M. 2006. Unveiled. WA: Form Gallery.
  • Lommerse, M. 2004. designXchange: a collaborative exploration. Western Australia: Craftwest.

Curating an Exhibition

  • Smith, D, and Lommerse, M. 2010. Permeable Boundaries: Interiors- a Field of Possibilities. Perth, Western Australia: John Curtin Gallery.
  • Lommerse, M. 2006. Made in Midland. Perth, WA: FORM.
  • Lommerse, M, and Forlano, P. 2006. Riches of Isolation. Milan: International Exhibition - Milan International Furniture Fair.
  • Brankovic, K, Eggleston, R, Lommerse, M, and Forlano, P. 2006. Riches of Isolation: unearthing Western Australia's creative potential. Perth: FORM.
  • Lommerse, M. 2006. Unveiled. Perth, WA: Form Gallery.
  • Lommerse, M. 2004. designXchange: a collaborative exploration. Western Australia: Craftwest.