RMIT: Hamann wins prestigious Neville Quarry Architectural Education Prize
Associate Professor Conrad Hamann was announced as a joint winner of the 2021 Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) Neville Quarry Architectural Education Prize, the fourth RMIT recipient to win the award.
The award was announced on Thursday 6 May at the AIA National Architecture Prizes.
The Neville Quarry award recognises a significant contribution to architectural education and an outstanding contribution in areas of teaching, scholarship, research, leadership and community engagement.
Hamann joins Associate Dean of Architecture Professor Vivian Mitsogianni, Emeritus Professor Leon van Schaik, and the late Professor Peter Corrigan as RMIT winners of the coveted prize.
Since the first AIA Neville Quarry Prize was awarded in 2001, RMIT has had more winners than any other educational institution.
Associate Professor Conrad Hamann, winner of the 2021 Neville Quarry Architectural Education prize
Hamann has taught at RMIT for more than 23 years, lecturing and researching the history of Australian architecture and mentoring the emerging generation of historians and architects.
Hamann said he was delighted to learn he had won the award, which was judged by prominent architectural leaders and academics.
“It was a real thrill. It feels quite strange because at RMIT Architecture, I’m surrounded by such extraordinary teachers who are doing all sorts of incredible things in terms of curriculum,” he said.
“Every day you get rewarded in the responses of people who you work with and people that you’re teaching. But it’s nice to get something like this.”
Hamann said he always strived to make people more conscious of what history has to offer, beyond heritage overlays and regulations.
“I find history incredibly fascinating. But what I enjoy more than anything is lecturing,” he said.
“I try to make students awake to all the richness history has to offer and infuse that knowledge into their own architecture.”
Professor Mitsogianni said the recognition is a testament to the impact Conrad Hamann has made in academia and the profession.
She said the award also spoke to the quality of teaching across RMIT’s School of Architecture & Urban Design.
“To receive this national industry award four times is a significant acknowledgment from the profession of the quality of our teaching teams,” Mitsogianni said.
The jury citation for the award said Hamann “has changed how we understand Australian architecture” and that “through Conrad’s writings, lectures and teachings, he colourfully renders Australian architecture in all its glorious specificity and differences.
“His lectures are legendary, where each sentence is a gem and each detour is essential in understanding the bigger contention.” the citation said.
‘Cities of Hope Remembered’ was authored by Hamann, telling the story of a life lived through architecture and design