Sandra Kaji-O'Grady facts for kids

Sandra Kaji-O'Grady is an expert in architecture and teaching from Australia. She lives in Brisbane. She used to be a Professor and leader of the School of Architecture at the University of Queensland. She worked there until 2018.

Sandra Kaji-O'Grady's Career Journey

Sandra Kaji-O'Grady has had a big impact on teaching architecture in Australia. She led schools at several universities. These include the University of Technology Sydney (from 2005 to 2009). She also led the University of Sydney in 2011. Later, she was a Professor and Dean of Architecture at the University of Queensland (from 2013 to 2018). She left the University of Queensland in December 2020.

Leading Architectural Conferences

In 2013, Sandra Kaji-O'Grady helped organize a big meeting. This was the National Conference of the Australian Institute of Architects. She worked with architect John de Manincor. The conference was called "Material." It looked at how architects use new materials. It also explored how materials affect politics, the environment, and technology.

Kaji-O'Grady and De Manincor invited many different speakers. These included experts on robotics and using steel and concrete. They also had someone who talked about upcycling, which means reusing old things in new ways. The 2013 conference was special because it made sure there were equal numbers of male and female speakers. This helped make sure everyone's ideas were heard.

Exploring Architecture Through Research

Sandra Kaji-O'Grady's research looks at modern laboratory buildings. She also studies how architecture, science, and art mixed together in the 1960s and 1970s.

Helping Women in Architecture

She was part of an important research project. This project looked at fairness for women in architecture in Australia. It was called "Equity and Diversity in the Australian Architecture Profession." This research led to a website called Parlour. Parlour shares information and ideas about women and fairness in Australian architecture.

Kaji-O'Grady noted that more women leave architecture than men. Also, fewer women reach top positions in architectural firms. Parlour helps by giving tools to employers and employees. These tools help make workplaces fairer. For example, they help fix informal ways of promoting people that might favor men.

Kaji-O'Grady is also a member of the ATCH (Architecture Theory Criticism History) Research Centre. This center is at the University of Queensland.

Writing About Architecture

Kaji-O'Grady has written many articles. She writes for both academic journals and popular magazines. Some of these include The Journal of Architecture and Journal of Architectural Education. She also wrote for Architecture Australia and Architectural Review Australia.

She made a big contribution to Australian architectural ideas. This was with her book Conditions, Connections and Change: Reviewing Australian Architectural Theory 1880–2000. She wrote it with Julie Willis. The book looks at architectural ideas in Australia from 1880 to 2000. She also co-edited the book Laboratory Lifestyles: The Construction of Scientific Fictions (2019). She co-authored another book, LabOratory: Speaking of Science and Its Architecture (2019), with Chris L. Smith.