Dr Catherine Keys
View my list of publications in eSpace
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Vernacular architecture
Cathy is currently researching the sharing of architectural knowledge between Aboriginal people and European settlers in Australia at the time of early cross-cultural contact. This research is concerned with locating Indigenous architecture more centrally within existing architectural histories.
Well-being and architecture
In partnership with Professor Paul Memmott of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre, Cathy is researching examples of architectural design that draw on and support culturally-specific beliefs and practices surrounding well-being.
Interstitial space
Cathy is also working on the nature of interstitial housing space and practices in Australia in collaboration with Associate Professor Wendy Steele, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies in the Centre for Urban Research, RMIT.
AVAILABLE PROJECTS (for RHD supervision)
Architecture and Indigenous well-being
Dr Cathy Keys is a Research Fellow in the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre. She completed her doctoral studies in the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre in 1999. Her doctoral thesis ‘The Architectural Implications of Warlpiri jilimi’ was concerned with the People Environment relations of Aboriginal women living in Central Australia. She is committed to exploring the social and cultural properties of architectural space. Cathy has taught in Aboriginal Environments and architecture subjects in the School of Architecture, University of Queensland and performed architectural consultancies in Central Australian Aboriginal communities. More recently she has worked in the government sector.
Her research interests are cross-disciplinary in nature and include People Environment studies, architectural anthropology, gendered space and Aboriginal housing needs. Having worked in academic, government and arts sectors, Dr Keys is able to approach research projects in the field of Indigenous Environments from a range of diverse perspectives. She also exhibits regularly as a practicing artist.