Associate Professor
Lindy Osborne Burton

Biography

Associate Professor Lindy Osborne Burton (PhD) was originally educated in South Africa but later moved to Australia where she commenced working at Cox Rayner Architects in Brisbane. Lindy quickly developed a specialisation in the design of complex public and institutional buildings—her architectural portfolio is extensive and includes over 70 building projects, ranging from the Princess Alexandra Hospital Redevelopment, through to the Southbank Education & Training Precinct.

Following 18 years of practice in architecture, where she registered as an architect and received 15 professional design awards, Lindy chose to pursue a full-time academic career. Now an Associate Professor in Architecture and the Design for Health program co-leader at Queensland University of Technology, Lindy is also currently appointed as a Visiting Associate Professor of Architecture at Taylor’s University, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It’s impossible to be raised in South Africa, and not be impacted by architectural responses to racial segregation—spaces and places are a constant reminder of the painful past. While Lindy has built a new identity as an Australian architect and academic, her African foundations underpin her sensitivities to indigenous perspectives and her approach to design, which is inspired by connections to nature, and motivated by a pursuit of joy and mental well-being.

Lindy’s research centres on the integration of Inclusive (belonging), Biophilic (connection to nature), Salutogenic (health and well-being) and Eudaimonic (joy and contentment) architectural approaches in healthcare facility design, which she has developed into her own framework called The iBaSE Mindset. She supplements this research with expertise in the design of innovative environments to support mental health, neuro-distinction, and gender equity, and through celebrating the interstitial spaces between nature, art, and architecture.

More recently, and as the Associate Director of Communication and the Program Leader for the Quantification and Communication of Indoor Air Pollution and Airborne Pathogen Transmission Risk in the ARC Training Centre for Advanced Building Systems Against Airborne Infection Transmission, Lindy is currently collaborating with scientists and engineers globally, to propose innovative new approaches to reduce airborne infection transmission through improving indoor air quality, writing design guidelines and policies, and providing advocacy to government, the professions, industry, and building owners and operators.

Lindy is currently appointed as both the Academic Board Director of the Board of Architects of Queensland and as a Referee for the Queensland Development Tribunal. She is also the Australian Institute of Architects Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Region Co-Chair, and an active member of the Australian Health Design Council. Lindy is appointed to the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia Accreditation Standing Panel and the Overseas Qualifications Assessment Panel.

Lindy was a jury member for the 2021 International Union of Architects Award for Innovation in Architectural Education, and she is currently the Australian regional editor for the International Journal of Architectural Research (SJR Q1). Lindy is a Senior Fellow and an Associate Fellow (Indigenous) of the Higher Education Academy and her teaching excellence has been recognised at QUT with multiple Vice-Chancellor’s, Dean’s, and School Performance Awards, and nationally through an Australian Office for Learning and Teaching citation for ‘outstanding contributions to student learning’.