Dr Tessa Morrison

Biography

I have continued to develop a reputation in the area of architectural history. I have a sustained and long term research program with international outputs. In March 2007, I began a five year contract as a Research Fellow in Architectural History and in March 2008 I begun a ARC Discovery Grant 2008-2010. Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship entitled 'Isaac Newton s Temple of Solomon and his analysis of sacred architecture: An interpretation and discussion of Babson Manuscript 0434.' Babson Manuscript 0434 on Solomon's Temple was written by Isaac Newton in c1680. It is written in four languages: English, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. This research has resulted in a monograph entitled 'Isaac Newton's Temple of Solomon and his Reconstruction of Sacred Architecture," published by Birkhauser in 2011.

A current research project on utopia cities has developed from this grant. This project is examining and reconstructing utopia cities from the 16th- 17th centuries, that were motivated by the religious wars and oppressive political situations, and cities from the 19th century, that were motivated by social, economic and health problems which were caused by the industrial revolution.

My research is multi-disciplinary and incorporates a number of research areas including philosophy, mathematics and the history of architecture. It also is multi-skilled research as far as it requires palaeography, graphic skills ie ArchiCAD as well as traditional archival research and analysis. My translation skills, palaeography in Medieval and Early Modern Latin, enable me to translated manuscripts that have not been researched before. I have also been nominated for the Early Research Leaders program at the University of Newcastle in 2012.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Newcastle, 2003
• Graduate Diploma in Mathematical Studies, University of Newcastle, 1998

Research

Research keywords

• 17th and 18th Sacred Architecture
• Architectural History
• Computer Modelling
• Space Sintax
• Urban Studies
• Utopian Cities

Research expertise

My research is multi-disciplinary and incorporates a number of research areas including philosophy, mathematics and the history of architecture. It also is multi-skilled research as far as it requires palaeography, graphic skills (ie ArchiCAD, Artlantis & 3D Studio Max) as well as traditional archival research and analysis. My translation skills, palaeography in Medieval and Early Modern Latin, enable me to translate manuscripts that have not been researched before. Currently researching 16th-19th utopian cities, that have never been built but have had significant influence through the centuries.

Collaboration

In addition in the last year I have been researching how the architectural historian can use mobile technologies to enhance historic and design research. I am currently collaborating with Dr Helen Giggins on a project entitled ‘Reconstructing Victorian Newcastle through Augmented Reality and Mobile Technology.’ This project reconstructs Victorian Newcastle using Augmented Reality and Mobile Technology. The project has two levels, both public and academic: 1) the reconstruction– the viewer will be able to see Victoria photographs of the building site in-situ along with the historical information 2) embedded data – there will be an extra layer of information for each site this will consist of the changes in the propose of the building, its architecture, voting patterns, ethnicity, etc. This will enable a full study of the city and its development. This is a pilot grant and will eventually be extended beyond the Victorian era. ’

Languages

• Latin

Fields of Research

Centres and Groups

Centre

• Centre for Interdisciplinary Built Environment Research

Memberships

Body relevant to professional practice.

• Member - The Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand
• Member - The Australian Early Medieval Association
• Member - The Australan and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies
• Member - The Society of Utopian Studies

Committee/Associations (relevant to research).

• Project Officer and book review editor - The Australian Early Medieval Association

Appointments

Awards

Research Award.

Invitations

Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Research in the Built Environment