Associate Professor Sam Spurr
Associate Professor
School of Architecture and Built Environment (Architecture)
- Email:sam.spurr@newcastle.edu.au
- Phone:0249216655
Career Summary
Biography
Sam Spurr is an architectural theorist, critic and designer. Her current research on Mining Ideology and Coal Capitalism, examines the agency of architecture to make legible the complex forces at play in the age of the Anthropocene. Through this research Sam is exploring feminist theories of care and collective political subjectivity, ecological systems and indigenous cosmologies in the Australian context of Country.
Sam has focused her attention over the last five years on the agency of architecture and the need for disciplinary transformation in a rapidly changing contemporary world. This was the central focus for the 2016 Australian Institute of Architects National Conference, How Soon is Now? which she co-curated with Ben Hewett (Deputy Government Architect NSW) and Cameron Bruhn (Dean of Architecture, University of Queensland).
Sam is a co-founder of the collective group N, where the topic of conversation and its impact on art, architecture, and design has been unpicked and entangled through various modes that include exhibitions, symposia, studios, and projects. Her doctorate titled Performative Architectures completed in 2008 looked at how strategies from performance could be imported into digital design processes. This interest in performativity as an emergent and relational form of engagement continues today.
Sam has taught in Architecture, Design and Fine Arts faculties since 2001 and has been regularly invited as a guest critic, external examiner, doctoral assessor and curriculum reviewer.
She has had extensive international experience, completing her doctoral research with a DAAD scholarship in Berlin and presenting studios, workshops and exhibitions at international design and art biennales around the world.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales
Keywords
- Architecture Design
- Architecture Theory
- Design Research
- Extraction/ Mining
- Integrated Strategic Design
- New Materialist Philosophy
- Performance Theory
Fields of Research
| Code | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 330102 | Architectural design | 100 |
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
| Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|
| Associate Professor | University of Newcastle School of Architecture and Built Environment Australia |
Academic appointment
| Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|---|
| 15/6/2015 - 1/1/2019 | Senior Lecturer | The University of New South Wales Art and Design Australia |
| 2/6/2008 - 1/1/2013 | Senior Lecturer | University of Technology Sydney Design, Architecture and the Built Environment Australia |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Chapter (4 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Spurr S, Kairuz E, 'OPEN-CUT (DATA) MINING: Multi-scalar complexity and critical spatial practices', Critical Practices in Architecture: the Unexamined, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne,UK (2020) | ||||
| 2020 | Spurr S, 'Activism: Architecture and the Community', MMXX Two Decades of Architecture in Australia, Thames Hudson, 27 October 2020 (2020) | ||||
| 2018 |
Spurr S, Burns D, 'How to be a good witness: The architecture curator', 71-91 (2018) [C1]
|
Open Research Newcastle | |||
| Show 1 more chapter | |||||
Conference (2 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 |
Carrasco S, Spurr S, 'Towards Inclusive Planning for Energy Transition in a Post-coal Future in the Hunter Valley, Australia', 10th Zero Energy Mass Custom Home International Conference (ZEMCH), 330-339 (2023) [E1]
|
Open Research Newcastle | |||
| 2018 | Spurr S, Kairuz E, 'Open Cut (DATA) Mining; Multi-Scalar Complexity and Critical Spatial Practice', Critical Practice in an Age of Complexity, conference proceedings, Arizona (2018) |
Creative Work (1 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Spurr S, Kairuz E, Fossil Fables, Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney University, Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney University (2023) [N1] | Open Research Newcastle |
Journal article (7 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 |
Spurr S, 'Monumental Imaginaries, Tin Sheds Gallery, University of Sydney, 10 October–15 November, 2024', Fabrications (2025)
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| 2024 |
Spurr S, Carrasco S, 'Architecture for Complexity: Speculative Design as Enabler of Engagement in Co-Designing Post-Mining Futures in the Hunter Valley', SUSTAINABILITY, 16 (2024) [C1]
|
Open Research Newcastle | ||||||
| 2015 | Spurr S, 'Problems of Scale and Translation A Design Project in 8 Acts', INFLEXIONS-A JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH CREATION, 274-278 (2015) | |||||||
| 2012 | Filmer A, Hanh R, Gazzola P, Scott-Mitchell M, Spurr S, 'Re-viewing the PQ: Responses to the 2011 Prague Quadrennial of performance design and space', Australasian Drama Studies, 61 156-174 (2012) | |||||||
| 2010 |
Spurr S, 'After the event: Speculative projects in the aftermath', Architectural Design, 80 50-57 (2010)
Working on speculative architectural projects in the aftermath of traumatic events requires both fearlessness and sensitivity on the part of the designer. Samantha Spur... [more] Working on speculative architectural projects in the aftermath of traumatic events requires both fearlessness and sensitivity on the part of the designer. Samantha Spurr describes how architecture studios organised by the University of Technology, Sydney, held in Shenzhen, Berlin and Beirut, have brought students into direct contact with these issues and fragile sites. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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| 2009 |
Spurr S, 'Drawing the Body in Architecture', ARCHITECTURAL THEORY REVIEW, 14, 322-332 (2009)
The assumed presence of the body in architecture has conventionally allowed for its absence in the architectural drawing, a reliance on the occasional smudge or represe... [more] The assumed presence of the body in architecture has conventionally allowed for its absence in the architectural drawing, a reliance on the occasional smudge or representational squiggle to denote people. Living bodies are an aspect that comes post-construction, that must "fit in" to what has been designed. Today architectural representation is immersed in rapid change and with the growth of computational drawing systems and virtual environments the question of the body is magnified. © 2009 Taylor & Francis.
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| Show 4 more journal articles | ||||||||
Grants and Funding
Summary
| Number of grants | 3 |
|---|---|
| Total funding | $101,146 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20241 grants / $30,000
Regional Urbanism: Activating the Hunter Innovation Precinct$30,000
Funding body: Muswellbrook Shire Council
| Funding body | Muswellbrook Shire Council |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Associate Professor Sam Spurr, Doctor Hugo Moline, Doctor Nicholas Foulcher, Mr Barry Williams, Ms d'Arcy Newberry-Dupe, Ivan Skaines |
| Scheme | Research Grant |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2024 |
| Funding Finish | 2024 |
| GNo | G2401460 |
| Type Of Funding | C2300 – Aust StateTerritoryLocal – Own Purpose |
| Category | 2300 |
| UON | Y |
20232 grants / $71,146
Master Planning Research Project at Djarragun College$68,090
Funding body: Djarragun College
| Funding body | Djarragun College |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Associate Professor Marcus Jefferies, Associate Professor Liz Cameron, Associate Professor Sam Spurr, Associate Professor Kim Maund, Mr Cameron Beard, Doctor Buddhini Ginigaddara Appuhamilage, Professor Sue Anne Ware |
| Scheme | Research Grant |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2023 |
| Funding Finish | 2023 |
| GNo | G2300249 |
| Type Of Funding | C3200 – Aust Not-for Profit |
| Category | 3200 |
| UON | Y |
Coal Stories$3,056
Funding body: University of Sydney
| Funding body | University of Sydney |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Associate Professor Sam Spurr, Doctor Eduardo Kairuz |
| Scheme | Research Project |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2023 |
| Funding Finish | 2023 |
| GNo | G2300748 |
| Type Of Funding | Scheme excluded from IGS |
| Category | EXCL |
| UON | Y |
Research Supervision
Number of supervisions
Current Supervision
| Commenced | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | PhD | Mapping the History of New Taiwanese Cinema and its Overlap with the Rapid Development of Taipei City to Reveal Insights into Global Urbanized Society | PhD (Comm & Media Arts), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
| 2024 | PhD | Implementing Urbanism A framework for Creating High Quality Cities | PhD (Architecture), College of Engineering, Science and Environment, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
| 2024 | PhD | Inside Out Upside-Down Planning: Starting with Country | PhD (Architecture), College of Engineering, Science and Environment, The University of Newcastle | Principal Supervisor |
| 2021 | PhD | Ritual Cartographies - Mapping Social Attitudes to Death and Dying | PhD (Architecture), College of Engineering, Science and Environment, The University of Newcastle | Principal Supervisor |
| 2020 | PhD | Mapping Perceptual Worlds: Looping Biosemiotic Enactivism and Neuroaesthetics | PhD (Architecture), College of Engineering, Science and Environment, The University of Newcastle | Principal Supervisor |
Past Supervision
| Year | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | PhD | Empowering Communities through Autonomous Vehicles: A Decentralised Framework for Equitable Integration in Urban Environments | PhD (Architecture), College of Engineering, Science and Environment, The University of Newcastle | Principal Supervisor |
News
News • 30 Sep 2024
Fossil Fables strikes gold at 2024 Australian Good Design Awards
A unique exhibition which explores Australia’s complex relationship with coal mining has been recognised with a gold accolade in the prestigious 2024 Australian Good Design Awards.
Associate Professor Sam Spurr
Position
Associate Professor
School of Architecture and Built Environment
College of Engineering, Science and Environment
Focus area
Architecture
Contact Details
| sam.spurr@newcastle.edu.au | |
| Phone | 0249216655 |
Connect with me
