معرفی
Nina Vollenbroker serves as Associate Professor of Architecture and Director of the Architectural Design PhD programme at University College London's Bartlett School of Architecture. A registered architect in the UK (ARB) and Germany (Architektenkammer NRW), she also acts as editor for Architectural Research Quarterly since 2020 and serves on the Society of Architectural Historians’ advisory committee on accessibility.
Her educational background includes a PhD in Architectural History from UCL, along with multiple UCL degrees: Master of Architecture (2005), Certificate (2004), Master of Science (2002), Diploma (2001), and Bachelor of Architecture from Oxford Brookes University (1997).
Vollenbroker's research centers on the intersection of deafness, disability, and architectural design, challenging normative spatial paradigms through historical and contemporary lenses. Her current Paul Mellon Centre-funded project "Hide and Speak" examines the first purpose-built deaf schools in 19th-century Britain, revealing how architecture actively shaped cultural understandings of deafness. She extends this work through "Deafening Architectural Modernism," which re-evaluates Adolf Loos's contributions through the lens of his hearing loss, demonstrating how sensory experience fundamentally informs spatial design. Her broader research encompasses migration studies, gendered domestic spaces, and critical examinations of architectural exclusion.
Her recent publications span architectural history, disability studies, and material culture, with significant contributions to edited volumes on deafness in architecture (University of Illinois Press, 2025), mobile home-making (Brill, 2025), and the American West (Routledge, 2025). These works consistently demonstrate her methodological approach of centering marginalized perspectives within architectural discourse.
- Wilhelm Award from Pioneer America Society for outstanding research in material cultures studies
- Paul Mellon Centre Mid-Career Fellowship
- Royal Institute of British Architects Research Award
- British Academy Research Fund Award
Vollenbroker supervises doctoral students in architectural design while securing major research funding from bodies including the Arts and Humanities Research Council, British Academy, and Royal Institute of British Architects. Her international collaborations include work with the Lebanese NGO Biladi on migration studies and knowledge-exchange programs funded by The Council for British Research in the Levant. She regularly convenes major conference sessions, including at the Society of Architectural Historians and Architectural Humanities Research Association conferences, and presents at institutions worldwide including Columbia University, Yale University, and Heidelberg University.
Her research group actively engages with disability advocacy organizations and architectural practitioners to translate historical insights into contemporary inclusive design practices, particularly through her editorial work on special journal issues addressing disability and architecture.
