My Expertise
Design for older people ( integrated communities) , heritage and design of courthouses/justice environments
Biography
I am a practising architect ( Executive Director PTW Architects ) and Adjunct Professor Built Environment UNSW Sydney. My architectural experience in justice, heritage, education ,integrated communities and therapeutic environments is guided by the principle that architectural spaces and settings gain their meaning through the experiences of people and by a strong sense of responsibility to the wider community and environment. I am...view more
I am a practising architect ( Executive Director PTW Architects ) and Adjunct Professor Built Environment UNSW Sydney. My architectural experience in justice, heritage, education ,integrated communities and therapeutic environments is guided by the principle that architectural spaces and settings gain their meaning through the experiences of people and by a strong sense of responsibility to the wider community and environment. I am committed to advancing the relationship between professional practice, industry and university learning and research. I sustain this interest as co-convenor ( with David Tait) of the Court of the Future ( research) Network and current PhD studies on the design of the contemporary courtroom.
Diane contributes to professional, industry and government committees and advisory panels: NSW State Design Review Panel (SDRP) 2019-2025; Inner West Council Architectural Excellence & Design Review Panel (AEDRP); Seniors Living & Land Lease Committee (NSW) UDIA. She is a member of the Advisory Board (ADA), UNSW Sydney; a Senior Counsellor with the AIA NSW and member of the AACA Accreditation Standing Panel as both a practitioner and academic. She has also trained as a mediator and adjudicator.
My Qualifications
M. Architecture
University of Texas at Austin, USA
B. Architecture (Hons 1), B. Science (Arch)
UNSW Sydney
NSW Architects Registration
No. 4778
ACT Architects Registration
No. 4778 (mutual recognition)
QLD Architects Registration
No. 5625
WA Architects Registration
No. 2132
Design Practitioner Registration No. DEP0000798
Professional Associations
Life Fellow AIA
ICOMOS Australia member
AusHeritage
Fulbright Alumni
Association for Preservation Technology
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
Australian Health Design Council (AHDC) No. 63284540
My Awards
NAWIC Crystal Vision Merit awardee
Australian Institute of Architects Mahony Griffin Prize
UDIA Awards for Excellence - Women in Leadership Award at both state and national levels in 2021/2022
My Research Activities
Co-convener The Court of the Future Network (international and multi-disciplinary research), 2004 onwards
Current PhD candidate UNSW BE, Sydney:
Codifying knowledge generated by the intersection of research and architectural practice, the design excellence of the contemporary courthouse
Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant Projects
Principal Lead Industry Partner (PTW Architects) investigator for the following Linkage Grants:
- Fortress or Sanctuary? Enhancing court safety by managing people, places and processes (LP0882179)
- Interpreters in Courts (P00019987)
- Just Spaces: security without prejudice in the wireless courtroom (LP120200288)
- Gateways to Justice: Improving video-mediated communications for justice participants (P00017024 & LP0776248)
- Juries and Interactive Visual Evidence (JIVE) (LP0667764)
Research Projects
2025
Post Occupancy Evaluation of the design of the Coffs Harbour Courthouse (current)
Coffs Harbour, NSW
The Virtual Courtroom
I lead PTW Architects’ contribution to the virtual courtroom research projects by the Court of the Future (in association with the Robert Badinter Institute ( Formerly IERDJ) France and the Cyberjustice Laboratory, Canada) to provide empirical evidence on the impact of immersive technologies on court proceedings.
2018 - 2023
Finding Iris, led by Diane Jones, Kah Mun Tham and research architect Ann Quinlan
Post occupancy evaluation of two PTW Integrated Community High Rise Living Projects
2017
I led PTW Architects design research contribution to the UNSW 2017 Big Anxiety festival
September 20 - November 11-Mental Health Pods:Penrith Public School and Ingleburn High School
Publications
2025
Bloomsbury Global Encyclopedia of Women in Architecture - entries on: Itsuko Hasegawa, Maki Onishi, Nobuko Tsuchiura and Fumiko Yushida
https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/discover/bloomsbury-digital-resources/products/bloomsbury-visual-arts/bloomsbury-global-encyclopedia-of-women-in-architecture/
2023
Tait, D., & Jones, D.
Architecture and Courtroom Layouts: International Courts and Tribunals, Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (MPEiPro) Oxford Public International Law
Gateways to Justice 2: Design and Operational Guidelines, Court of the Future
2019
Book Chapter: Tham, K. M., Jones, D., Quinlan A. (2019). “Exploring Design Principles and Strategies for Intergenerational Places in Australia: Revealing Opportunities and Potential in Beach and Public Pool Settings”. In Intergenerational Contact Zones: Place-based Strategies for Promoting Social Inclusion and Belonging. M. Kaplan, L. l. Thang, M. Sanchez and J. Hoffman. New York, Routledge: 228-244
2018
Rowden, E. & Jones, D., 2018, ‘Design, Dignity and Due Process: The Construction of the Coffs Harbour Courthouse’,
Law, Culture and the Humanities journal
(Vol. 14(2) pp. 317 – 336)
2017
Tait,D. McKimme, B., Sarre,R. Jones, D., Mc Donald, L.& Gelb, K., 2017, Towards A Distributed Courtroom, University of Western Sydney, Sydney
2016
Innovation in affordable housing: Sydney’s best-kept secret
Diane Jones and Glenn Harper
https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/columns/spinifex/innovation-in-affordable-housing-sydneys-best-kept-secret
2014
‘Issues and Opportunities in working with Heritage Courts’
https://architectureau.com/articles/historic-courts
2013
Rowden, E., Wallace, A., Tait, D., Hanson, M. & Jones, D. (2013). Gateways to Justice: design and operational guidelines for remote participation in court proceedings. University of Western Sydney: Sydney.
ISBN:978-1-74108-267-8
https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/justice/justice/publications
2011
Jones, D. & Tait, D.(eds) 2011, European and International Courts: Executive Research Tour Reflections
2008
Diane Jones, Beverley Garlick and Guy Luscombe (editors), 2008, Beyond Beige: improving architecture for older people and people with disabilities, Royal Australian Institute of Architects, Manuka, Canberra, ACT
2006
Jones, D. & Tait, D. 2006, Court Architecture and Judicial Rituals: Reflections on Executive Seminar in Paris
My Engagement
Conference Papers & Workshops
Courts of the Future and IHEJ Executive Research Seminars (co-convenor):
2024 France and the Netherlands
2019 Ireland
2017 California
2016 Denmark, Sweden
2013 Montreal and New York
2011 European courts (Barcelona, Luxembourg, Germany)
2009 Victorian Courts
2008 European and International Law courts
2005 Paris
Annual Australasian Research and Practice Conferences (organising committee and presentations)
2024, 2023, 2017, 2011, 2010,
2009, 2007, 2002
2024 Co-presenter - Workshop for Thai Ministry of Justice and ASEAN Australian Counter Trafficking Programme
2023
Monash University Faculty of Law Conference, Emerging challenges in management of Sexual Assault Trials
2022
AIA 2022 Regional Architecture Symposium ‘A Changing Engagement: PTW and the Asia Pacific in 2022’, Yeppoon - keynote speaker
2021
UNSW Launch Your Career: Creative Industries- keynote
Panelist at Sherman SCCI Architecture Hub, ‘Architecture of Justice’, Sydney
Panelist at FRONT ‘Zest for Life, Ageing in Place’, Sydney
“The Importance of Design Beyond Style” 5th Annual PASA Aged Care Procurement Conference, Sydney
2018
“Liveable Density – Liveability, incorporated in the Built Form”, UDIA NSW Annual State Conference, Sydney
The Architectural Symposium, Asia Pacific Architecture Forum, Brisbane “The International Business Journey”
https://vimeo.com/266052538
2017
National Retirement Living Summit, Property Council of Australia
Australia-China Aged Care & Healthcare Forum, Guangdong Province, PRC
“Intergenerational cohabiting and Residential Design”
Sydney Indesign | LiveLife: Better Living
SUCCESS SERIES #1 presentation
The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC)
2015
“The Saga of the Ile de la Cité” Ministry of Justice, France; invited workshop speaker on court safety & security. Institut des hautes études sur la justice, Paris.
“An Interpretation of the challenges in redeveloping the historical court precinct of the Ile de la cite”
Guest Presentation
Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature and Institut des hautes études sur la Justice, Paris
Charlotte Perriand - An Icon of Modernity
Opening Address, Exhibition
Cult Design Showroom, Sydney. NSW
2014
Beyond Guidelines: The design process for the new Coffs Harbour Courthouse Architecture, Law & the Senses Symposium , UTS
Austrade Seniors Living Workshop and Missions, Jiangsu, Nanjing and Yangzhou, PRC
Commencement Address, BE UNSW
2013
National Hospital Congress, Nanjing, PRC
and Austrade Seniors Living Workshop, Guangzhou, PRC
Architecture and justice: design meets the law
Utzon Lecture, BE, UNSW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiW8QGGRULM
2012
Health Facilities Planning + Design Summit “Adult Acute Mental Health
Unit, ACT”
Managing People in Court Conference, ANU & Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA)
Doing Justice for Young People, Issues and Challenges for Judicial Administration in Australia and New Zealand, AIJA Conference, Brisbane
Designing Out Crime
Design & Crime Research Centre, University of Technology, Sydney
2010
Arts + Health Foundation, University of Sydney (co-presenter with Esther Sternberg)
2008
The Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA) Technology Conference
2007
Key address Oz build 2007Jakarta -on the future of architecture
2004
The Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA) Technology Conference, Melbourne
2003
Representing Justice Conference, Canberra
2000
RAIA Annual Conference, Sydney
My Teaching
2023 - 2026
Adjunct Professor
Built Environment UNSW Sydney
2025
Sydney Opera House
Dynamic Mentorship Program, Built to Last, Mentor
2025 - 2020
UNSW BE Professional Placement Program, Mentor
2022
Multidisciplinary Australian Danish Exchange (MADE) Program by the Sydney Opera House, Host and Mentor
2018, 2013-2010
Studio Project leader UNSW
Master of Architecture Design Studio
2013 - 2009
Occasional workshops
Faculty of Law, UNSW
2010 - 2007
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, UTS
2000 - 1983
Design Lecturer at University of New South Wales and UTS