Associate Professor David O'Brien holds the position of Associate Professor in Architectural Design and Technology within the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne. He also leads the Bower Studio at the Melbourne School of Design. O'Brien earned his PhD, Bachelor of Planning and Design (BPD), and Bachelor of Architecture with honours (BArch hons) from the University of Melbourne. Prior to his academic career, he practised as an architect and accumulated twenty-five years of experience in the construction industry, designing and building for both commercial and community-based clients. He has project-managed community development projects across Western Australia, the Northern Territory, New South Wales, Thailand, and Papua New Guinea. In 2007, he initiated the Bower Studio, focusing on community-engaged design and construction projects, and more recently co-developed the HomesPLUS initiative.

O'Brien's research specializations centre on sustainable housing developments in marginalized Australian and Asian communities, incremental housing processes, and post-disaster reconstruction. His work examines resident-driven adaptations, long-term outcomes of incremental housing projects such as Elemental's Quinta Monroy and Villa Verde in Chile, and housing reconstruction in contexts like post-tsunami Aceh, Indonesia. Notable publications include "Incremental housing: harnessing informality at Villa Verde" (Archnet-IJAR, 2020, with S. Carrasco and K. Dovey), "Beyond the freedom to build: Long-term outcomes of Elemental’s incremental housing in Quinta Monroy" (Urbe, 2021, with S. Carrasco), "Contested incrementalism: Elemental's Quinta Monroy settlement fifteen years on" (Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2021, with S. Carrasco), "Selling your design: Oral communication pedagogy in design education" (Communication Education, 2005, with J. Morton), and "Build back safely: Evaluating the occupational health and safety in post-disaster reconstruction" (Sustainability, 2023, with S. Carrasco). He received a Commendation in the 2012 AAA Architectural Education Prize for the Bower Studio and a 2015 Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning from the Australian Awards for University Teaching for innovative approaches to engaging students in real-world community projects.

Professional Email: djobrien@unimelb.edu.au