Irene Boles

Irene is a Senior Lecturer in the Bachelor of Architectural Studies Programme at Ara Institute of Canterbury in Christchurch, with over 15 years of teaching experience. Researching collective housing and inclusivity through community engagement practices, she has been calling Aotearoa home since 2010. Irene played a significant role in the post-quake Transitional City Making movement in Christchurch, being involved in community-led projects, such as the Sumner Masterplan and as co-author of the book ‘Christchurch the Transitional City Part IV’. She was also Chair of the Life in Vacant Spaces Charitable Trust, enabling the revitalisation of vacant sites around the city. Today Irene is a passionate collective housing advocate and researcher, committee member and secretary of The Housing Innovation Society (THIS), Chair of the Canterbury Chapter of the Urban Development Institute of New Zealand (UDINZ) as well as an academic member of the Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA).