Yvonne von Hartel

Yvonne von Hartel was born in Melbourne in August 1943 as the only child of Austrian migrants who moved to Australia in 1938. Her father was a civil engineer and the owner of an aluminium fabricating business, which partly fostered her interest in architecture. She began studying architecture at the University of Melbourne in 1961, the first year the university offered an honours degree in the field. She studied a wide range of other subjects required to obtain an honours degree, including arts, fine arts and philosophy. In 1961 von Hartel completed her degree, and received the Stephenson & Turner medal as the top architectural student. ==Career ==

Von Hartel began her practice career while studying, working in various architectural practices during the holidays. On graduation she joined the Melbourne-based firm Yuncken Freeman. During her time at Yuncken Freeman, she worked on numerous projects in Melbourne, including the BHP House at 140 William Street. It is now recognised as a work of nationally significant twentieth-century architecture. Von Hartel also tutored architecture part-time at the University of Melbourne and in 1971 she became a full-time tenured lecturer in architecture. Board memberships and adviserships Throughout her career, von Hartel has also been a part of various government boards, trusts and industry advisory bodies. Roles include Director of the publicly listed company ConnectEast, the concessionaire of the 40 km tollway, Eastlink (2003–2011); Von Hartel has also been a Design Advisor for many projects including the Sydney International Convention (1), Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct. She has served as Chair of the Sustainability in Buildings Standards Coordination Group of Standards Australia, as inaugural chair of the Victorian Design Advisory Council, and as a Director of the national Tourism and Transport Forum. ==Projects==

A selection of projects which Yvonne has been involved with during her career: • Victorian Desalination Plant 2013 • The Philadelphia Building Spring Street Melbourne 2011 • The Olderfleet Buildings 447 Collins Street Melbourne 1990 • 1 Collins Street Melbourne 1983 ==Accolades==

In 1986, she was awarded the William Wilkinson Wardell Medal for No. 1 Collins St., as well as the Merit Award for Commercial Buildings No. 1 Collins St. In 2014, she was given the Sir Osborn McCutcheon Award for Commercial Architecture for the Victorian Desalination Project. She was profiled as one of the twelve women who "are doing leadership differently", for the book 'Doing Leadership Differently' by Amanda Sinclair. ==References==