Dr Crystal Victoria Olin

Dr Crystal Victoria Olin is an architectural and urban researcher, designer, leader and educator whose work explores city-making in relation to identity and belonging, justice and care, resilience and the empowerment potential of urbanity. She has lived in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2012 and holds dual US–NZ citizenship.

 

Crystal's recent research has centred on placemaking in public and community housing, with a focus on community infrastructure, urban design, and the complexities of measuring placemaking impact. This work has been undertaken as part of Public Housing & Urban Regeneration: Maximising Wellbeing, a five-year multidisciplinary MBIE Endeavour-funded research programme led by Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman, carried out in close partnership with housing providers across Aotearoa. A related spin-off project, Youth-FULL Places, explores the placemaking aspirations of rangatahi and tamariki living in Wellington public housing, working alongside Te Toi Mahana to realise youth-led design visions for shared community spaces.

 

Crystal also contributes to Toitū he Kāinga, a research programme led by Professor Michelle Thompson-Fawcett and funded by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, which investigates urban environments that can nourish Māori wellbeing, health and identity. She is currently the sole VUW principal investigator on this programme, and co-supervises Māori Masters students supported through Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga scholarships.

 

She is building on this body of work to critically imagine urban futures that respond to rupture, loss and the possibility of regeneration.