Offsite manufacture reimagined for high-performance adaptable housing. The project aims to address housing performance and affordability in Australia by deploying adaptable design for spatial reconfiguration and component reuse, to advance offsite timber manufacture towards energy efficient and healthy homes as mainstream practice. The intended outcome is the development, prototyping and monitoring of an offsite manufactured panelised lightweight timber system for high-performance homes, that is ....Offsite manufacture reimagined for high-performance adaptable housing. The project aims to address housing performance and affordability in Australia by deploying adaptable design for spatial reconfiguration and component reuse, to advance offsite timber manufacture towards energy efficient and healthy homes as mainstream practice. The intended outcome is the development, prototyping and monitoring of an offsite manufactured panelised lightweight timber system for high-performance homes, that is adaptable to all Australian climates and long-term household changes. This will contribute to the sustainable growth of the Australian housing market with significant benefits on housing affordability, adaptable design and long-lasting performance, while boosting the offsite manufactured timber construction sector.Read moreRead less
Designing offices well. This project aims to describe, quantify and analyse the impact of workspace design on workers’ satisfaction, productivity and health. The Australian market is the fastest adopter of Activity-Based Working (ABW) in the world and impacts arising from this workspace typology on workers will be significant now and in the next decade. This project will develop benchmarking for ABW offices, techniques for monitoring cognitive performance in situ, and design guidelines for healt ....Designing offices well. This project aims to describe, quantify and analyse the impact of workspace design on workers’ satisfaction, productivity and health. The Australian market is the fastest adopter of Activity-Based Working (ABW) in the world and impacts arising from this workspace typology on workers will be significant now and in the next decade. This project will develop benchmarking for ABW offices, techniques for monitoring cognitive performance in situ, and design guidelines for health promotion. By shifting attention to design features that actually perform well, this project will provide the empirical basis needed to transform the way workspaces are designed now and in the future. It will therefore lead to greater productivity in and among workplaces.Read moreRead less
Making architectural identity: the architecture of John Andrews. The important Australian architect John Andrews had a career unique for its success, first in Canada and the United States and then in Australia. Research into his design work and how it has been understood will develop new knowledge of design practices of the 1970s, how architecture is understood in terms of nationality, and how design has become globalised.
Designing healthy and efficient luminous environments in Green Buildings. This project aims to investigate the relationship between indoor lighting, visual comfort, and office workers’ wellbeing for green buildings in Australia. Around 50 per cent of workers in green commercial buildings in subtropical climates have reported visual discomfort from glass facades and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Visual discomfort could affect people’s performance. It could also increase energy consumption due to ....Designing healthy and efficient luminous environments in Green Buildings. This project aims to investigate the relationship between indoor lighting, visual comfort, and office workers’ wellbeing for green buildings in Australia. Around 50 per cent of workers in green commercial buildings in subtropical climates have reported visual discomfort from glass facades and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Visual discomfort could affect people’s performance. It could also increase energy consumption due to users’ interventions, causing a clear mismatch between design intent and final results. The project aims to relate the luminous environment to occupant responses and to use a novel tool for capturing physical and psychological properties of luminous environments through smart phones. The outcome should be a predictive model of visual comfort for better design of buildings.Read moreRead less
From alchemist's den to science city: architecture and the expression of experimental science. This project will discover the precise and nuanced ways in which architecture configures, influences and expresses the ideas and ideals of contemporary experimental science. Digital drawings, animations and critical textual analysis will expose the ways in which architecture shapes the public perception and practice of experimental science.
Is architecture art? a history of categories, concepts and recent practices. The project aims to link architectural theory with broader cultural theory to provide new ways for architectural theory to engage with creative practice. There is no simple answer to the recurring question of whether architecture is an art. Nevertheless, unpacking the historical and current interests at stake in this question will lead to a better understanding of architecture in contemporary culture. Current issues ari ....Is architecture art? a history of categories, concepts and recent practices. The project aims to link architectural theory with broader cultural theory to provide new ways for architectural theory to engage with creative practice. There is no simple answer to the recurring question of whether architecture is an art. Nevertheless, unpacking the historical and current interests at stake in this question will lead to a better understanding of architecture in contemporary culture. Current issues arising from the exhibition of architecture in art galleries and architecture’s classification in new measures of the cultural economy appear to be unconnected. The project plans to show that these issues are linked in the long history of systems of the arts and recent debates about the role of medium, discipline and aesthetic autonomy in defining the arts.Read moreRead less
A cross-national comparison of novel market-pull technology transfer programs which facilitate research organisation commercialisation through dynamic SMEs. This research will contribute to a more competitive and innovative economy in two ways. First it will provide a basis for improved public policy to stimulate technology uptake by small business, which is critical for small business growth and innovation. Second, it will identify innovative policies to facilitate the uptake of university rese ....A cross-national comparison of novel market-pull technology transfer programs which facilitate research organisation commercialisation through dynamic SMEs. This research will contribute to a more competitive and innovative economy in two ways. First it will provide a basis for improved public policy to stimulate technology uptake by small business, which is critical for small business growth and innovation. Second, it will identify innovative policies to facilitate the uptake of university research, to enhance the contribution of universities to the economy. The proposed research is original because it focuses on the way in which the technology needs of small firms can be met by existing university knowledge and technologies. Prior research on technology transfer focuses on pushing university research out to industry through university spin-offs or university and large firm linkages.Read moreRead less
Integrating architectural, mathematical and computing knowledge to capture the dynamics of air in design. This research will bring together architectural, mathematical and computing knowledge to discover effective ways to design buildings and cities that are more responsive to the complex dynamics of air movement and temperature. This knowledge will lead to reduced energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, increased comfort and more usable public space.
Campus: Building Modern Australian Universities. This project plans to examine the post-World War Two evolution of the Australian university campus. Modern campuses created opportunities for the realisation of innovative solutions in urban planning, architecture and landscape. The project plans to reveal the physical impacts of political, institutional, social and cultural demands through comparative thematic investigation, digital visualisation and detailed case studies. Foregrounding landscape ....Campus: Building Modern Australian Universities. This project plans to examine the post-World War Two evolution of the Australian university campus. Modern campuses created opportunities for the realisation of innovative solutions in urban planning, architecture and landscape. The project plans to reveal the physical impacts of political, institutional, social and cultural demands through comparative thematic investigation, digital visualisation and detailed case studies. Foregrounding landscape and site, the project aims to establish new historical knowledge, identify campuses as catalysts for urban thinking, and demonstrate strategies for their conservation and adaptation to meet future needs in the tertiary sector.Read moreRead less
A comparative study of knowledge transfer systems and their contribution to knowledge transfer and diffusion, innovation and socioeconomic transformation. This project will contribute to the national priority goal of promoting an innovation culture and economy by providing knowledge with which to improve institutional arrangements for research commercialisation for the purpose of enhancing business innovation and ensuring that publicly fund research results in commercial and social benefits. The ....A comparative study of knowledge transfer systems and their contribution to knowledge transfer and diffusion, innovation and socioeconomic transformation. This project will contribute to the national priority goal of promoting an innovation culture and economy by providing knowledge with which to improve institutional arrangements for research commercialisation for the purpose of enhancing business innovation and ensuring that publicly fund research results in commercial and social benefits. The research is of particular benefit to regional and rural communities because it adopts a novel system level design which explores the role of KTSs in socioeconomic transformation and across sectors and regions. It therefore moves beyond prior studies which have focused on high technology sectors and regions.Read moreRead less