Re-considering sustainable building and design: a cultural change approach. This project will help reduce the 38 per cent of all Australian waste that is produced by the construction industry by addressing the role of the building procurement team in reducing resource usage and eliminating waste. The outcomes of this research will address National Research Priority 1, An Environmentally Sustainable Australia.
A multi-agent system for stakeholder management in off-site construction. This project aims to investigate a socio-technology model for stakeholders and informatics to improve off-site construction (OSC) productivity in infrastructure construction. A multi-agent system for OSC could drive down cost, but requires highly integrated collaboration among stakeholders. The project’s quantitative approaches include large-scale social network analysis, multi-agent consensus modelling and an optimisation ....A multi-agent system for stakeholder management in off-site construction. This project aims to investigate a socio-technology model for stakeholders and informatics to improve off-site construction (OSC) productivity in infrastructure construction. A multi-agent system for OSC could drive down cost, but requires highly integrated collaboration among stakeholders. The project’s quantitative approaches include large-scale social network analysis, multi-agent consensus modelling and an optimisation algorithm for collaborative planning. The project outcomes are expected to secure long-term economic benefits by enhancing performance in complex projects.Read moreRead less
Rethinking housing: network analysis for digital collaboration. This project aims to understand persistent housing sector supply problems through analysis of digital collaborative practices. This project expects to generate new knowledge for an emerging housing digital economy using interdisciplinary network theory and data visualisation techniques. The housing sector has long been criticised for shortcomings in affordability, efficiency, quality, social and environmental responsiveness and appr ....Rethinking housing: network analysis for digital collaboration. This project aims to understand persistent housing sector supply problems through analysis of digital collaborative practices. This project expects to generate new knowledge for an emerging housing digital economy using interdisciplinary network theory and data visualisation techniques. The housing sector has long been criticised for shortcomings in affordability, efficiency, quality, social and environmental responsiveness and appropriateness of offerings. Expected outcomes include enhanced housing supply professionals' capability, improved knowledge among public/private sector decision makers responsible for housing supply and development of new digital collaborative behavioural theoretical and practical frameworks for the sector.Read moreRead less
Tackling defects in multi-unit strata housing. This project aims to address growing concerns that building quality issues are threatening the appeal of higher density multi-unit housing for city dwellers, which could undermine urban planning goals. The project will investigate the prevalence of defects, why they occur and how multi-unit housing quality can be improved. The findings will be used to inform options for changes to planning and development policy resulting in significant economic and ....Tackling defects in multi-unit strata housing. This project aims to address growing concerns that building quality issues are threatening the appeal of higher density multi-unit housing for city dwellers, which could undermine urban planning goals. The project will investigate the prevalence of defects, why they occur and how multi-unit housing quality can be improved. The findings will be used to inform options for changes to planning and development policy resulting in significant economic and social benefits including more effective construction regulation, improved building quality and safety, lower costs and stress for owners, more resilient urban communities and better urban planning outcomes.Read moreRead less
High Strength Concrete Beam-Columns with High-Strength Steel Reinforcement. The aim of this project is to develop the fundamental understanding needed to design and construct high-strength concrete columns with high-strength steel reinforcement, with the intended outcome of providing design rules for adoption by engineers and Standards bodies. With significant innovations in Australian steel bar technology, strengths grades of 750 megapascals, and higher, are becoming available. These high-stren ....High Strength Concrete Beam-Columns with High-Strength Steel Reinforcement. The aim of this project is to develop the fundamental understanding needed to design and construct high-strength concrete columns with high-strength steel reinforcement, with the intended outcome of providing design rules for adoption by engineers and Standards bodies. With significant innovations in Australian steel bar technology, strengths grades of 750 megapascals, and higher, are becoming available. These high-strength steels can be used in reinforced concrete building construction and would increase the competitiveness of Australia's manufacturing industry and enable the export of high-value-added technologies. Significant efficiencies in construction costs and in carbon emissions are possible.Read moreRead less
The behaviour and design of innovative connections to promote the reduction and reuse of structural steel in steel-concrete composite buildings. This proposal will study the behaviour of innovative connections to promote the reduction and reuse of structural steel in steel-concrete framed buildings. Steel is one of the most recycled materials on earth, however it is the reduction and reuse rather than recycling which can provide significant benefits to building construction. Economic and techni ....The behaviour and design of innovative connections to promote the reduction and reuse of structural steel in steel-concrete composite buildings. This proposal will study the behaviour of innovative connections to promote the reduction and reuse of structural steel in steel-concrete framed buildings. Steel is one of the most recycled materials on earth, however it is the reduction and reuse rather than recycling which can provide significant benefits to building construction. Economic and technical issues have impeded the widespread application of the reuse of steel. These technical impediments can be addressed through the development of connections that promote dismantling of structures at the end of a building's life. This project will address this issue by developing innovative structural connections through experimental and analytical studies and design code provisions.Read moreRead less
Life-cycle cost and emission analyses of green-building implementation. In Australia, the annual average temperature has increased 0.9 degrees Celsius since 1910. Residential and commercial building sectors produce about 23 per cent of the national greenhouse-gas emissions. This project critically evaluates the cost effectiveness and greenhouse-gas emissions of green-building implementation in Australia. This will examine methods to lower cost and greenhouse-gas emissions from green-building imp ....Life-cycle cost and emission analyses of green-building implementation. In Australia, the annual average temperature has increased 0.9 degrees Celsius since 1910. Residential and commercial building sectors produce about 23 per cent of the national greenhouse-gas emissions. This project critically evaluates the cost effectiveness and greenhouse-gas emissions of green-building implementation in Australia. This will examine methods to lower cost and greenhouse-gas emissions from green-building implementation. A new high-tech scoring model is expected to be developed to identify cost-effective and low-greenhouse-gas-emissions methods to achieve specific green-star status for the Australian building and construction industries.Read moreRead less
Infill Developments: Project HOME (Housing Outcomes Metrics and Evaluation). The project plans to improve housing outcomes by evaluating housing design in the rapidly growing infill multi-residential sector, which often experiences design quality problems. Set across four global cities, the project aims to use a unique combination of design and social science methods to analyse good design and how this is produced and experienced. It is expected that this will deliver greater definition of and e ....Infill Developments: Project HOME (Housing Outcomes Metrics and Evaluation). The project plans to improve housing outcomes by evaluating housing design in the rapidly growing infill multi-residential sector, which often experiences design quality problems. Set across four global cities, the project aims to use a unique combination of design and social science methods to analyse good design and how this is produced and experienced. It is expected that this will deliver greater definition of and evidence for ‘good’ design as experienced through the real lives of Australian households. Outcomes should include robust design evaluation methods and transition strategies for cities, allowing city decision-makers to improve housing design for many people in Australian cities.Read moreRead less
Developing innovative concrete composites by upscaling material properties. This project aims to develop an upscaling process to correlate micro-nano properties of engineering materials to their comprehensive physicochemical properties based on systematic mechanical and statistical analysis approaches and nanoindentation technology. The process will enable assessing material mechanical and viscoelastic properties at a microscale level thus will generate a new knowledge in structural engineering ....Developing innovative concrete composites by upscaling material properties. This project aims to develop an upscaling process to correlate micro-nano properties of engineering materials to their comprehensive physicochemical properties based on systematic mechanical and statistical analysis approaches and nanoindentation technology. The process will enable assessing material mechanical and viscoelastic properties at a microscale level thus will generate a new knowledge in structural engineering discipline including health monitoring, assessment of existing structures, historical buildings, and strengthening and repairing materials in structures. The outcomes are a multiscale link model for upscaling material properties and a development of innovative reinforced concrete composites which are cost-effective and efficient.Read moreRead less
Analysis and design of midrise built-up cold-formed steel structures. The project will develop an analytical and computational basis for designing midrise buildings in cold-formed steel. It will enable solutions with high column capacities and high lateral load resistance to be realised by using built-up sections, thus overcoming the current barrier to constructing buildings up to 10 storeys from cold-formed steel and enabling green, fully recyclable and rapidly constructed buildings to be achie ....Analysis and design of midrise built-up cold-formed steel structures. The project will develop an analytical and computational basis for designing midrise buildings in cold-formed steel. It will enable solutions with high column capacities and high lateral load resistance to be realised by using built-up sections, thus overcoming the current barrier to constructing buildings up to 10 storeys from cold-formed steel and enabling green, fully recyclable and rapidly constructed buildings to be achieved. Experimental, analytical and computational studies will be undertaken and synthesised into efficient design guidelines for practising engineers, including structural reliability analyses at system level of midrise buildings featuring innovative built-up multi-section columns and integrated shear panels.Read moreRead less