Modelling and predicting patterns of pedestrian movement: using robotics and machine learning to improve the design of urban space. In a geographic region that is experiencing increasing urban density, the problems of the pedestrian are rarely considered from a design perspective. One reason for this is that there are few useful tools available for analysing the behaviour of pedestrians in existing urban spaces, and none to assist designers to optimise such spaces. As a result of this, there is ....Modelling and predicting patterns of pedestrian movement: using robotics and machine learning to improve the design of urban space. In a geographic region that is experiencing increasing urban density, the problems of the pedestrian are rarely considered from a design perspective. One reason for this is that there are few useful tools available for analysing the behaviour of pedestrians in existing urban spaces, and none to assist designers to optimise such spaces. As a result of this, there is an urgent need for the development of design tools to enable a higher level of understanding of pedestrians in public space. This project is a world-first combining urban design theory and machine-learning for creating more socially and culturally responsive environments.Read moreRead less
Shaping social and cultural spaces: the application of computer visualisation and machine learning techniques to the design of architectural and urban spaces. The proposed research project provides a previously unavailable level of understanding of the experiential and symbolic characteristics of complex urban and architectural spaces. In a country that is experiencing increasing urban density there is an urgent need for the development of new tools, theories and design approaches that can produ ....Shaping social and cultural spaces: the application of computer visualisation and machine learning techniques to the design of architectural and urban spaces. The proposed research project provides a previously unavailable level of understanding of the experiential and symbolic characteristics of complex urban and architectural spaces. In a country that is experiencing increasing urban density there is an urgent need for the development of new tools, theories and design approaches that can produce spaces which are socially and culturally responsive.
The research project produces a leading-edge computational tool for analysing space, along with a conceptual advance in design theory. Both the tool and the theoretical advance will assist design practitioners, scholars, town planners and policy writers to shape rich, responsive and inclusive urban environments.Read moreRead less
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
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
The export of Chinese architecture to the Third World; China's international role in development. This project examines the global dimension of nation building through an investigation into the export of Chinese architecture to the Third World as part of its overseas aid programs between 1956 and 1989. Australia's bilateral relationship with China is one of our most important, and the overseas aid program is an important aspect of our foreign policy. This research will advance the national inter ....The export of Chinese architecture to the Third World; China's international role in development. This project examines the global dimension of nation building through an investigation into the export of Chinese architecture to the Third World as part of its overseas aid programs between 1956 and 1989. Australia's bilateral relationship with China is one of our most important, and the overseas aid program is an important aspect of our foreign policy. This research will advance the national interest through: a substantial increase in the knowledge of China's international role in the Third World; evaluation of the cultural significance of overseas aid programs; and conceptual reformulation of the relationship between nation building and global space.Read moreRead less
Design in Context: Augmented Reality Technology to Improve the Quality and Performance of Architecture. This project will develop tools and knowledge to assess and improve the environmental performance and visual impact of design proposals prior to construction. The design simulation technology proposed here will allow stakeholders to concurrently test socio-cultural and functional performance over time, will allow more informed decision making and make a significant contribution to the social, ....Design in Context: Augmented Reality Technology to Improve the Quality and Performance of Architecture. This project will develop tools and knowledge to assess and improve the environmental performance and visual impact of design proposals prior to construction. The design simulation technology proposed here will allow stakeholders to concurrently test socio-cultural and functional performance over time, will allow more informed decision making and make a significant contribution to the social, cultural and economic life of Australia. The augmented reality technology to be developed in this project also has significant potential for applications in other domains and industries such as landscape and parks management.Read moreRead less
Place and parametricism: Provocations for the rethinking of design. This project aims to explore whether quantitative methods of digital and parametric design can adequately encompass place. Quantitative digital and parametric approaches increasingly dominate contemporary architecture, but people assume architectural design should be essentially oriented to questions of place. The project will operate through a set of studio provocations based on the fictional places of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghas ....Place and parametricism: Provocations for the rethinking of design. This project aims to explore whether quantitative methods of digital and parametric design can adequately encompass place. Quantitative digital and parametric approaches increasingly dominate contemporary architecture, but people assume architectural design should be essentially oriented to questions of place. The project will operate through a set of studio provocations based on the fictional places of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels. The project is expected to clarify the nature of place and parametricism, and rethink what design itself might be.Read moreRead less
Designing Australian schools: a spatial history of innovation, pedagogy and social change. This project will provide understanding of the design, educational and environmental motivations underpinning modern Australian schools in the twentieth-century, thus informing current ideas about the school as a centre of the broader social and local community fabric.
Architecture and industry: the migrant contribution to nation-building. This project aims to explore the post-war architectural, rural and industrial landscapes of Australia as shaped by the labour of displaced persons. Migrants after the Second World War were critical to the spatial making of modern Australia. Major federally-funded industries driving post-war nation-building programs depended on the employment of large numbers of war-displaced persons. While the immigrant contribution to natio ....Architecture and industry: the migrant contribution to nation-building. This project aims to explore the post-war architectural, rural and industrial landscapes of Australia as shaped by the labour of displaced persons. Migrants after the Second World War were critical to the spatial making of modern Australia. Major federally-funded industries driving post-war nation-building programs depended on the employment of large numbers of war-displaced persons. While the immigrant contribution to nation-building in cultural terms is well-known, its everyday spatial, architectural and landscape transformations remain unexamined. This project aims to bring to the foreground post-war industry and immigration to comprehensively document a how Australia has uniquely shaped its built environment.Read moreRead less
Demonstrating the feasibility of designing sustainable buildings using evolutionary systems. The design approach proposed in this research will result in two key areas of national benefit. First, the research will enable Australian built environment design professions to become more competitive in both domestic and international markets. There is a growing demand for environmentally-friendly buildings and the proposed design approach will enable Australian firms to be at the cutting edge of sust ....Demonstrating the feasibility of designing sustainable buildings using evolutionary systems. The design approach proposed in this research will result in two key areas of national benefit. First, the research will enable Australian built environment design professions to become more competitive in both domestic and international markets. There is a growing demand for environmentally-friendly buildings and the proposed design approach will enable Australian firms to be at the cutting edge of sustainable design. Second, the research will enable the Australian built environment to become more sustainable. The proposed approach will enable buildings to be designed that perform well, that are cost effective and that minimise their environmental impact. Read moreRead less