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.
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
Designing distanced intergenerational interaction with tangible technology. Older people and their young relatives/grandchildren who are geographically distanced cannot currently experience closeness in tangible ways, which are the natural ways they would play and build relationships in “real” life. Enabling this connection would have positive impacts for both groups, and two types of technologies – Mixed Reality and Tangibles - can be explored to allow us to understand how to do this. We will d ....Designing distanced intergenerational interaction with tangible technology. Older people and their young relatives/grandchildren who are geographically distanced cannot currently experience closeness in tangible ways, which are the natural ways they would play and build relationships in “real” life. Enabling this connection would have positive impacts for both groups, and two types of technologies – Mixed Reality and Tangibles - can be explored to allow us to understand how to do this. We will develop approaches to distanced tangible intergenerational interaction which are designed specifically to increase intergenerational closeness and to be innovative and subtle so that they fit seamlessly into the lives of older people and young children.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.
Multifunctional Structural Panels for Next-generation Infrastructure. This project aims to develop a multifunctional prefabricated structural panel for current and future infrastructure applications for both land and offshore environments. Prefabrication enables enhanced product control as well as the ability to rapidly construct whole structures or their components. The panels utilise an inner lightweight foam and fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite core with strong outer panels made from ....Multifunctional Structural Panels for Next-generation Infrastructure. This project aims to develop a multifunctional prefabricated structural panel for current and future infrastructure applications for both land and offshore environments. Prefabrication enables enhanced product control as well as the ability to rapidly construct whole structures or their components. The panels utilise an inner lightweight foam and fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite core with strong outer panels made from FRP sheets and high-strength concrete. The expected outcomes include experimental and numerical validation of the system, that will give designers and asset owners the confidence to adopt this new panel. The panel system presents an upward step change in construction technology and built infrastructure performance.Read moreRead less
Buckling of Functionally Graded Multilayer Graphene Nanocomposites. This project aims to contribute to the development of novel lightweight structural members made of graphene nanocomposites with greatly enhanced resistance to abrupt or progressive buckling failure. Abrupt or progressive buckling failure under excessive compressive loads is a common and often catastrophic problem in engineering structures. The project intends to develop a functionally graded multilayer graphene nanocomposite str ....Buckling of Functionally Graded Multilayer Graphene Nanocomposites. This project aims to contribute to the development of novel lightweight structural members made of graphene nanocomposites with greatly enhanced resistance to abrupt or progressive buckling failure. Abrupt or progressive buckling failure under excessive compressive loads is a common and often catastrophic problem in engineering structures. The project intends to develop a functionally graded multilayer graphene nanocomposite structure and to conduct a combined theoretical, numerical and experimental investigation into its buckling and postbuckling behaviours, taking into account the effect of initial imperfection. The project aims to advance the knowledge base of the mechanical behaviour of lightweight nanocomposite structures with improved structural reliability.Read moreRead less
Lightweight, durable and self-sustainable modular composites buildings. This project aims to establish a modular composites building system that is lightweight, integrated with power supply system and is highly resistant to harsh environments. Buildings today are designed and constructed using conventional craft-based labour-intensive methods and materials. This results in high cost and consequences for quality, safety, resource and environmental impact. By developing the modular building system ....Lightweight, durable and self-sustainable modular composites buildings. This project aims to establish a modular composites building system that is lightweight, integrated with power supply system and is highly resistant to harsh environments. Buildings today are designed and constructed using conventional craft-based labour-intensive methods and materials. This results in high cost and consequences for quality, safety, resource and environmental impact. By developing the modular building system using lightweight and durable fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites and innovative connection methods for fast assembly, the project outcomes can largely lift productivity in construction industry and further provide self-sustainable civil infrastructure not only in urban and rural regions but also in remote areas.Read moreRead less
Emotions and Employee Turnover: New Methods for Complex Dynamic Systems. This project aims to vastly improve the data-analytic capabilities of social and health researchers, while increasing knowledge about emotion dynamics and their link to employee turnover. By drawing on and advancing methods from ecology and applied physics, this project plans to investigate the role that individual emotions play in employee turnover with new quantitative methods for characterising and testing causality in c ....Emotions and Employee Turnover: New Methods for Complex Dynamic Systems. This project aims to vastly improve the data-analytic capabilities of social and health researchers, while increasing knowledge about emotion dynamics and their link to employee turnover. By drawing on and advancing methods from ecology and applied physics, this project plans to investigate the role that individual emotions play in employee turnover with new quantitative methods for characterising and testing causality in complex dynamic systems. The expected outcomes include an improved capacity for researchers, managers, and policy makers to understand complex organisational, economic, and health systems. This will provide immediate societal benefits by informing the development and deployment of targeted interventions in such systems.Read moreRead less
Framing and Enabling Children’s Active Play using Novel Technology. This project aims to address inactivity in the 3-5 age group through understanding and exploring innovative interactive active play experiences for children, with a view to increasing their physical activity over the long term. This project will be based on empirical research with real children undertaking real interactive experiences in real contexts, in order to understand issues around sustained engagement with these types of ....Framing and Enabling Children’s Active Play using Novel Technology. This project aims to address inactivity in the 3-5 age group through understanding and exploring innovative interactive active play experiences for children, with a view to increasing their physical activity over the long term. This project will be based on empirical research with real children undertaking real interactive experiences in real contexts, in order to understand issues around sustained engagement with these types of systems. We will design and develop solutions that may address the issues and test those interventions in a longitudinal manner. The outcome will be a framework which can be applied in a variety of situations and modalities by designers and developers of such systems, and feed into childhood technology guidelines.
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