Ethnic discrimination in the private rental housing market. Paired testing protocols, as used in North American and Europe, will be used for the first time in Australia to test for ethnic discrimination in the allocation of private rental housing. This will fill a significant gap in current knowledge, and provide an evidence for policy action and remedies.
Seismic performance of concrete beam-slab-column systems constructed with a re-useable sheet metal formwork system. When designing for earthquake induced loading it is very important to know the ductility and any other inherent deficiencies in structural systems under lateral deflections. The main purpose of this application is to investigate the seismic performance of an efficient beam-slab-column system constructed with a re-useable sheet metal formwork system, Corcon, which is becoming popula ....Seismic performance of concrete beam-slab-column systems constructed with a re-useable sheet metal formwork system. When designing for earthquake induced loading it is very important to know the ductility and any other inherent deficiencies in structural systems under lateral deflections. The main purpose of this application is to investigate the seismic performance of an efficient beam-slab-column system constructed with a re-useable sheet metal formwork system, Corcon, which is becoming popular in Australia and overseas. The proposed research will ultimately lead to revised design guidelines for these systems, suitable for local and overseas practice where different levels of seismicity occur.
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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
Behaviour of anchors in post-tensioned high-strength concrete slabs. Recently High-strength concrete(HSC) was introduced to minimise the time required for stressing the tendons in post-tensioned construction(PC), which is the preferred construction method for long span slabs in Australia and overseas. Although HSC is an obvious choice for this application, many failures have been observed in the live and dead end anchors of PC slabs and there is in fact very little understanding of relationships ....Behaviour of anchors in post-tensioned high-strength concrete slabs. Recently High-strength concrete(HSC) was introduced to minimise the time required for stressing the tendons in post-tensioned construction(PC), which is the preferred construction method for long span slabs in Australia and overseas. Although HSC is an obvious choice for this application, many failures have been observed in the live and dead end anchors of PC slabs and there is in fact very little understanding of relationships between specified concrete properties and performance. Through a systematic experimental and theoretical study, the behaviour of anchor regions of these slabs, including the reasons for failure will be investigated.Read moreRead less
Planning and Building Healthy Communities: A multidisciplinary longitudinal study of the relationship between the built environment and human health. This project examines how urban environments support health. Tracking residents’ behaviours over a long time, the study fills a gap in current knowledge about how urban environments manage and promote good health (a national research priority area). It will identify the design features, social interventions and locational qualities in selected sit ....Planning and Building Healthy Communities: A multidisciplinary longitudinal study of the relationship between the built environment and human health. This project examines how urban environments support health. Tracking residents’ behaviours over a long time, the study fills a gap in current knowledge about how urban environments manage and promote good health (a national research priority area). It will identify the design features, social interventions and locational qualities in selected sites which positively benefit human health. The research will describe the likely health outcomes for future Australians living in areas with similar characteristics. It will also strengthen multidisciplinary approaches and policy development in this area by bringing together a team from urban planning, development and health.Read moreRead less
Sustainability and innovation in outer-suburban housing developments. This project will investigate the sustainability outcomes that are possible in outer suburban project homes using current building and design technologies, and the barriers to the uptake of these technologies more broadly in outer suburban project home developments. The outcomes will include a critically needed decision support tool to help the industry to meet regulatory requirements for more sustainable housing. The project ....Sustainability and innovation in outer-suburban housing developments. This project will investigate the sustainability outcomes that are possible in outer suburban project homes using current building and design technologies, and the barriers to the uptake of these technologies more broadly in outer suburban project home developments. The outcomes will include a critically needed decision support tool to help the industry to meet regulatory requirements for more sustainable housing. The project is strongly supported by a consortium of industry partners including the Urban and Regional Land Corporation, Metricon Homes, Building Commission, Origin Energy, City West Water, Melbourne Water, Sustainable Energy Authority of Victoria and Hassell Architects.
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The Ageing of Aquarius: Designing new housing solutions for Australia's baby-boomers. The economically most powerful demographic group in Australian society is the relatively wealthy baby-boomer cohort as it enters a period of unprecedented and extended retirement activity. This period will create unique housing demands and require new insights into the nature of dwelling provision and preferences for this group. The housing industry is historically hampered by an inability to innovate and prov ....The Ageing of Aquarius: Designing new housing solutions for Australia's baby-boomers. The economically most powerful demographic group in Australian society is the relatively wealthy baby-boomer cohort as it enters a period of unprecedented and extended retirement activity. This period will create unique housing demands and require new insights into the nature of dwelling provision and preferences for this group. The housing industry is historically hampered by an inability to innovate and provide these types of solutions. This research will establish design-based methodologies and practices that would enable industry to discern and provide for the future housing needs of this group, and contribute to the development of innovation in the industry generally.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of Building Structures Considering Wind Loading. Wind loading is a dominant factor that should be carefully considered and resourcefully exploited in the design of building structures. The ever-taller buildings proposed around the world have presented a major challenge and opportunity in the pursuit of new techniques and materials. The proposed research will improve the competitiveness and productivity of the Australian building design industry by establishing a cutting-edge compute ....Optimisation of Building Structures Considering Wind Loading. Wind loading is a dominant factor that should be carefully considered and resourcefully exploited in the design of building structures. The ever-taller buildings proposed around the world have presented a major challenge and opportunity in the pursuit of new techniques and materials. The proposed research will improve the competitiveness and productivity of the Australian building design industry by establishing a cutting-edge computer-automated design tool for creating innovative building systems that can resist wind loading effectively and efficiently. The developed technology will result in significant enhancement of the performance and safety of buildings, and substantial reduction of construction materials and costs.Read moreRead less
Failure Mechanisms of Roof Cladding under Fluctuating Wind Loads. Wind damage to low-rise buildings cause disruption to communities and result in economic losses. Improvements to the most vulnerable part (i.e. roof) will therefore have national benefits and associated economic benefits. Currently, roofing systems used in cyclonic areas are evaluated to DABM in the Northern Territory and to TR440 elsewhere, requiring the same product be tested under two different (and unsatisfactory) specificat ....Failure Mechanisms of Roof Cladding under Fluctuating Wind Loads. Wind damage to low-rise buildings cause disruption to communities and result in economic losses. Improvements to the most vulnerable part (i.e. roof) will therefore have national benefits and associated economic benefits. Currently, roofing systems used in cyclonic areas are evaluated to DABM in the Northern Territory and to TR440 elsewhere, requiring the same product be tested under two different (and unsatisfactory) specifications. This is due to the limited understanding of wind-induced fatigue of cladding. This project will provide the framework for understanding and minimizing cladding fatigue. A realistic single test will also reduce cost and result in better design systems.Read moreRead less
The role of location on the effectiveness of smoke alarms. Smoke alarms in buildings are required by the Building Code of Australia (BCA), but the current requirements are less than optimal. This project will provide the basis for optimisation of smoke alarms and the number, interconnection and positioning of smoke alarms in residential buildings. This is expected to lead to reductions in fire fatalities, injuries and property loss.