Open-plan Office Concepts Determine Effective Facilities Space Management. Open-plan layout is the most predominant work-setting and office designs are changing substantially towards this style. This research addresses the question, "How do open-plan attributes affect effective facilities space management." While this layout is increasingly adopted, no research has definitively answered this question or evaluated open-plan design for its usefulness. This research therefore aims to respond to thi ....Open-plan Office Concepts Determine Effective Facilities Space Management. Open-plan layout is the most predominant work-setting and office designs are changing substantially towards this style. This research addresses the question, "How do open-plan attributes affect effective facilities space management." While this layout is increasingly adopted, no research has definitively answered this question or evaluated open-plan design for its usefulness. This research therefore aims to respond to this question and establish reliable criteria for effective management and re-engineering of offices with open-plans. This research is novel and timely since it endeavours to develop new models and objective criteria to better exploit this concept for greater office performance and productivity.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
Future Proofing Schools: using smart green integrated design approaches to prefabricated learning environments. This project draws on multi-disciplinary approaches to set the groundwork of major transformations of prefabricated classrooms, with the use of advanced materials, smart information systems embedded in the classrooms, better placement on sites, and use of more efficient construction techniques, allowing a transformation of this Australian industry. Our research will promote an innovati ....Future Proofing Schools: using smart green integrated design approaches to prefabricated learning environments. This project draws on multi-disciplinary approaches to set the groundwork of major transformations of prefabricated classrooms, with the use of advanced materials, smart information systems embedded in the classrooms, better placement on sites, and use of more efficient construction techniques, allowing a transformation of this Australian industry. Our research will promote an innovation culture and economy within the school and for future generations, and will have flow-on effects into promoting a healthy start to life in which smart, green, and educational imperatives are aligned. This will assist in strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. Read moreRead less
Smart Green Schools: Educational and Environmental Outcomes of Innovation in School Building Design. The research touches upon many of the key National Research Priorities. Children spend a large proportion of their waking hours within a school environment. A healthy school environment which efficiently uses energy resources and information technology will help ' strengthen Australia's social economic fabric' in the longer term and support student engagement. Children's inhabitation of virtual s ....Smart Green Schools: Educational and Environmental Outcomes of Innovation in School Building Design. The research touches upon many of the key National Research Priorities. Children spend a large proportion of their waking hours within a school environment. A healthy school environment which efficiently uses energy resources and information technology will help ' strengthen Australia's social economic fabric' in the longer term and support student engagement. Children's inhabitation of virtual space as 'native' users of information rich 'frontier technologies' will be complemented by buildings acting as 3D textbooks educating children about an 'environmentally sustainable Australia' and providing feedback on design innovations intended to save 'water' and 'minimise environment impacts' on land and climate.Read moreRead less
Using global optimization technique to determine the most efficient use of building/floor space to accommodate a given office design. The commercial property market is one of the largest business markets, both in Australia and globally. Businesses of all kinds use commercial office space, which represents many billions of investment dollars. A better understanding of what constitutes efficient and effective office space would produce enormous commercial benefits for this country. Historically, ....Using global optimization technique to determine the most efficient use of building/floor space to accommodate a given office design. The commercial property market is one of the largest business markets, both in Australia and globally. Businesses of all kinds use commercial office space, which represents many billions of investment dollars. A better understanding of what constitutes efficient and effective office space would produce enormous commercial benefits for this country. Historically, very little (if any) consideration has been given to the efficiency of office space design. The measurement of efficiency has now become an essential component of 'site selection'. To date, the application of optimization methodologies have not been applied to the architectural industry, making the development of tools to address this problem a significant and innovative move.Read moreRead less
The sound of space: architecture for improved auditory performance in the age of digital manufacturing. This project will combine complex custom architectural surface design with acoustic modelling and simulation to look for novel solutions to the challenges of noisy interiors. It will apply digital modelling in new ways including the construction of high fidelity full scale prototypes for testing in an open office environment and a church.
Natural and Artificial Lighting Control Energy and Visual Optimisation for a Low Energy Building. Artificial lighting is highlighted as the most significant area of opportunity to reduce energy as well as greenhouse emission. The application of intergrated daylight design together with artificial lighting control is researched. Control strategies of switching and dimming the artificial daylighting in conjunction with set-point levels, user preferences and daylighting maximisation are measured. T ....Natural and Artificial Lighting Control Energy and Visual Optimisation for a Low Energy Building. Artificial lighting is highlighted as the most significant area of opportunity to reduce energy as well as greenhouse emission. The application of intergrated daylight design together with artificial lighting control is researched. Control strategies of switching and dimming the artificial daylighting in conjunction with set-point levels, user preferences and daylighting maximisation are measured. The goal is to find the most effective saving strategies whilst maintaining visual comfortRead moreRead less
Designing for wellbeing: realizing benefits for patients through best practice hospital design. The environmental design of healthcare facilities has been shown to directly affect the wellbeing of patients and their families. Poorly designed environments exacerbate patient anxiety and stress and diminish their healthcare experience. Environments designed to support a patient’s wellbeing result in improved health outcomes. Building upon Australia’s international leadership in contemporary hospita ....Designing for wellbeing: realizing benefits for patients through best practice hospital design. The environmental design of healthcare facilities has been shown to directly affect the wellbeing of patients and their families. Poorly designed environments exacerbate patient anxiety and stress and diminish their healthcare experience. Environments designed to support a patient’s wellbeing result in improved health outcomes. Building upon Australia’s international leadership in contemporary hospital design, this project aims to evaluate, prioritise and strategise the best means for realising benefits of environmental design factors that contribute most significantly to achieving positive outcomes for patients and families. It aims to achieve this through a comprehensive comparative case study analysis of new Australian paediatric hospitals.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
The Analects of Antoni Gaudí. This project aims to investigate and record the missing dimensions of Antoni Gaudí's theoretical position and his way of working. Gaudí (1852-1926) is one of the most important figures in world architecture and a major shaper of modern culture, but wrote nothing on his theory or practice of architecture. Given its holism, aesthetic, structural and artistic richness, this is a problem for scholars. Work to complete the Sagrada Família, a living laboratory of conspicu ....The Analects of Antoni Gaudí. This project aims to investigate and record the missing dimensions of Antoni Gaudí's theoretical position and his way of working. Gaudí (1852-1926) is one of the most important figures in world architecture and a major shaper of modern culture, but wrote nothing on his theory or practice of architecture. Given its holism, aesthetic, structural and artistic richness, this is a problem for scholars. Work to complete the Sagrada Família, a living laboratory of conspicuously innovative architecture, is entering its final stages with anticipated completion in 2026. This presents a last opportunity to capture, interpret and disseminate Gaudí’s thoughts and analects for dissemination to the next generation of architects.Read moreRead less