Integrated Autonomous Housing for Remote Australian Communities: Analysis, Synthesis and Testing. At remote mining communities, little consideration is given to comfort or energy efficiency in housing - services have not been optimised to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and solid waste. This project will address these environmental issues and the associated social problems by combining the resources of BHP Billiton and the University of Newcastle to develop a model for remot ....Integrated Autonomous Housing for Remote Australian Communities: Analysis, Synthesis and Testing. At remote mining communities, little consideration is given to comfort or energy efficiency in housing - services have not been optimised to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and solid waste. This project will address these environmental issues and the associated social problems by combining the resources of BHP Billiton and the University of Newcastle to develop a model for remote housing. The project aims to design and test an integrated low impact or autonomous transportable house. The results of this research are applicable to remote defence sites, small rural townships and Aboriginal communities as well as for international export.Read moreRead less
Gateways to Justice: improving video-mediated communications for justice participants. Australia will be better protected from terrorism and crime if courts are able to make effective use of high-quality video evidence, both from scientific experts and from key witnesses who cannot be produced in person for security reasons. Appropriate application of the technology can also increase effective and timely access to justice for other justice participants including indigenous people in remote commu ....Gateways to Justice: improving video-mediated communications for justice participants. Australia will be better protected from terrorism and crime if courts are able to make effective use of high-quality video evidence, both from scientific experts and from key witnesses who cannot be produced in person for security reasons. Appropriate application of the technology can also increase effective and timely access to justice for other justice participants including indigenous people in remote communities. The project contributes to the take-up of frontier technologies by developing a best practice model for using video testimony in justice settings, and identifying the social and environmental conditions necessary for successful implementation.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
Livable bathrooms for older people: designing out dependence in activities of daily living. This project aims to establish the design fundamentals needed for the development of more flexible, innovative and safer bathroom fixtures and domestic bathroom environments for older Australians. It provides an understanding of bathroom features and characteristics that function well for older persons and those that diminish their wellbeing.
The Architecture of Academic Research. In pursuit of increased and more innovative research there has been substantial expenditure in the construction of research environments yet little independent evaluation of their impact. The results of this project are crucial in determining future best practice in the design and operation of research environments. It will support the Australian design industry to achieve better outcomes in tertiary facilities here and abroad. More broadly, the architectur ....The Architecture of Academic Research. In pursuit of increased and more innovative research there has been substantial expenditure in the construction of research environments yet little independent evaluation of their impact. The results of this project are crucial in determining future best practice in the design and operation of research environments. It will support the Australian design industry to achieve better outcomes in tertiary facilities here and abroad. More broadly, the architectural profession and university sectors will gain critical insights into each other's working methods and needs. Ultimately, this project will help to improve the effectiveness of research in Australian universities. Read moreRead less
Using acoustic retroreflection in architecture to improve rooms for speech. This project aims to discover how a novel form of acoustic treatment can improve acoustics for speech in rooms such as classrooms and open-plan offices. The project will generate new knowledge on the theory, design, and effects of acoustically retroreflective surfaces in room acoustics. Expected outcomes include solutions for effective acoustic retroreflectors, knowledge on how retroreflection influences people’s voice r ....Using acoustic retroreflection in architecture to improve rooms for speech. This project aims to discover how a novel form of acoustic treatment can improve acoustics for speech in rooms such as classrooms and open-plan offices. The project will generate new knowledge on the theory, design, and effects of acoustically retroreflective surfaces in room acoustics. Expected outcomes include solutions for effective acoustic retroreflectors, knowledge on how retroreflection influences people’s voice regulation and sound quality perception, and guidelines and simulation tools for integrating retroreflective treatments to improve speaking comfort. This should provide significant benefits including opportunities to resolve seemingly intractable design dilemmas in the acoustics of education and workplace environments.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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100730
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$414,216.00
Summary
Designing for early engagement and wellbeing in palliative care. This project aims to generate design guidelines to assist architects in creating better palliative care environments to mitigate the stress associated with end-of-life events for patients, their families and healthcare teams. Facing death, either one’s own or that of a family member, is one of life’s most difficult experiences. Targeted design interventions can encourage early engagement with palliative care, enhance communication ....Designing for early engagement and wellbeing in palliative care. This project aims to generate design guidelines to assist architects in creating better palliative care environments to mitigate the stress associated with end-of-life events for patients, their families and healthcare teams. Facing death, either one’s own or that of a family member, is one of life’s most difficult experiences. Targeted design interventions can encourage early engagement with palliative care, enhance communication and social support in palliative care environments and support staff to deliver optimal patient care. These factors have all been shown to contribute positively to wellbeing. This project will provide benefits for patients, their families and healthcare teams.Read moreRead less
The design and construction of quality, sustainable and affordable pre-made housing in Australia - optimisation and integration. Historically, industrialised construction has resulted in an industrialisation of the parts, rather than an industrialisation of the ensemble. In contrast, this project will integrate architecture and engineering, as well as construction and development to optimise the ensemble, and deliver architectural quality in industrially produced affordable housing.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100529
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,128.00
Summary
Scenario testing for sustainable Australian agricultural landscapes to 2050. This project aims to develop and apply the first systems-based projective spatial methodology for evaluating and communicating Australian agricultural landscape scenarios to 2050. Its conceptual framework combines the synergistic approaches of geodesign, scenario testing and projective design to generate empirically-informed scenarios to spatialise agriculture's national environmental, social, economic, demographic and ....Scenario testing for sustainable Australian agricultural landscapes to 2050. This project aims to develop and apply the first systems-based projective spatial methodology for evaluating and communicating Australian agricultural landscape scenarios to 2050. Its conceptual framework combines the synergistic approaches of geodesign, scenario testing and projective design to generate empirically-informed scenarios to spatialise agriculture's national environmental, social, economic, demographic and competing land-use challenges. Benefits and outcomes will support robust decision-making processes to reduce risk and contribute to more intergenerationally sustainable Australian agricultural practices, industries, communities and landscapes.Read moreRead less