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
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
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.
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.
Technology Transfer through Embedded Research within Architectural Practice: the Creation of an Australian Practice-Based Architectural Research and Development Network. This research will apply Parametric Design to a range of projects within architecture and construction engineering practice to assess the benefits. To what extent does a parametric approach extend opportunities for flexible, stream-lined and intelligent design and construction in practice? This research will test parametric reso ....Technology Transfer through Embedded Research within Architectural Practice: the Creation of an Australian Practice-Based Architectural Research and Development Network. This research will apply Parametric Design to a range of projects within architecture and construction engineering practice to assess the benefits. To what extent does a parametric approach extend opportunities for flexible, stream-lined and intelligent design and construction in practice? This research will test parametric resolution of a range of real design problems that mirror the work of innovative Australian practices. Through embedded postgraduate research within practice, this project will give Australian academy and practice the opportunity to lead in understanding the conditions for successfully applying advanced techniques in design practice.Read moreRead less
Delivering Digital Architecture in Australia. Design, documentation, and off-site prefabrication of numerous recent major international architectural projects, were achieved with evolving integrated 3D digital methods. While Australian architects, engineers, manufacturers, fabricators, and constructors have participated in a few such projects using these technologies, generally, local understanding and uptake of the opportunities is still very low. Growth in this area means growth in an existi ....Delivering Digital Architecture in Australia. Design, documentation, and off-site prefabrication of numerous recent major international architectural projects, were achieved with evolving integrated 3D digital methods. While Australian architects, engineers, manufacturers, fabricators, and constructors have participated in a few such projects using these technologies, generally, local understanding and uptake of the opportunities is still very low. Growth in this area means growth in an existing export rather than increasing reliance on importing these services and products. More fundamentally, it means a huge cultural dividend to Australia from greater affordable freedom of architectural expression.Read moreRead less
Extending building information models (BIM) for specifications and cost planning. The recognition in the 1990's that inefficiencies in the design, construction and maintenance of buildings and infrastructure were costing up to 30 per cent of the total constructed cost of buildings led to a push for the more efficient use of information. The major change in the industry to date has been the introduction of Building Information Models (BIM). Uptake has now reached the tipping point where it is be ....Extending building information models (BIM) for specifications and cost planning. The recognition in the 1990's that inefficiencies in the design, construction and maintenance of buildings and infrastructure were costing up to 30 per cent of the total constructed cost of buildings led to a push for the more efficient use of information. The major change in the industry to date has been the introduction of Building Information Models (BIM). Uptake has now reached the tipping point where it is becoming pervasive. This project examines methods of adding value to existing BIM information which will allow the industry and clients to achieve a higher level of efficiency than can be gained just through substitution of BIM for current processes.Read moreRead less
Applied architectural design research for age-friendly dwellings and neighbourhoods. This project aims to design age friendly dwellings and neighbourhoods that embrace the reality of millions of older Australians ageing in their homes in the community. Using architectural design-practice research methods that focus on a carefully curated series of design propositions, this project aims to explore how the dwelling and its urban environment can be ‘normalised’ for the growing ageing population thr ....Applied architectural design research for age-friendly dwellings and neighbourhoods. This project aims to design age friendly dwellings and neighbourhoods that embrace the reality of millions of older Australians ageing in their homes in the community. Using architectural design-practice research methods that focus on a carefully curated series of design propositions, this project aims to explore how the dwelling and its urban environment can be ‘normalised’ for the growing ageing population through adjustments that make it more adaptable and responsive to their needs, while at the same time improving the city for all. The project aims to pose the following question: what design strategies can be employed to integrate more flexible, affordable and personalised living options that enable older people to continue living and participating within existing urban communities?Read moreRead less
Determining the social value of extreme, mixed-use urban developments. Using an Adelaide case study, UCity, this project will investigate the social benefit of building mixed-use vertical communities in the Australian urban context. Using an innovative Social Value Framework, the project will establish and demonstrate the multi-dimensional impacts of such developments in practice. The project utilises citizen science for real time auditing of the built environment by residents and users; smart t ....Determining the social value of extreme, mixed-use urban developments. Using an Adelaide case study, UCity, this project will investigate the social benefit of building mixed-use vertical communities in the Australian urban context. Using an innovative Social Value Framework, the project will establish and demonstrate the multi-dimensional impacts of such developments in practice. The project utilises citizen science for real time auditing of the built environment by residents and users; smart technologies for environmental and behavioural monitoring; and data analytics and design automation for spatial analysis of building use. The results will inform new models of sustainable high-rise, mixed-use buildings; providing evidence for a Social Value Framework to become a core consideration in Australian industry.Read moreRead less
Indigenous Placemaking in Central Melbourne: Representations, practices and creative research. This project will contribute to making a place of belonging, gathering and cultural exchange for and with Indignenous Australians in Melbourne, through dialogic research processes aimed at generating a more inclusive and dynamic understanding of Indigenous identity. It will provide a platform for reconciliatory activities in Victoria with the support of Victorian Indigenous Communities, Reconciliation ....Indigenous Placemaking in Central Melbourne: Representations, practices and creative research. This project will contribute to making a place of belonging, gathering and cultural exchange for and with Indignenous Australians in Melbourne, through dialogic research processes aimed at generating a more inclusive and dynamic understanding of Indigenous identity. It will provide a platform for reconciliatory activities in Victoria with the support of Victorian Indigenous Communities, Reconciliation Victoria, and the Melbourne City Council and educate the public regarding the need for such a facility. It will increase Melbourne's national and international profile by contributing to the provision of a world class cultural centre that engages international tourists and informing future institutional programs.Read moreRead less