Architecture, Building and Planning - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableNew York Times article on Australia’s Cold Houses( 2021-05-06)
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ItemExploring the application of the Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor tool for Australian office buildings(PRRES, 2024)Urgent transitions to mitigate effects of climate change are needed. Policies and reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions associated with the built environment are emerging. Meeting these targets will be essential to ensure built assets are not stranded. Asset ‘stranding’ occurs when a building no longer meets emissions targets and, as a result, may not be allowed to be occupied or rented, resulting in implications for asset income and occupancy. The Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) tool was developed in Europe to enable emissions analysis of assets and portfolios to reduce the risk of stranding. CRREM is regarded as one of the most valuable tools for asset management and valuations in Europe and UK, however, in Australia it has only recently been adapted for local conditions. This research provides key insights into the effective use of CRREM for Australian built assets.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableHousing typologies and asthma: a scoping review(BMC, 2023-09-11)Asthma is related to triggers within the home. Although it is recognised that triggers likely occur due to characteristics of housing, these characteristics have not been comprehensively reviewed, and there is a paucity of housing-focused interventions to reduce asthma and asthma symptoms. Following five steps identified by Arksey and O'Malley, we conducted a scoping review of published evidence on the associations between asthma and housing characteristics. We searched three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science), identifying 33 studies that met our inclusion criteria. Through an iterative approach, we identified nine housing characteristics relevant to asthma onset or exacerbation, categorised as relating to the surrounding environment (location), the house itself (dwelling), or to conditions inside the home (occupancy). We conceptualise these three levels through a housing typologies framework. This facilitates the mapping of housing characteristics, and visualises how they can cluster and overlap to exacerbate asthma or asthma symptoms. Of the three levels in our framework, associations between asthma and locational features were evidenced most clearly in the literature reviewed. Within this category, environmental pollutants (and particularly air pollutants) were identified as a potentially important risk factor for asthma. Studies concerning associations between dwelling features and occupancy features and asthma reported inconsistent results, highlighting the need for greater research in these areas. Interpreting housing-related asthma triggers through this framework paves the way for the identification and targeting of typologies of housing that might adversely affect asthma, thus addressing multiple characteristics in tandem rather than as isolated elements.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableIs 24.9 °C Too Hot to Think? A Call to Raise Temperature Setpoints in Australian Offices(MDPI, 2022-12)The current +−0.5 PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) targets adopted by NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) is the practical range deemed acceptable for 90% acceptability for commercial buildings in Australia, however thermal comfort satisfaction scores measured in office buildings still show high percentages of dissatisfied occupants. This paper aims to demonstrate the potential of curbing energy consumption from commercial buildings in Australia by increasing summer temperature set-points. A 10-year NABERS dataset, along with objective and subjective thermal comfort and air quality data from NABERS-certified offices are investigated in this study. Furthermore, different simulation scenarios are tested to investigate the discomfort hours and energy consumption for various summer temperature setpoints. Result analysis shows that occupants’ satisfaction in NABERS-certified buildings was not within the 90% satisfaction, with being too cold/hot as the main source of dissatisfaction. Objective measurements also showed temperature was out of recommended range for several datapoints. Simulation results indicate that, within the average range of 21–24.9 °C, there is not a significant difference in discomfort hours that could drive the selection of one temperature set-point over the other. Challenging the current practices, results suggest that a cooling set point temperature on the upper limit of the range indicated by the Australian standard AS 1837–1976 may minimize the energy consumption without significantly increasing discomfort, or even increasing the perceived satisfaction with the indoor environment.
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ItemDesigning for Extreme Weather impacts on Buildings(The Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA), 2022)In line with climate projections, extreme weather events have increased in Australian cities both in number and severity. Such events include heavy rainfall along the east coast, cyclone events along the north-west coastline and in far north Queensland, bushfires in the southeast and heatwaves across the continent. Current scientific modelling provides medium to high confidence that the effects of climate change will exacerbate these events even further. Much of the impact of these events is on private dwellings, in many cases in coastal, rural, or remote regions. Contemporary residential built environmental sustainability design in Australia commonly employs mitigation strategies seeking to reduce the potential impacts of long-term climate change, with regular reference to predictions of increased temperatures and sea level rise. However, extreme weather events are occurring now, and regulations and voluntary rating tools should be proactively addressing these critical issues. Despite extensive work on preparedness for extreme weather by researchers and Governments, practical design guidance is minimal with adaptation strategies relying on generic regulations and standards creating challenges for providing appropriate, cost-effective solutions specific to each different project location. This research reviews the regulatory and voluntary mechanisms currently in place in Australia that address extreme weather and highlights the gaps in design guidance and site-specific adaptation strategies to reduce impact of extreme weather on Australian houses.
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ItemIncentivization of Sustainable Waste Management Solutions for Commercial Construction in Australia(Western Sydney University, 2022)The construction industry has one of the highest waste intensities in Australia. While currently there are barriers to the implementation of sustainable waste management (WM) practices, there is a lack of viable solutions to overcome these barriers. This research aims at examining the main barriers and issues to the implementation of sustainable WM in the Australian commercial construction industry with a focus on incentivization as a possible solution. To this end, a qualitative approach through interviewing experts in the field is adopted to explore new ideas around possible solutions to the issue. Thus, 13 online semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts in the Australian construction industry and the findings show that participants are willing to use more sustainable WM practices, however, the barriers are too substantial. The findings also indicate solutions such as influencing WM practices by stakeholders (client, government, and industry regulators) through financial incentives, mandating measurable and relevant KPIs, amending existing legislations, implementing stewardship programs, conducting audits on waste contractors to improve the waste reporting reliability, and creating separate waste streams to foster a Circular Economy. This study benefits researchers and practitioners by shifting their focus more towards solutions around the incentivization of head contractors (HC) towards sustainable WM practices.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableABC TV - 7.30 report - Apartment overheating(ABC, 2021)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableOpportunities for innovation competitions for the Australian Construction Industry(Western Sydney University, 2022)A large body of knowledge exists relating to the theory of innovation as well as its practical implications. In recent years large scale global technology innovation prizes have become common as a strategy to develop and test innovations, with the rise in success of the format being attributed to the use of the internet, allowing a greater global participation. These large-scale competitions have attracted the attention of many different industries, to the point that U.S. government agencies now use innovation prizes as a procurement strategy. In contrast, construction industry competitions are relatively limited and concentrated at the design stage such as architectural design competitions. This study uses conceptual analysis to understand the relationship between established strengths and weaknesses of the Construction industry, and the essential criteria for industry competitions defined by the Staged Competition Innovation theory, which presents three key principles that lead to a successful industry competition, including 1) a new mechanism for innovation, 2) A unique competition environment, and 3) A pathway for industry adoption. The analysis presented shows that a successful construction competition must be closely aligned with the regulation and practices of the industry in order to be adopted, and favours organisations with an innovative culture and top management support. Attributes from a construction competition to be avoided would include onerous upfront financial commitments, risk to intellectual property rights and omission of the suppliers and subcontractors in the tasks.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableABC Landline - Durra Panel(ABC, 2021-10-31)
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ItemResponse strategies used to mitigate the effect of extreme weather on rural and remote housing in Australia(IOP Publishing, 2022-01-01)In the extreme climates of Australia, rural and remote locations have special site and dwelling requirements and therefore special design solutions. This can include construction constraints, bushfire risk, resource efficiency, comfort and respect for the surrounding environment and heritage. Existing regulations targeted at extreme weather impacts such as bushfire, flood, cyclones, and heatwaves often impact the design and material choices for rural and remote housing due to their exposed locations, including housing proposed for rebuild following damage resulting from an extreme weather event. These regulations also lead to increased costs and uncertainty about the suitability of rural land for construction, making it challenging for rebuilding communities in affected areas. Such well-intentioned regulations also create limitations on innovation through experimental / bespoke building design, such as; 1) novel solutions to extreme weather mitigation and resistance 2) material choices for construction; and 3) achievement of operational and embodied energy reductions. Experimental buildings provide significant innovation benefits to industry as is often seen in the development of sustainable and high-performance buildings. This research examines the academic and industry knowledge of current design regulations for extreme weather events and implications for experimental and innovative design, highlighting the challenges for buildings to achieve increasing standards of environmental performance whilst ensuring resilience in the face of increasing extreme weather events, with a specific focus on rural communities. Case study analysis is used to provide an understanding of the focus and strategies used by different groups in different locations to address the impacts of extreme weather.