Architecture, Building and Planning - Research Publications
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ItemCarbon Life Cycle Comparison Tool(University of Melbourne, 2024)
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ItemFusion Systems Carbon Usage During the Manufacturing Process(University of Melbourne, 2024)
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ItemLife Cycle Assessment of Lithium Carbonate Production: Comparing Sedimentary Deposits(Elsevier BV, 2024-06)Lithium sedimentary deposits which were once considered impractical to extract, have become increasingly attractive for exploiting and producing high-quality lithium compounds, due to the surge in demand for batteries and from other markets. However, potential environmental impacts are yet to be evaluated for this emerging lithium production route. Therefore, this paper presents a comparative Life Cycle Assessment study for three prominent and near-to-opening lithium clay projects globally: Sonora Mexico, Falchani Peru, and Thacker Pass USA. Specifically, this study used literature, statistical data, expert interviews, and technical reports to develop cradle-to-gate models covering the mining to refining processes. The results suggest that lithium carbonate production in the Thacker Pass project has higher impacts than the two other selected sedimentary projects. Additionally, the impact categories of the Sonora project are significantly influenced by the source of electricity. The sensitivity analysis highlights the pivotal role of a transition to clean energy sources for these emerging lithium production routes. Especially, the Thacker Pass project would benefit significantly from on-site sulfuric acid production and power generation to reduce the associated environmental impacts.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableTransaction costs and innovation outcomes: lessons from early adopters of housebuilding innovations(Emerald, 2024)Purpose: This study aims to examine the transaction costs (TCs) involved in searching for a business case to adopt specific walling innovations by housing developers and the influence of these TCs on their adoption outcomes. This is against the backdrop that innovation adoption, like any new venture, is failure-prone but necessary for countries to reap the full benefits of technological innovation in residential developments, especially when these innovations are also green. Moreover, this issue is understudied. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a qualitative design and focuses on the early adopting developers in Ghana. The original theoretical framework integrates theories on entrepreneurial opportunity discovery and TC economics. The authors interviewed 12 developers and 13 industry stakeholders purposively identified. The authors analysed and triangulated the resulting transcripts using thematic analysis techniques. Findings: The authors identified two types of early adopters who attempted eight types of walling innovations. Most efforts (71%) were partially successful or failed. The range of TCs identified differed by the adopter type, technology and knowledge coordination strategy. Although the common TCs that were consequential were associated with monitoring and supervision, construction, additional learning, acquiring specialised skills, design change and dispute resolutions, their influence on adoption outcomes is very nuanced. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is among the first to link TCs with innovation adoption outcomes by housing developers in discovering profitable opportunities to adopt specific walling innovations. The findings and theoretical framework lay a foundation for in-depth analyses of the entrepreneurship of innovation adoption in residential real estate. The exploratory work will generate further interest in this area.
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ItemInclusive mainstream services for people with intellectual disabilities: A relational approach(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2024-01-01)
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ItemMeasuring housing well-being of disaster affected persons in Chennai (India)(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2023-01-01)
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ItemInside the Front Door A seven-year longitudinal study of six high volume homelessness services in Melbourne( 2024)Over the past two decades, homelessness has become an entrenched feature on Australia’s social landscape and pressure on homelessness services has continued to rise. While a great deal is known about who presents to homelessness services, much less is known about service utilisation patterns among households ‘at risk’ of homelessness and experiencing homelessness. Service utilisation patterns have been a foci of research studies in several areas, particularly public health and one particularly important strand focuses on ‘heavy service users’. Interest in heavy service users is largely motivated by the fact that despite typically accounting for approximately 10-20% of services users, heavy service users consume a disproportionate amount of resources. The identification of heavy service users and what contributes to heavy service use is therefore important information that policy makers and service providers can use to devise less expensive ways to meet their needs, optimise service design and improve service outcomes. Using a novel dataset that combined administrative records from six Initial Assessment and Planning (IAP) services across Metropolitan Melbourne, this report examines the characteristics and service utilisation patterns of 70,552 unique households over a 7-year period. The aim of the report was to determine if there are distinct patterns of service use, and whether different patterns of service use are associated with distinct household characteristics.
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ItemComparing the life cycle costs of a traditional and a smart HVAC control system for Australian office buildings(Elsevier BV, 2024-08)Many smart technologies have been introduced in buildings with the aim to reduce the energy and GHG emissions associated with their operation, particularly through improved control systems for regulating heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. Despite their energy saving potential, only a few studies have comprehensively assessed the costs associated with their practical implementation from a life cycle perspective. Accordingly, this study quantifies and compares the life cycle costs of a smart HVAC control system with that of a traditional control system, in the context of an Australian office building. For both systems, the required hardware are specified based on the characteristics of these systems and the layout of the serviced spaces in the reference building. The costs incurred over the period of assessment are quantified using the net present cost (NPC) approach. To evaluate the effects of these control systems on the operational energy costs of the building HVAC system, the control logics of both these systems are modelled through building energy simulations. The results show that, over the period of assessment, the smart control system incurred a higher total cost compared to the traditional control system. However, the findings from the simulations show that the HVAC energy cost savings achieved through the specification of the smart control system offset the additional cost incurred to deploy this system over the traditional control system. The smart control system resulted in HVAC operational cost savings between 9 % and 10 % compared to the traditional control system. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the total life cycle costs varied between −27 % and +50 %, with the discount rate and energy price increase rate being the most influential parameters.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableZEMCH Environmental Experience Design for Enhancement of Sustainable Affordalbe Urban Dwellings(Seoul Metropolitan Government, 2024-05-23)서울특별시가 주최하고 한국주거학회가 주관하는 「2023 서울주거포럼」이 2023년 11월 8일에 서울시청 본관 8층 다목적홀에서 성황리에 개최되었다. '주거약자와의 동행'이란 주제로 열린 본 포럼은 국내 전문가뿐만 아니라 호주, 미국, 스페인 등지의 해외 연사들을 초청하여 현대에 변화하는 주거상을 밀도 있게 연구, 공유하는 자지였다. 이들이 생각한 고령화, 저출산, 양극화 등 사회의 각종 현안에 해결책을 제안하는 더 나은 주거는 어떤 모습일까?
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ItemAssessing the social life cycle impacts of circular economy(ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2023-02-01)A transition to a circular economy (CE) affects different stakeholders – positively and negatively. Social aspects still receive little consideration in the context of CE, which is why the assessment and monitoring of the social impacts of CE still require further development and consideration in research. In this context, social circularity indicators and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) are important tools that were examined in more detail in this study. This paper aimed to assess the current state of social circularity indicators in the literature, the implementation of S-LCA to assess CE concepts, and which additional indicators might be included in future S-LCA studies. Focus will be on the methodological approach of how to assess the social impacts of CE. A systematic literature review was conducted using Scopus Database, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. The search terms were derived from the aim of the study to identify the social impacts of CE in existing literature, to compile relevant social indicators in the context of CE, and to analyze the current role of S-LCA in the assessment of CE concepts. 97 papers were found. After excluding contributions that did not match the search criteria and adding new relevant contributions found through the analysis of the identified studies with the snowball sampling approach, 40 papers were considered in the review. 40 social impacts of CE were found within the literature. About half of them were positive and the other half negative. The authors found that positive impacts for some stakeholders could imply negative consequences for others, e.g., job creation in one region might lead to a decline in job opportunities in other regions. To assess CE, 104 single social indicators and 9 composed indicators were identified. Most of them could be linked to stakeholder groups and subcategories proposed in the UNEP S-LCA guidelines (UNEP, 2020). Training and education, job creation, as well as health and safety were relevant identified indicators in the context of CE. S-LCA has rarely been used in the assessment of CE strategies so far and needs to be standardized for application in the industry. Not all social impacts of CE are addressed by existing indicators. This, and the fact that not all circularity indicators that address social consequences of CE (social circularity indicators) are covered with S-LCA, reveals the need to suggest and harmonize additional subcategories that are especially relevant for CE. The authors propose to apply and integrate the identified social circularity (inventory) indicators in future S-LCA studies to assess CE concepts.