Architecture, Building and Planning - Research Publications
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ItemReevaluating the Land Use Impact of a Li-ion Battery Related Mining Project: A Case Study of Greenbushes Mine(Elsevier BV, 2024)The mining industry plays a pivotal role in the global transition towards clean energy, driven by the escalating demand for critical elements like lithium. However, this growth raises profound environmental concerns, particularly regarding land use, global warming potential, water consumption, acidification, eutrophication, and toxicity. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has historically relied on approximations and theoretical methods, resulting in systematic underestimations of these impacts. This study begins to address part of this discrepancy by leveraging remote sensing technologies to gather empirical evidence. Focusing on the Greenbushes mining site in Australia, a comprehensive investigation was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the direct land use impact from satellite imagery over the life of the project. Comparative analyses were performed against various mid-point Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods. The findings unequivocally reveal a substantial under-reporting of the land use impact, highlighting the critical need for more accurate assessments in the context of mining activities. This research underscores the importance of empirical data in refining our understanding of the environmental footprint associated with mining operations, particularly in the critical context of clean energy transition. The study emphasises the imperative to reevaluate and adjust existing approaches to accurately account for the full scope of environmental impacts associated with mining operations.
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ItemAn exploration of public perceptions of place character in the Pathuriaghata neighborhood of Kolkata, India(AMPS (Architecture, Media, Politics, Society), 2023)People living in one location for a considerable period of time often form what has been termed ‘place attachments’ to those locations and their associated features. In historic cities continuously inhabited by generations of people, long-time residents interact with the landscape settings, associating meanings, uses, and values to different landscape features to form person-place bonds, such that these features in the landscape become integral to their own sense of personal identity― Proshanky has termed this as ‘person-place identity’ since it conveys the person’s own aspect of individual identity that gets mediated by the physical environment and the meanings and values associated with particular places and associated features to which they have become attached. In this way certain features in the landscape can serve as perceptual cues that remind residents of where they belong and who they are and can become ingrained as their ‘place-memory’. As early as 1925 it was suggested by Maurice Halbwachs that landscape features in a place are not remembered in isolation, but together as ‘collective memory’ of a landscape setting. Groups of people residing in one place for long periods of time can share similar memories and person-place bonds that give rise to ‘cultural memories’ allowing the ‘concretion of identity’ of a place to occur. This is experienced as the distinctive ‘feel’ or ‘character’ of a place as expressed by its landscape and associated place features, people, history, and ways of life. In the case of any historic city, historical urban patinas collage together conveying place identity through cultural memory that is often of heritage value and an important resource for sustaining good quality of life. Natural and cultural (tangible and intangible) heritages support the livability of residents through providing sustainable local economies, traditional livelihoods, use of local resources in traditional arts and crafts, and environment-friendly methods of construction. According to the ICOMOS Burra Charter 1999 “places of cultural significance enrich people’s lives, often providing a deep and inspirational sense of connection to community and landscape, to the past and to lived experiences”; this charter further suggests that changes to such places should entail “as little as possible so that its cultural significance is retained.”
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ItemExploring residents' definition and use of neighbourhood leftover spaces in Colombo, Sri Lanka(Amps (Architecture, Media, Politics, Society), 2023)Urban leftover spaces are the residual spaces or cracks in cities that form due to rapid urban development. "urban voids" These types of spaces have also been referred to as "lost spaces", "loose spaces", They are typically vacant, neglected, or underutilized spaces within highly urbanized areas and can be permanent or temporary. They are often considered urban spaces awaiting future use. and "informal urban green spaces". These types of spaces have been studied for over five decades, with much of that research aimed at understanding their characteristics and potential uses in urban environments. The specific socio-economic and environmental context in which the spaces occur often influences the results. While these spaces occur at different urban scales and land use zones, their presence at the neighbourhood level has often been overlooked. Furthermore, although interest in these spaces has dramatically increased in recent years, their specific uses and definitions are often unclear due to the various ways they are interpreted and perceived.
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ItemCommunity-perceptions of place-character and associated meanings in the context of a contemporary cultural landscape: the case of the historic neighbourhood of Pathuriaghata in Kolkata, India(AMPS (Architecture, Media, Politics, Society), 2023)In 1925, Carl Sauer defined a cultural landscape as the “union of physical and cultural elements of the landscape” wherein “cultures … grow with original vigor out of the lap of a maternal natural landscape, to which each is bound in the whole course of its existence.” In 1992, for the first time, UNESCO considered cultural landscapes as holding Outstanding Universal Values (OUV) based on heritage values and promoted the idea of the necessity of protecting such landscapes. Cultural landscapes are shaped through the interaction between humans and the natural geography of places wherein different features in these settings become associated with human activities, memories, and histories over time, thereby accruing meanings and values. Such human-nature interactions contribute to specific settings' place identities. Place identity represents that part of people’s self-identity is defined by elements within their everyday environment to which they are affiliated. Communities living in a particular cultural landscape for a considerable period often share similar perceptions with others inhabiting the same landscape setting. They form emotional bonds, or place attachments, with key features in the landscape that others can also share in the same environment. As places and their societies evolve, new meanings and values concerning the landscape emerge, adding new features to urban landscapes, often transforming valuable heritage settings to ones of global uniformity devoid of deep meanings. Over time, important features in the landscape develop patinas and coexist as collective memories that convey meanings and values from different periods referred to this as the collective historic urban fabric composing a ‘collage city’, suggesting that places with distinctive identities can transform over time the image of a city, within cultural landscapes. Rowe and Koetter over generations, to attain heritage value for society. thereby defining ‘cultural identities’ Identifying the tangible and intangible cultural and heritage value associated with landscape features can provide clues as to what is most important to be conserved to maintain the distinctive character of the place into the future and, conversely, what might be able to be sacrificed for newer development.
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ItemThe Shanghai Paradox(Architecture Media Politics Society, 2014)This paper outlines my ongoing research on the use of traditional symbolism and its utilisation in contemporary architecture of the Chinese global city. It specifically examines the landmark architecture of the Pudong, or the “new” Shanghai. Is there a contradiction in imagery when architects adopt traditional motifs in contemporary skyscraper architecture? Designs such as Cesar Pelli’s Petronas Towers (1994) in Kuala Lumpur use traditional Islamic patterns in the floor plans and façade detail. However, in the case of Shanghai, the three landmark buildings of the Pudong as shown in Figure 1; the Jin Mao Tower (1999), the Shanghai World Financial Centre (2008) and the Shanghai Tower (under construction at the time of writing), all reference fengshui and cosmology. The paradox in this case is that under law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), geomancy, including fengshui and cosmological symbolism, is defined as a feudal superstition and its practice illegal.
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ItemArchitectural specialisation and the death of architectural practice(Architectural Science Association & The University of Adelaide, 2016)In the past 50 years the traditional role of the architect to supervise and control projects has been eroded. The last remaining bastion maintain this traditional role of the architect is in small practice. Using a survey that firstly looks at how architects are engaged via either full or partial services we explore how architects identify with and deliver specialised services. The respondents in the survey were taken from a sample of 1200 Australian architects. Data was collected regarding specialisation, service provision, outsourcing and contractual arrangements. This is positioned alongside a historical account of the profession which suggests that technology and changes within legal frameworks, strategy, marketing, operations, project management, and finance are leading to the marginalisation of architects. We test this assertion by investigating evidence for these changes and the extent to which specialised architectural knowledge is being created in firms. For architects, specialist architectural knowledge is integrative and resides in the traditional service delivery particularly in the realm of housing. However, fee competition has hampered the ability of architects to specialise. As a result, in the future the role of the architect may be non-existent.
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ItemFour Melbourne Architects (1979): The Creation of Contemporary Perceptions for Australian Architecture(SAHANZ, 2022)In 1979, Peter Corrigan conceived the idea for the ‘Four Melbourne Architects’ exhibition to be held at South Yarra’s Powell Street Gallery. Corrigan led the charge to draw a line between a new generation of architectural practitioners with a fresh design agenda and the conservative practices represented by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA). This exhibition, along with the establishment of the Half Time Club and the launch of Transition Magazine, provided platforms for a lively and vigorous profession. The ‘Four Melbourne Architects’—Greg Burgess, Peter Crone, Norman Day and Edmond and Corrigan—were diverse in their approach to architectural design yet shared common concerns of the post-Whitlam generation. The research for this paper examines the documentation between the four architects as they prepared their exhibition, recording the projects exhibited, along with critical reviews of the exhibition. Interviews have been undertaken with the surviving architects involved and people who attended the exhibition. Four Melbourne Architects was the first of many exhibitions during that period, which became one of many vehicles for public engagement with early postmodernism and those creating it, where collaboration, inclusion, and connectivity informed designers. That process activated a search for a contemporary Australian identity leading to the development of the ‘Melbourne School’.
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ItemBarriers to implementation of sustainable construction in India(The University of Melbourne, 2023)Abstract: The Indian construction industry was estimated to be worth three trillion INR in 2022 and is expected to be the third largest construction market by 2025. The industry is responsible for a large amount of energy consumption, which not only contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases, but also adversely impacts resources like land, waterbodies, minerals, and other naturally sourced materials. Hence, implementing sustainable construction practices across the project life cycle is essential to reducing the detrimental impacts of the industry. Despite having 3 green building rating systems (GRIHA, IGBC, and LEED) and adopting certain national level initiatives, there is an absence of a systematic regulatory framework for the incorporation of sustainability principles in the Indian construction industry. It is critical to determine the existing issues that prevail in the industry to address the barriers in a timely manner. This paper determines the critical barriers to incorporating sustainable construction in India by reviewing the academic literature, Environmental Performance Index (EPI), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2022 reports. Unskilled workforce, low productivity, lack of monitoring schemes, inadequate technology, poor team integration and collaboration are the key barriers that are deduced from the systematic literature review. The ongoing national level initiatives and schemes promoting multiple goals of SDGs are also identified. The administrative framework of the Indian construction industry includes ministries, state departments, local authorities, and regulatory councils. Every state in India has building bye laws that differ from those of other states and this has also been identified as a barrier. One of the solutions determined by experts and researchers is for the Indian construction industry to comply with the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. In order to accomplish that, policy makers, sustainable construction practitioners, and industry professionals must develop specific grassroot level mitigation factors to counter the key barriers.
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ItemDeveloping An Evidence-based Understanding of Hospital Space Planning Efficiency(Architectural Science Association, 2018)Over the last two decades there has been a steady increase in the demand for healthcare services and a commensurate rise in the global expenditure in health (WHO, 2014). Given the significance of the financial investment in capital works programmes required to meet growing healthcare needs and the expanding environmental impact of the healthcare industry, it is important to gain a detailed understanding of how healthcare infrastructure assets currently perform, the strategic drivers impacting on hospital space use efficiency, and the complex interrelationship of factors that impact on the healthcare environment. This paper outlines a research project that was conducted by the University of Melbourne in conjunction with a local architectural practice partner, to examine space planning efficiency and emerging trends in hospital space planning requirements. To assist in developing a greater understanding of the space planning efficiency of healthcare infrastructure, and changing trends in hospital space planning, this study examined a range of measures across 31 hospitals against regional and international benchmarks. This paper outlines a novel multi-modal research methodology established to examine the complex range of interconnecting planning measures impacting space planning efficiency, and some of the difficulties in assessing hospital space planning efficiency.
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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.