Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 9 of 9
-
ItemTowards inclusive streets: exploring wheelchair accessibility in the streets of Chandigarh and Melbourne( 2013)Historically, city streets were inhospitable to people with disabilities. While most cities in the Western developed countries now provide wheelchair friendly streets, developing countries like India do not. The main intention of this research was to examine the conditions confronting wheelchair users in the city streets and to seek understanding of factors that account for differences in those conditions. While there was an over-riding interest in researching in cities of developing vis-à-vis developed countries, the practicalities of the project limited it to the streets of only two cities, Chandigarh (India) and Melbourne (Australia). Participant observations, besides document analysis, access audits and participatory studies were used to explore various technological, sociological, legislative and spatial aspects of wheelchair accessibility. The research findings reinforced the view that wheelchairs are not the simple machines that they seem, but are inextricably linked with ‘complexities of technical and social [also power] relations’ and further revealed that wheelchair use in the streets occurs in a wider socio-cultural environment. Besides presenting tensions/conflicts in individual-community-State relations (where ‘individual’ refers to a person in a wheelchair) as reasons for inequalities that exist in the assimilation of people in wheelchairs in different contexts, the findings highlighted a need for cultural interpretation, in addition to an inquiry into social/power structures. The main challenge to the research was posed by the author’s identity, her close association with the research project (the author’s son uses a wheelchair for his mobility) and the inability to maintain detachment. The research revealed that the notions of pure objectivity as required in traditional ethnographic research or pure subjectivity as desired in the Disability Studies area are illusionary and suggested a rethink of the prevailing research paradigms and the need to develop models that incorporate both the researcher’s perspectives and those of being researched for a ‘holistic’ analysis.
-
ItemExamining the viability of geopolymer concrete: carbon dioxide emissions and key attributes( 2012)Concrete underpins ancient and modern engineered cities, and combined with steel is a key material used in modern construction. Architects have the capacity to influence the uptake of energy efficient systems used in construction. The 3.3 billion tonne p.a. Portland cement industry generates almost 10% of global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. With the latent and rapid industrialisation of China and India and other developing countries, cement demand is projected to double to 6 billion tonnes p.a. by 2050. An alternative technology, geopolymer, uses an alkali activator which combines high portions of industrial by-product to form an alternative binder for concrete. There is much debate in industry regarding the environmental and structural performance of geopolymers. This thesis re-evaluates the carbon dioxide emissions associated with geopolymers, and examines key material attributes affecting viability. The appropriate manufacturing path for the alkali activator can achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 59 - 92% compared to Portland cement. At present there is some limited commercial uptake of geopolymer concrete in select markets such as Russia, Australia and China. However, there is no wide global-scale utilisation. Barriers and opportunities for uptake are reviewed in this thesis. A saving of 600 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the next four decades will be needed to achieve the stabilisation of greenhouse gas emissions concentrations between 450 and 550 parts per million of carbon dioxide emissions equivalent. With this mounting challenge, combined with the activation of global carbon markets predicted to be worth in excess of AUD 1 trillion within 5-10 years, there is likely to be growing interest in cement sector technologies which can deliver major reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.
-
ItemNobody was dirty: disrupting inconspicuous consumption in laundry routines( 2012)Our daily activities consume significant quantities of environmentally critical resources. Reduced consumption of resources is needed to bring human environmental impacts back within the limits of Earth’s capacity to support natural systems, and to manage the threat of climate change. Accelerating cleanliness practices in daily life lead to ever-greater water and energy consumption, and this consumption is hidden in routine (Gram-Hanssen, 2007). Household cleaning routines consume water, energy and chemicals, yet these inconspicuous practices are often overlooked in approaches to sustainability, compared to visible, status-driven consumption (Shove, 2011; Shove & Warde, 2002; Warde, 2011). To explore the inconspicuous consumption of resources embedded in cleanliness, this thesis interrogates the use phase of fashion, garment maintenance and laundering. Current laundry practice is explored by surveying people on the street, from literature and online forums. Against the backdrop of common laundry routines, an intervention into collective conventions of practice was conducted by engaging thirty-one people to wear the same pair of jeans for at least five days a week over a three month period without washing them. Their experience, the alternative practises that they created and the community and sense making around shifting practices towards pro-environmental outcomes all provide new insights into interrupting inconspicuous consumption. Presenting collective conventions of cleanliness that are in-line with environmental goals may provide the key to enabling sustainable ways of living.
-
ItemThe social and spatial construction of student housing: the University of Melbourne in an age of expansion( 2011)This thesis examines the history of student housing at the University of Melbourne in the decades from World War II until the mid-1970s. This period in the history of the institution was one of monumental growth, underscored by a remarkable rise in the number of students attending the University and a corresponding shift in the size and complexity of the institution itself. More broadly, the post-war decades witnessed a redefinition of the position of university education within Australian society. The crucial features of this social revolution were the assumption of federal government control over the national tertiary education sector and with this, an increased emphasis in public discourse on the value of higher education, both as a foundation for national economic growth and as a method of social empowerment for citizens. Improving the provision of housing for university students came to be one of the focal aims of government investment, and was a central concern for all individual universities presiding over institutional growth. At the University of Melbourne, this period saw an intense amount of activity through various institutional channels to provide dedicated housing for students, giving birth to experimentation with novel models of provision. The thesis argues that, while the aspiration of allowing for a majority of students to live “in residence” was consistently articulated throughout the period under analysis, it failed to materialise, due to problems of finance and political support, along with shifting social attitudes on the independence of students. The history of student housing at the University of Melbourne provides a valuable case study for understanding the intersection between Australian urban history and the social history of university education in an Anglophone society. The housing question provides a window onto the relationship between the University and its host community, as well as attitudes within the University community towards the urban environment in which it is situated. The story of student housing at the University in an age of expansion opens new insights into the changing nature of tertiary education in Australia and profound shifts in the built environment of one of the world’s most urbanised societies.
-
ItemTropism-oriented generative design: analogical models for heterogeneous goal integration( 2011)Architecture often requires integration between heterogeneous objectives. Both empirical requirements and speculative aspirations inform design in ways that resist ready formalization under computerizable logic. This thesis explores the possibilities of tropism-analogy as strategy for tackling some of these diverse objectives in a generative system. The feasibility of addressing heterogeneous goals with a computerizable design system is established by reviewing the role of rule-based strategies in vernacular tradition and the possibilities of analogies in recent generative methods. Then, the concept of tropism is analysed in depth, starting from its origins to its manifestation in a broad range of disciplines. This analysis leads to the definition of tropism as a ‘process of turn’ that enables purposeful connections between a system and its environment, an invariant property that may result in different levels of adaptation. These generalized conditions are used as conceptual foundation to explore analogical connections between divergent dimensions of architectural problems, and to define a feedback-enabled generative system that uses tropism-inspired rules in tackling contrasting design objectives. This system is implemented as a proof-of-concept for the Chilean social housing program, where is used to generate façade prototypes that respond simultaneously to thermal comfort and formal expression criteria. The outcomes of this thesis suggest that tropism-analogy can be used in tackling heterogeneous façade objectives and, therefore, to define novel design methods to explore goal-integration in computer-based generative architecture systems.
-
ItemAmerican know-how & the Myer Emporium: the architecture of an Australian department store and its American influences 1901-1968( 2010)What were the American influences upon the design of the Myer Emporium stores in Australia from 1900 to 1968 and how did Myer influence popular taste in the process of becoming one of the largest department store companies in the world? This thesis attempts to consider the American influences upon retail development and practice in Australia in a more comprehensive overview than is found in any previous architectural history. Architectural historians have tended to direct their attention to either public buildings or domestic architecture at the expense of commercial buildings. There is a pervading sense of contempt for these enterprises which suggests that the aspirations of architecture are incompatible with commercial utility. This thesis is a study of significant episodes in the development of the dominant retail building type in Australia. It starts with retailing conditions that were prevalent when Sidney and Elcon Myer opened a drapery shop in Bendigo and follows the trajectory of one company, the Myer Emporium, in particular the construction of Sidney Myer’s flagship store in central Melbourne, and the succeeding generation’s development of regional shopping centres in the suburbs after World War II. The company’s expansion was driven by continually increasing sales. This thesis also considers how to some extent the Myer Emporium was able to cultivate popular taste by promoting modern designer goods through its support of modern design.
-
ItemExamining the use of vegetated systems in buildings: The case of greening CH2( 2010)A world-wide interest in green roofs and walls (vegetated systems) has emerged as part of the movement towards greening cities. This thesis examines the outcomes of the design and construction of vegetated systems on a major new building in Melbourne, Australia. The aim of this inquiry was to investigate the process and outcomes of the design for the vegetated areas in the Council House 2 building (CH2 building) and draw practical lessons to aid the success of future projects. The CH2 building, which opened in 2006, was used as a case study with the objective to draw practical lessons from the design process in relation to vegetated systems within the building. CH2 provided a diverse display of vegetated systems, something that facilitated the comparison between the original designers’ expected performance of the vegetated systems and the resulting built form. Vegetated systems studied in this research included externally green walls (planter boxes with climbing plants), a semi extensive green roof and a rooftop garden. Additionally, indoor plants in the offices were also observed. This thesis found that the expected performance of the plants from the design’s perspective was not completely fulfilled. Three issues were attributed as possible causes of this. Firstly, even though a design process was followed at CH2, the time spent on its development may have been too short, leading to faulty design and a lack of detailing in some of the vegetated areas. Secondly, even where expert consultation took place, important expert recommendations were not followed. Thirdly, the external plants had little or no ongoing maintenance regime, comparatively to the indoor plants, which had a maintenance regime and have been relatively successful. In summation, this research therefore suggests that for the design ambition of architects for the greening of a building with plants to be successful, they need to follow a complete, timely and detailed design process, in consultation with experts regarding vegetated systems, and prepare, instigate and continue a thorough maintenance regime, including the provision of maintenance manuals.
-
Item‘Critical’ practice in state-owned design institutes in post-Mao China (1976-2000s): a case study of CAG (China Architecture Design and Research Group)( 2010)During the past three decades, China has witnessed an unprecedented upsurge of construction at astonishing speed. Architectural design firms from all over the world have participated in China’s design and building practice. One of the leading forces of this progress, however, is the state-owed design institute, which is a unique type of architectural design practice originally formed in the Maoist era (1949 - 1976) in China. Different from private practices, the design institute is institutionally associated with the government and significantly influenced by governmental policies. Taking the China Architecture Design and Research Group (CAG) as an example, this thesis aims to summarize the common and consistent features of the practice in the design institute in the post-Mao era (1976 - present) and to find an underlying socio-political mechanism that is perhaps driving the design practice in specific settings. In this research, the practice in the design institute is studied with a focus on the design agenda of architects. In order to capture a picture of the evolution of design ideas, I employed the concept of ‘criticality’ into my research from the ‘critical’ and ‘post-critical’ discussion in North America and East Asia. The formal characteristics of CAG’s works are tested in this measurement for an analytical interpretation. The investigation of CAG is conducted through both data analysis and fieldwork. Information from books, journals and the internet is collected to develop a comprehensive understanding of the design institute. During my fieldwork in Beijing, I visited important buildings designed by CAG and interviewed the chief architect of this institute. The evolution of its institutional system and its common design features in architectural language are at the core of this study. Through empirical studies on the relevant issues of CAG, I try to examine a relationship between a government-orientated operation of the institute and the design approach of the architects, and further explore the significance of this practicing mode in the socio-political context of contemporary China. Despite the criticism often raised in the existing literature, this thesis argues for a collectivist perspective for evaluations of the design institute. With the economic conditions of a developing country in mind, this thesis suggests that the design agenda of architects in the design institute reflects long-term considerations of public welfare. Consequently, the participation of the government in architectural practice, as I would propose at the end of this thesis, is an effective and necessary mode, especially for developing countries. This standpoint can help establishing a more cross-cultural and international framework in theorizing the architectural practice of different countries and cultures including nations such as China in contemporary world.
-
ItemThe terrace house and its air-well in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia (1970-2005)( 2010)Over the past century, the urban population in the urban centres in Malaysia had significantly increased in size through extensive migration. Terrace houses have become the most common urban habitats in the densely populated urban centres throughout Peninsular of Malaysia in recent decades. There is an on-going concern on identifying efficient ventilation and lighting solution for local housing. This research thesis focuses on ventilation components, specifically the air-well, which is a traditional mechanism to provide natural air-flow and natural day-lighting. It will explain the morphological transformation of the air-well in the design of terrace houses in the city of Johor Bahru in the past three and a half decades. First of all, this thesis introduces the role of the air-well in the design for local urban habitats of terrace houses with air-well. In addition, it explores the impact of the use of the air-well on the design trends of terrace houses. As Tetsu Kubota and Supian Ahmad have identified in their recent research that with the global energy crisis and population growth, a few of issues concerning the design of terrace houses have emerged: (a) How have the local architects adapt the design of air-well in terrace houses to achieve a passive design in achieving good natural ventilation and natural lighting in a high density urban habitats? (b) How has the design of the air-well evolved with the changing needs of local inhabitants of terrace houses from the 1970s to the year 2005? This thesis focuses on the provision for natural ventilation and natural lighting under Malaysian Uniform Building By-laws in terrace houses design from the 1970s to the year 2005 in Johor Bahru. In order to evaluate the design development trends for terrace houses in Johor Bahru in the past three and a half decades, six houses have been identified as specimen based on a list of formulated criteria. These six selected houses have been used as case studies in the core research work for this thesis. The examination started by studying the design for each house by means of gathering three main types of drawings for each house: plans, elevations and sections. From these six cases, a historical trajectory of design trends as evolved over these decades in Johor Bahru is identified. Then from the drawings gathered, the design performance in the provision for natural ventilation and natural lighting for each house by utilising the Y-architects’ natural ventilation and natural lighting calculation table has been carried out. The evolution of the air-well in terrace houses have been discussed in the final chapter and it can be divided into three main phases over the identified historical time line: introduction of the air-well from 1884 to the 1970s; the elimination of the air-well from 1980s to the year 2000; and a re-conciliation of the air-well from around 2005 onwards. Finally, this thesis concludes with observations on the design idea of the air-well, as a fundamental intelligence. The air-well not only provides a good relation with nature, but also a passage to an essential amenity.