Thesis Topics and Supervisors
Informal Housing in Global North (Australia)
This research examines the growing prevalence of informal housing in the Global North, particularly Australia, challenging assumptions that advanced economies are defined by stable and formal housing systems. It explores non-standard living arrangements—such as unregulated rentals, overcrowding, converted garages, couch-surfing and house‑sitting—to reveal informal housing as an expanding yet underexamined response to growing housing stress.
Supervisor: Dr Sara AlidoustPlanning Healthy and Resilient Cities
This research focuses on planning healthy and resilient cities through the development of policies and indicators for measuring and analysing health and resilience outcomes in urban planning and city governance. Related research in health‑focused and resilience‑oriented policy, planning, and urban design is also welcomed.
Supervisor: Dr Sara AlidoustChild-first inclusive urban and place-based design
Looking at Zillmere, North Brisbane, linked to this project – Bindi Bindi Place
Supervisor: Associate Professor Stephanie WyethWomen and girls’ safety in public spaces
Safe Cities | Safe Streets - Queensland Walks
Supervisor: Associate Professor Stephanie WyethDesigning for inclusion
Review this record in UQ eSpace: https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:8cbc727
Supervisor: Associate Professor Stephanie Wyeth and Dr Kali Marnane (URBIS)Embodied Carbon Analysis of Contemporary Buildings in Subtropical Queensland
This thesis focuses on understanding embodied carbon of contemporary buildings in Southeast Queensland using whole‑of‑life life cycle assessment (LCA) methods. Through a detailed case study, students will quantify carbon impacts associated with material selection, structural systems, construction processes, maintenance, and end‑of‑life scenarios and propose lower carbon alternatives. The research supports evidence‑based design decisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining building performance and climate resilience. Students are welcome to propose case study buildings from architectural practices in which they work, provided permission from the practice is obtained.
Supervisor: Dr Paul Matthew and Associate Professor Paola LeardiniClimate‑Resilience, Occupant Comfort, and Energy Performance in Subtropical Buildings
This thesis examines how contemporary buildings in subtropical Queensland respond to the increasing heat, humidity, climate variability and extreme climatic conditions expected in future decades. Students will undertake a quantitative analysis of a case study building, estimate the consequences of design options in current and future climates or during specific extreme events and propose alternatives to mitigate bad outcomes. Students are welcome to propose case study buildings from practices in which they work, provided written permission from the practice is obtained.
Supervisor: Dr Paul Matthew and Associate Professor Paola LeardiniDesign for Disassembly and Reuse in Contemporary Building Systems
This thesis investigates how design for disassembly (DfD) and design for reuse (DfR) can be embedded within contemporary building projects. Using a selected case study, students critically analyse existing materials and construction systems, then develop alternative material palettes and construction details to maximise reversibility, adaptability, and future reuse. The project combines technical detailing with environmental thinking, supporting architecture that anticipates change and extends material life beyond a single use cycle.
Supervisor: Dr Paul Matthew and Associate Professor Paola LeardiniFlexible work and city futures: Architecture and urban design
Work patterns are undergoing rapid transformation as digital connectivity and global shocks normalise flexible and remote work worldwide. This research investigates how flexible work affects domestic and urban living and how housing design, neighbourhood amenities and social infrastructure will interact with emerging work practices to shape wellbeing across domestic, local and city scales. There is scope in research for place-based investigation liaising with the UQ Centre for Community Health at Springfield, design-based research on housing types addressing precedents and co-supervision.
Supervisor: Professor Antony MoulisThe AIA Gold Medal: Valuing Australian Architecture since 1960
This thesis project will build on existing research undertaken by academics in the ATCH (Architecture Theory Culture History) Research Centre on how concepts of value and quality are determined in architecture. Taking the AIA Gold Medal as its focus, interested student/s will work with the project supervisors to develop an independent research project that looks at the history of this prestigious professional award, and the ways in which it contributes to the creation of value in the discipline.
Supervisors: Dr Ashley Paine and Dr Susan HoldenNature-Integrated Design in Subtropical Queensland
Work with us to explore how to green our built environment and make it more liveable and sustainable. This thesis project investigates design strategies for integrating vegetation into buildings in tropical and subtropical environments, positioning plants as an active architectural material rather than a decorative element.
Supervisor: Associate Professor Silvia MicheliOntology of the Computational: Architecture, Code and the Status of Design Knowledge
This thesis examines computation not only as a design tool, but as an ontological condition shaping architectural thought, authorship and material practice. It asks how algorithms, models and simulations redefine what architecture knows and produces. The project addresses a gap between technical use and theoretical reflection. Students will develop a thesis through literature review, conceptual framework, case study analysis and a critical argument on computational agency in architecture.
Supervisor: Associate Professor Fred Fialho TeixeiraBiogenic Robotic Additive Manufacturing: Living Materials, Digital Craft and Architectural Production
This thesis by design investigates how biogenic materials and robotic additive manufacturing can reframe architectural production beyond extraction, standardisation and waste. It explores bio-clay, algae-based matter or regenerative composites through prototyping, robotic toolpath design and material testing. The research addresses the gap between bio-material speculation and scalable fabrication knowledge. Students will structure the thesis through precedent review, material experiments, robotic workflows, prototype fabrication and design reflection.
Supervisor: Associate Professor Fred Fialho TeixeiraSpatial Data Digital Twins: Immersive Design Intelligence for Future Built Environments
This thesis by design explores spatial data digital twins as design instruments for analysing, simulating and communicating complex-built environments. It asks how BIM, GIS, sensors, XR and visual analytics can support architectural decision-making across climate, movement, occupancy and urban performance. The project responds to a gap between operational data systems and design imagination. Students will develop the thesis through data mapping, twin modelling, scenario testing, immersive visualisation and design proposition.
Supervisor: Associate Professor Fred Fialho TeixeiraPaths to success: Scaling urban sustainability initiatives
This project investigates why some urban sustainability initiatives remain isolated demonstration projects while others become mainstream. A student could examine a small set of initiatives (e.g. low-carbon development, urban greening) to identify the conditions that supported successful implementation and scaling. Depending on the student’s interests, the project could evaluate an international example and consider its applicability to Brisbane or another Australian context. The intended outcome would be practical guidance on how cities can move promising sustainability innovations from pilot projects to normal practice.
Supervisor: Ray MaherSmall intervention, large impact: Identifying high-leverage urban sustainability interventions
This project explores how relatively targeted interventions can generate substantial environmental, social, health and economic benefits. A student could examine a particular built-environment intervention, such as urban greening, housing retrofit, or water-sensitive design, and assess its potential wider benefits and trade-offs. The research may involve literature review, case-study analysis, stakeholder engagement or the development of a simple multi-criteria assessment framework. The project would aim to identify high-leverage actions and develop a practical approach for supporting more integrated and sustainable infrastructure or built-environment decisions.
Supervisor: Ray MaherWho can make sustainability happen? Stakeholder influence for urban sustainability.
This project investigates who has the capacity to enable, obstruct or accelerate sustainability outcomes within an urban system. A student could focus on a defined initiative and map the roles, relationships, responsibilities and influence of relevant stakeholders, such as local and state governments, developers, infrastructure agencies, utilities, professionals and community organisations. The research may use interviews, document analysis, stakeholder mapping or systems-mapping methods to examine how decisions are made and where institutional silos arise. Its intended outcome would be practical recommendations for improving implementation within the selected urban sustainability context.
Supervisor: Ray MaherBetter housing: Multi-benefit decision-making for housing retrofit
This project examines how housing retrofit decisions can better account for interconnected outcomes including energy use, carbon emissions, thermal comfort, health, affordability, resilience and housing adequacy. A student could focus on a particular housing type, climate, jurisdiction or portfolio, including social housing, and investigate how retrofit priorities are currently determined. The research may evaluate existing assessment approaches, analyse retrofit options, develop a multi-benefit business case or produce a focused decision-support framework. The project would aim to help housing providers, governments or owners identify retrofit actions that deliver the greatest combined benefits within available budgets and implementation constraints.
Supervisor: Ray Maher