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 Alidoust

Planning 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 Alidoust

Child-first inclusive urban and place-based design
Looking at Zillmere, North Brisbane, linked to this project – Bindi Bindi Place 
Supervisor: Associate Professor Stephanie Wyeth

Women and girls’ safety in public spaces
Safe Cities | Safe Streets - Queensland Walks 
Supervisor: Associate Professor Stephanie Wyeth

Designing for inclusion
Review this record in UQ eSpace: https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:8cbc727 
Supervisors: 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. 
Supervisors: Dr Paul Matthew and Associate Professor Paola Leardini

Climate‑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.
Supervisors: Dr Paul Matthew and Associate Professor Paola Leardini

Design 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. 
Supervisors: Dr Paul Matthew and Associate Professor Paola Leardini

Flexible 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 Moulis

Nature-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 Micheli

Ontology 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 Teixeira

Biogenic 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 Teixeira

Spatial 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 Teixeira

Paths 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: Dr Ray Maher

Small 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: Dr Ray Maher

Who 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: Dr Ray Maher

Better 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: Dr Ray Maher

Generative Housing Development: Integrating Financial Feasibility and Parametric Design Optimisation
This project investigates a generative design framework that integrates financial development pro forma modelling with parametric housing design. The model will connect spatial and development parameters—such as density, dwelling mix, floor area, building form, construction cost, and planning constraints—with financial metrics including development cost, revenue, and return. Through multi-objective optimisation, the research will explore alternative housing development scenarios that balance design quality, planning outcomes, housing provision, and financial feasibility. 
Supervisor: Dr. Dan Luo

Computational Architecture, Creative Code and the creative Design
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 Teixeira

Robotic Manufacturing: 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 Teixeira

Public broadcasting on architecture and planning 1930 -1970
Since the formation of the profession it has been assumed that a wide understanding of the value of architecture by the public is necessary for the improvement of the built environment and for the profession’s social licence. From the 1930s into the 1960s public radio included talks on architecture and town planning. Many of these were attempts to explain modernism. In this research project the student will work with the Trove database of scanned newspapers to identify talks and speakers. There is a minor but strong scholarly literature on architecture and broadcasting, both radio and TV, and a thesis will put the research findings in an international context. Topics could take number of directions, from intellectual biography to analysis of public arts policy, to an interest in broadcasting technology.
Supervisor: Professor John Macarthur

The Aesthetics of Architecture
This project involves a guided reading of John Macarthur’s book Is Architecture Art? An introduction to the aesthetics of architecture. The student thesis project will be to take the issues raised by one of the chapters and to apply the concepts in the analysis of an historical or contemporary work of architecture.
Supervisor: Professor John Macarthur

Salvage Cultures: Material Intelligence for Regenerative Built Environments
As architecture grapples with its dependence on extraction, the assumption that preserving buildings is always the most responsible form of conservation deserves renewed scrutiny. In the context of growing interest in reuse, circular construction, and material stewardship, this project reflects on the expanding interest in salvage practices as a way to sustain cultural values and encourage responsibly material reuse. We invite topics that:
- Interrogate historical and contemporary salvage practices, including surveys of work in Queensland and Australia;
- Situates salvage in relation to related fields of practice, including heritage, conservation, and the circular economy;
- Investigates the business and economies of salvage, including the spatial, logistical, and information systems;
- Takes a specific material approach to understanding salvage, for example by examining timber or concrete.
Supervisors: Dr Susan Holden and Dr Ashley Paine

The AIA Gold Medal and Architecture Awards Programmes: Valuing Australian Architecture
What do architecture awards say about architecture? Thesis projects 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. Topics could focus on the Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal, which, like the prestigious Pritzker Prize, valorises individual career-long achievement in architecture; or could interrogate the value of awards programmes more generally, especially at a time when the value of the profession is in question. Student/s will work with project supervisors to develop an independent research project that looks at the various ways in which awards systems contribute to the creation of value in the discipline or perpetuate biases and blind spots.
Supervisors: Dr Susan Holden and Dr Ashley Paine

Public Practice
In 2026, the Queensland Designers in Government (Qld DiG) network was established, building on the momentum of others across Australia. The network helps make visible an often-invisible form design practice. But there continues to be a gap in understanding of how designers work in government, and of bureaucracy as an alternative site for impactful, and even radical, architectural work. Thesis topics could investigate forms of practice that generate and deploy architectural knowledge for public benefit through design guidance, procurement processes, policy development, and advocacy. Thesis topics could apply historical research, ethnographic or interview-based research, and/or fieldwork, to examine people or project case studies, or investigate the changing systems and contexts in which architectural expertise operate.
Supervisor: Dr Susan Holden

Architecture and the Common Good
There has been renewed attention to the idea of the common good as a corrective to neoliberalism. Students are invited to participate in a long-form research project that aims to situate architecture in relation to historical and recent theorisations of the common good. Thesis topics could engage with recent theorisations of the common good economy (Mariana Mazzucatto, 2026); studies that interrogate the limits of professional organisation in delivering for the public good (Tom Spector, 2025); architecture’s relationship to collective ownership concepts such as ‘commoning;’ or intersections of architecture and civics as liberal democracies confront what constitutes a good society.
Supervisor: Dr Susan Holden

Architects, Working
What can visual evidence of architects working tell us about the transformations of architecture? Archives typically capture the outputs of architectural work – drawings, models, photographs of buildings etc – but rarely situate these outputs in the context of day-to-day work. Similarly, oral histories and ethnographic studies capture some of the intangible aspects of architectural careers, but do not necessarily prioritise visual depictions of working life. This research project seeks to find, collect, and analyse visual evidence of architects working: doing the drawings, making the models, talking to clients, visiting sites, testing materials. It proceeds from the hypothesis that such evidence exists in the margins of collections as an untapped resource that can yield new insights into the evolution of architectural practice. Thesis projects could focus on surveying particular archives or collections including:
- The Fryer Library (UQ) and John Oxley Library (SLQ).
- Online archives such as the Canadian Centre of Architecture, RIBA Collections, Centre Pompidou.
- Collections of individual architects such as the Norman Foster Foundation.
Analysis of collected examples could engage with theorisations of architecture as a practice and profession, visual analysis as an historical method, archiving practices, or the potential of documentary storytelling.
Supervisors: Dr Susan Holden and Dr Nicole Sully

ATCH Topics
Students are invited to propose topics that advance the strategic research priorities of the ATCH Research Centre:
- Support co-designed research with First Nations communities,
- Advance historical research and digital humanities,
- Expand work on design and cultural governance,
- Continue high-impact work on heritage, adaptive re-use, and the cultural value of existing buildings.
Students will have the opportunity to work with ATCH researchers and engage with their broader networks and events.
Supervisors: Architecture Theory Culture Hstory researchers and Dr Ashley Paine

The housing crisis in Australia and/or abroad
This is an analysis of the current housing crisis in cities in Australia and overseas. The aim is to understand the current housing crisis, the reasons behind it, and to analyse housing policies and possible solutions. Secondary or primary data use depending on timeframe. Qualitative analysis (content and policy analysis).
Supervisor: Dr Sonia Roitman

Disaster planning 
The aim of this project is to analyse the management of disasters from both the government perspective and the strategies developed by residents, to understand how the top-down and bottom-up approaches interact. Students can decide on the disasters to be considered, and also the cities that will be examined. Secondary or primary data use depending on timeframe. Qualitative analysis (content and policy analysis).
Supervisor: Dr Sonia Roitman

Bottom-up practices for SDG11 
This project aims to examine community practices that aim to address one or more topics included in the Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Safe, Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Cities and human settlements). Secondary or primary data use depending on timeframe. Qualitative analysis (content and policy analysis).
Supervisor: Dr Sonia Roitman

Urban inequalities in the city 
The aim of this project is to examine one or more types of inequalities (income, gender, disability, etc.) and how these inequalities are manifested in the urban space. The project aims to examine this manifestation and to elaborate on potential solutions. Secondary or primary data use depending on timeframe. Qualitative analysis (content and policy analysis).
Supervisor: Dr Sonia Roitman

Participatory methods in urban planning
This project aims to assess innovative participatory methods used in urban planning processes in Australia or overseas. The aim is to identify the methods, how they work, the rationale behind them and what the outcomes have been. Secondary or primary data use depending on timeframe. Qualitative analysis (content and policy analysis).
Supervisor: Dr Sonia Roitman

Place-making and Urban Design
This topic examines how urban design can create high-quality, engaging places that foster community interaction. The renewal of Fish Lane and other projects across Brisbane provide valuable local case studies. The recent growth of indoor climbing, for example, illustrates how recreational spaces can encourage social gathering and strengthen urban connections.
Supervisor: Dr Sebastien Darchen

Urban Regeneration
This topic investigates urban regeneration strategies and their capacity to revitalise neighbourhoods, stimulate investment and deliver broader community benefits. Potential case studies include state-led initiatives such as Brisbane's Priority Development Areas, alongside relevant international projects informed by established principles of urban regeneration.
Supervisor: Dr Sebastien Darchen

Culture in cities
This topic explores how cultural events and creative activity contribute to more vibrant, inclusive and distinctive places in Brisbane and cities overseas. It may also examine the role of urban music and assess how recent policies have supported and sustained local music scenes.
Supervisor: Dr Sebastien Darchen

Urban Innovation
This topic examines innovative approaches to urban planning and design that respond to contemporary social, environmental and technological challenges. Case studies may be drawn from Brisbane and leading international cities such as Amsterdam and Paris, offering opportunities to compare emerging ideas and their practical application.
Supervisor: Dr Sebastien Darchen

Housing Crisis and Children’s Health
The worsening housing crisis has emerged as a significant public health concern, particularly for children. Housing unaffordability, overcrowding, housing insecurity, and homelessness can adversely affect children's physical, mental, and developmental health by increasing exposure to stress, poor living conditions, and barriers to accessing education, healthcare, and social support. This research examines the pathways through which housing challenges influence children's health and wellbeing, with a focus on health equity and vulnerable populations. The study aims to generate evidence to inform housing and urban planning policies that support healthy, stable, and affordable living environments for children and their families.
Supervisor: Dr Sara Alidoust

The History of Architecture competitions in Queensland
Architectural Design competitions are often used when procuring significant works of civic architecture, or to encourage architects to explore experimental solutions for contemporary architectural problems. Student/s will undertake research into the history of architectural design competitions in Queensland, working with the advisors to define the scope of the project. Thesis projects might focus on competitions for an individual building, a particular type of building, a specific time frame, those run by particular groups or organisations or competition entries produced by individual architects or practices. Research methods may include primary and secondary research, work in archives, interviews, and critical and historical reflection. 
Supervisors: Dr Nicole Sully and Dr Susan Holden

The Architectural Education at UQ: A History
Building on the work of ATCH scholars (including Andrew Wilson, Deborah van der Plaat, and John Macarthur), this project will explore the history of the Architectural education at UQ. Research methods will involve library and archival research as well as undertaking interviews. Topics within this broader theme might focus on the Architecture program, or on a particular theme or period, for example, the pioneering research in Architectural Science at UQ, a history of student groups and activities, research into early cohorts and their trajectory.
Supervisors: Dr Nicole Sully and Professor John Macarthur

Women and the Built Environment: Queensland, Australia and Beyond
Students will undertake research into a topic associated with women practitioners in Queensland and Australia (or elsewhere). Dissertation projects might focus on the work of women in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning. Projects might focus on the work of individual women, women’s networks, or women working during a particular period, practice, geography, on their work on particular building types, and/or other thematics. Topics, scope and research questions will be developed in collaboration with the advisors. Research methods may include primary and secondary research, work in archives, interviews, and critical and historical reflection. 
Supervisors: Dr Nicole Sully and Dr Susan Holden

Topics in the History of Architecture in Queensland and Australia
Students will undertake research into topics in the history of Queensland Architecture. Theses may focus on periods, buildings, architectural practices, thematics, etc. Students will propose topics of their own interest within this broad thematic, and project will be developed and refined in collaboration with the advisors. Research methods may include primary and secondary research, work in archives, interviews, and critical and historical reflection. 
Supervisors: Dr Nicole Sully and Dr Andrew Wilson

Buildings for Architecture Education in Australia
This topic will explore the history of buildings designed for architecture education in Australia. The project may involve primary and secondary research,  critical analysis and reflection, and depending on the scope, interviews or archival work. 
Supervisors: Dr Nicole Sully, Dr Andrew Wilson and Dr Susan Holden

Remote Aboriginal Dwelling and the Design of Bough Sheds in Australia
This research focuses on the construction and use of ‘bough sheds’ in domiciliary environments by Aboriginal Australians. Bough sheds are part of the shelter repertoire used by many Aboriginal groups since before colonisation and have been since adapted to incorporate new industrialised materials. The continuity of their use reflects Aboriginal people’s continued preference for externally oriented living, particularly in remote communities in central and northern Australia. Overcrowding and culturally inappropriate housing have been demonstrated to increase the incidences of infectious diseases in these communities. Bough sheds are possibly a way to improve the health of people living in Government-provided housing by providing additional culturally appropriate spaces for visitors to reside in. The intended /aim of the project is to research bough shed design and construction, looking at historical precedents and exploring design solutions given the modern constraints and opportunities such as building regulations and modern technologies.
Supervisors: Professor Paul Memmott and Jessica Kane

Finding connections: understanding third places in different community contexts
As Australians spend increasing amounts of time at home and work, opportunities for everyday social connection are becoming more important. Third places, such as cafés, libraries, parks, community centres and sporting clubs, provide settings where people can meet, build relationships and participate in community life. This research investigates the distribution and accessibility of third places across Greater Brisbane and examines their contribution to community wellbeing and social connection. Using spatial analysis, demographic data and case study research, the project aims to generate evidence that can inform urban planning and social infrastructure investment to support more connected, inclusive and resilient communities.
Supervisors: Associate Professor Stephanie Wyeth and Professor Jonathan Corcoran

Gender, Age and Participation in Brisbane’s Night-Time and Dawn Economy
Cities operate well beyond traditional business hours, yet little is known about who participates in urban life during the evening, overnight, and early morning periods. This research investigates how participation in Brisbane’s night-time and emerging dawn economy varies by gender and age, examining patterns of travel, work, recreation, and service access outside standard daytime hours. Using large-scale mobility datasets, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and spatial analysis techniques, the project will explore where people travel during non-traditional hours and how these patterns differ across demographic groups. The project will contribute to evidence-based planning, transport, safety, and economic development policies that support a more inclusive, accessible, and equitable twenty-four-hour city.
Supervisors: Associate Professor Stephanie Wyeth and Professor Jonathan Corcoran

Urban Sustainability Capability Map:  Understanding of the development ecology of Australian Cities
Urban planning and development  outcomes are shaped by work of practitioners, as well as policy agendas. The aim of the project is to understand embedded technical and professional capability in sustainability in Australia’s built environment sector through the perspective afforded by large data sets with spatial and temporal coordinates.  This research would identify the technical capability of cityshaping projects, firms and practices who are active in different scales of urban development projects using dynamic, spatio-temporal data sets and create multi-layered actor and capability maps. The benefits would be a marked increase in the ease of urban research using digital mapping and clear pathways to big data, high-end projects combining urban climate, urban development and public policy research with a real-time understanding of the built environment sector.
Supervisor: Associate Professor Stephanie Wyeth

Redesing how people drive giant machines
Ever wondered why it takes months to learn to operate an excavator? In this one year honours project you will design, prototype and test a compact, tough and comfortable arm shaped controller that could actually be installed in an excavator and used for a full shift. The project is grounded in user centred design: operators are at the heart of every decision, and you will interview and observe them, map their tasks and working environment, co-design ideas and test your prototypes with real users. You will also work on a genuine industry challenge, with links to machine control, construction and mining, opportunities to learn from engineers, operators and equipment specialists, and the chance to see how design can shape the future of heavy machinery. You will explore grip, scale, resistance and mounting through sketches and models, and finish with a full scale working prototype tested on a simulator or scale model. No programming is needed, just curiosity about how people and machines work together and a love of making things. If you are drawn to industrial design, ergonomics or interaction design, and you want real industry experience and a strong portfolio piece at the end, this is for you. 
Supervisors: Dr Mehrnoosh Mirzaei