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 MoulisNature-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 MaherGenerative 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 LuoComputational 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.
Associate Professor Fred TeixeiraRobotic 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.
Associate Professor Fred TeixeiraSpatial Data: 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.
Associate Professor Fred TeixeiraPublic 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 MacarthurThe 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 MacarthurSalvage 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: Susan Holden and Ashley PaineThe 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: Susan Holden and Ashley PainePublic 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: Susan HoldenArchitecture 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: Susan HoldenArchitects, 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: Susan Holden and Nicole SullyATCH 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: ATCH researchers: Architecture theory culture history and Ashley PaineThe 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 RoitmanDisaster 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 RoitmanBottom-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 RoitmanUrban 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 RoitmanParticipatory 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 RoitmanPlace-making and Urban Design
Supervisor: Dr Sebastien DarchenUrban Regeneration
Supervisor: Dr Sebastien DarchenCulture in cities
Supervisor: Dr Sebastien DarchenUrban Innovation
Supervisor: Dr Sebastien Darchen