Jasmine Samantha Palmer

https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/400 This research investigates how Australia can supply new and retrofit older apartments so that they are sustainable, that is they are comfortable; deliver cost reductions for householders while minimising consumption and waste; and maximise energy efficiencies and energy management, both in their...

In recent decades, increasing numbers of families with children are living in apartments in Australian cities; negotiating family life in dwellings not designed for their specific needs. This paper describes indirect participatory design research, involving architects and researchers acting as intermediates of end users, identifying how architects...

Motivated by discontent with the quality, design, and cost of speculative multi-unit housing provision in Australia, households and professionals alike are increasingly seeking alternatives. Recent years have seen an increase in the number and diversity of households seeking to collectively self-develop multi-unit housing in our inner cities. Housi...

Australian housing has historically been dominated by the owner-occupied, free-standing, single-family dwelling, often described as the ‘Great Australian Dream.’ Triggered by urban consolidation agendas of strategic urban plans, affordability trade-offs, and lifestyle choices, multi-unit dwellings currently constitute more than half of all new dwel...

In the context of planning moves to densify Australian cities, an apartment building boom attracting many families with children, and a regulatory regime which ignored the design challenges posed by this cohort, a mismatch has emerged between apartment design policy and the needs of families. This paper reports on research exploring how Australia a...

Alternative models of multi-unit housing provision have emerged in recent years in and around the City of Melbourne which prioritise owner-occupiers in apartment development and actively engage future residents in housing design and provision, to varying degrees. Future residents of three such housing projects have been recruited to a longitudinal...

Description: This Final Report summarises an investigation into the feasibility and scope of an online dispute resolution system for South Australian residential tenancy bond disputes. More generally, it also articulates the principles governing the development of an online system for dispute resolution. This project has been designed to provide th...

Multi-unit housing in western nations is predominately provided via speculative development. Groups of residents increasingly seek to collectively develop housing for their own use in the cities of developed nations. Some succeed, but many do not. Conceptualising housing provision as a heterogeneous network, a network/agency framework is employed t...

Housing (in)security plays a key role in the economic, social and political experience of residents across different urban settings. Today, millions of people are pushed to dwell under insecure conditions due to a number of factors. These include the financialization of land and housing, the growth of informal housing markets in rapidly urbanizing...

In promoting urban consolidation, Australia’s strategic urban plans have the unintended consequence of reducing, if not eliminating, an individual household’s capacity to directly engage with new dwelling production. Contrasts exist between the production processes of a free-standing home, typically constructed to contract, and that of a multi-unit...

Book Review published in Urban Policy and Research at https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/24yh3wNtGJuGSqqPds5u/full?target=10.1080/08111146.2019.1571154

Full thesis now available via University of Adelaide library: https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/handle/2440/103575

Keywords: collective self-organised housing, multi-unit design, policy, Australia, building-group. Living a higher life? Addressing the social sustainability challenges of condominium law, living, and landscapes.

Keywords: collaborative housing; collective self-organised housing; design disruption; housing provision networks

Heat waves have significant impacts on both ecosystems and human beings. This is compounded by future climate scenarios which indicate more frequent and severe heat waves in certain locations. There are members of communities that are more vulnerable to the effects of heat waves such as the elderly and infants and this presents particular challenge...

Decades of continually expanding, low-density urban sprawl has not only shaped the form of Australian cities but has, in parallel, shaped also the development of housing construction and finance systems. Current metropolitan plans promote urban consolidation and increased housing densities in existing inner and middle ring suburbs. Such densificati...

Planning and development policies in numerous Australian cities promote consolidation and intensification of activity in existing urban areas. These policies respond to the reducing availability of land for urban expansion, the need to increase infrastructure efficiency, and the desire for a more equitable and sustainable urban future. The medium/h...

In the promotion of urban consolidation recent and current metropolitan plans for Australia's capital cities call for universal increases in the provision of medium-density housing as an essential ingredient for a more sustainable urban future. When metropolitan plans call for medium-density housing little guidance is provided beyond suggested heig...

Climate change predictions indicate more extremes in weather conditions in the coming decades with more frequent and severe heat waves in certain locations including Australia. It is likely that the more vulnerable members of the community will be at risk during heat waves in the future from both health and financial perspectives. The trend towards...

The construction of 'green buildings' is promoted by industry organisations and professional bodies as a means of increasing the sustainability of cities. 'Green building' certification schemes and regulatory requirements address many challenges related to waste management, resource consumption, operational efficiency and life cycle performance. Le...

This paper explores stakeholder perspectives on waste in construction with a particular focus on issues of global change, contextual issues and industry culture. The paper reports on the first of a series of charrettes run as part of the project ‘Reconsidering Sustainable Building and Design: A Cultural Change Approach’ funded by the Australian Res...

Climate change predictions indicate more extremes in weather conditions in the coming decades with more frequent and severe heat waves in certain locations including Australia. It is likely that the more vulnerable members of the community will be at risk during heat waves in the future from both health and financial perspectives. The trend towards...

Waste in construction can range from excess materials dis-carded on the construction site through to the unnecessary demolition of parts of buildings that could be re-used in new structures. This pa-per reports on research which explores the factors leading to the holis-tic reduction of waste in construction. The research described is part of an Au...

The livable and adaptable house Many people, when building a new home, anticipate spending a number of years, if not decades, living in it. Others may conceive of a shorter stay. Whatever the intention, any new home is likely to have to accommodate changing needs over its lifetime. A livable and adaptable house is one that is able to respond effect...

As the largest consumer of resources globally, the construction industry faces significant challenges due to future changes in resource availability. How might this complex industry achieve reduction of resource consumption and waste given the disconnections existing between stakeholders in the building procurement process and the persistence of di...

This paper reports on the preliminary stages of a project entitled Re-considering sustainable building and design: a cultural change approach. In particular, it focusses on that part of the project which deals with minimisation of the impact of resource consumption in the design and construction of buildings. Previous research on the various aspect...

The construction of new transport corridors linking the Iberian Peninsula with Europe has the potential to stimulate growth in permanent population and tourism in the existing towns of Figueres and Villafant in the north of Spain. As the first (or last) station at the border of Catalunya and France these frontier towns provide access to the popular...

This paper reports on the initial stages of a research project entitled "Reconsidering Sustainable Building and Design: A Cultural Change Approach", which is being conducted at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. The project is a three year, Australian Research Council funded endeavour, which seeks to take a whole of life cycle approach...

In the not too distant past sustainable design education focused primarily on the field of conservation: the conservation of materials, energy and resources to lessen the environmental impact of human activity. Designing a house, a car, an appliance or an item of clothing with a measurable and demonstrable saving of resources was promoted as „green...

With the growing need to meet measurable sustainability outcomes in the design of the built environment, buildings often focus on technologies, engineered solutions and ratings checklists to demonstrate compliance. Whilst achieving recognised industry standards, these buildings do not always reflect the aspirations of contemporary communities. Alth...

As is widely recognised, unsustainable practices and behaviours are now embedded in everyday life and are difficult to reverse. Our rapidly evolving systems of transport, commerce and communication, land-use, buildings and objects, often depend on unsustainable increases in energy and resource use, and are often directly or indirectly damaging to t...

Architectural practice requires skills and knowledge which encompass design theory, structural and constructional systems, technical and environmental services, communication and management. An essential part of an architect's education is the integration and application of these core competencies in the design process. The increasing complexities...

Current development plans for numerous Australian cities are founded within the premise of urban containment, encouraging redevelopment, infilling and densification of established activity nodes as a means of improved future urban sustainability. Such propositions of future urban form challenge the existing 'Australian Dream' of single-family home...

During the past century the world’s cities have been shaped by rapid advances in technology with subsequent alterations to individual and community work and living patterns. The urban environment faces significant challenges in the balance between further technological advancements and urban sustainability; the desires of the individual and the wel...

Although statistics suggest that apartment developments are a small portion of the Australian market, the rate of increase in people residing in apartment style housing is greater than the rate of increase in the national population. Current government policies in many urban centres encourage increased densities around central business districts an...

Given the enormous variety of climates in which humans dwell, it is clear that the design of buildings for energy conservation will inevitably result in the development and implementation of a broad range of technical solutions. Modern society's obsession with technology has increased our demand upon unsustainable energy sources; and it seems somew...