Using the post-war suburb of Watson as a case study, the research analyses the characteristics of Canberra’s “ex-govie” suburbs, where redevelopment pressures are intensifying. Four design scenarios were developed using a real urban section in Watson to test how Bluefield housing principles could be applied to Canberra’s context.

Apartment living is often regarded as unsuitable for Australian families with children. However, this perception may reflect the spatial limitations of typical apartment design rather than an inherent incompatibility between families and higher-density housing.

In Canberra, adaptive reuse has been applied to museums, galleries, hotels, and student accommodation, primarily through interior modifications. However, office-to-residential conversions remain rare due to strict building regulations, and no such projects exist in the Canberra CBD, despite its potential.

This research challenges the conventional view of stadia as single-purpose spaces, exploring how hybrid stadium adaptations can foster a stronger connection with the city. By examining the potential for 24-hour functionality, this study aims to inform government and built environment professionals on designing multi-use stadiums that enhance Canberra’s urban landscape.

As the city evolves, so do its housing needs. While ex-govies played a vital role in housing and community development in the 1960s, they are increasingly becoming outdated. This research explores three major housing challenges facing Canberra today, along with three specific challenges unique to ex-govies.

This paper looks at the contribution of cemeteries and death spaces to the city and the living and the future of our death planning in Canberra. To understand the contribution of cemeteries to the living, case studies of the size, location, and age of cemeteries in Canberra, Sydney, Edinburgh, Oslo, and Washington are mapped and compared.

Traditionally, throughout white Australian history, the built environment has been used as a tool for colonisation. From the first colonials on Australian soil to modern day Australia, the built environment has been expanding its territory, resulting in the continued displacement, and forced assimilation of First Nations people in Western cultures.

In recent policy documents, the ACT government has identified increasing canopy cover as their primary response to the urban heat island effect. This research sought to understand how attainable the identified 30% canopy cover target was, particularly in Canberra’s newer existing suburbs, which have some of the lowest levels of canopy cover in the city.

Canberra’s future urban design framework will need to respond to several challenges, including a rapidly growing population with limited land, providing affordable housing options to all households, promoting more sustainable practices, and enhancing amenity and choice for residents. This report investigates the role of shared living in Canberra’s urban design mix as a response to these challenges, focussing on opportunities and challenges.

This research investigates the Tocumwal Housing sites of O’Connor, Canberra, to explore the possibilities for accommodating Canberra’s growing population within its existing inner suburbs in a manner that retains their unique character underlying principles.

The intent of this research project is to conduct a literature review to ascertain if and how, the Build to Rent (BTR) model has had an effect on housing supply and affordability.

This research looks at the engagement of the urban soundscape to be a visualisation tool to further understand the characteristics of the noise experience.