Social sustainability is about ensuring the sustenance of the diverse social relations that exist in healthy communities. Creating the physical, cultural and social places that support wellbeing and a sense of community involves a process of ...

This note highlights some of the fundamental concepts that underpin biophilic design and introduces designers to some basic principles and tools that can help develop relevant capabilities within practices to create environments that truly connect ...

Built environments are an incarnation of our mental landscapes.  In Western culture we have an unhealthy and unsustainable approach to our inner paradoxes (e.g. our need to move and to reside).  We purge our contradictions. In the built environment, ...

This note, originally published in November 2000, was reviewed by John Greenwood in September 2005. This paper examines the issue of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and its impact on public health in Australia, which has the highest rate of skin ...

This note, was originally published in May, 2000. It was reviewed by John Greenwood in March, 2005. The summary page includes recent updates to the topic since publication. The material in this Note is based on content from Under Cover: Guidelines ...

Also known as life cycle analysis; LCA is an objective technique for assessing the potential impacts associated with a product or process by compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and outputs, evaluating their potential environmental impacts, and ...

This paper introduces phase change materials (PCMs) as an alternative energy storage methodology to current latent heat exchange systems commonly used in buildings such as thermal mass.  A potential application in light weight construction offers ...

This note follows on from the note: The environmental impact of building materials. It outlines Australian and international responses to materials sustainability, reviews what a sustainable material is, and the role of design. It reviews recent ...

Bushfire has long been a part of Australian landscape ecology and mythology, but climate change is now driving an increase in fire emergencies and a greater regulatory response. There are new levels of bushfire frequency, severity and ...

This guide addresses visual resource, siting and design issues associated with wind farm development. This is an introductory overview of the key visual resource issues that should be addressed in the planning, design and visual effects assessment ...