Architecture and Planning

Project

Housing and its relationship to Pacific wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand is under-researched. The summer scholarship is an opportunity to contribute to this research area and a future publication.

Students with a keen interest in the topic or generally cross-cultural design, sociospatial studies and cultural sustainability are welcome. Students considering a future PhD in the fields of Pacific-related architecture, planning or urban design are encouraged to apply. The student will work alongside the research team to scope and review literature, transcribe interviews, and help organise meetings. For a student with strong writing capability, there is also an opportunity to participate in the publication as a co-author. Full guidance is provided by the research team.
The scholarship will run from mid-November 2022 to end of February 2023.

Project

Climate change adaptation planning has become a core element of urban planning and policy practice. Across all IPCC reports, risk is defined as the potential for adverse effects and framed as a central element for understanding climate change's responsibility for increasing vulnerability and impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, and human systems. Hence, adaptation planning plays a significant role in reducing the exposure to climatic vulnerability in our human-ecological systems and bringing forward opportunities for our urban areas to adjust to its actual and potential effects. But to what extent does our current planning research and policy provide explicit knowledge about adaptation planning? Has it identified gaps and inconsistencies that create barriers to defining future research agendas? This proposal is open to students who are willing to research on above questions, including a wide range of topics related to climate change and adaptation planning. We need to evaluate existing research to identify gaps in knowledge, practice and policy related to adaptation planning.

Project

In 1930 the scholar James Cowan wrote, "no carved house I have seen in all the villages of Maoridom is superior, for true ancient artistry and primitive consistency of construction, to the Whakatohea meeting-house and prayer-house called "Tanewhirinaki," which is to my mind the best extant example of a native decorated building." Today Tānewhirinaki no longer stands, so it is tragic that such a significant element of our nation's heritage, our largest whare, Tānewhirinaki, lies in pieces in a tin shed. Anthony is working on the reconstruction of the whare. This will involve both old and new technologies: the Māori post-tensioning technique of mīmiro that preceded European arrival in Aotearoa and the latest in LiDAR and drone photogrammetry. He is looking for a student who enjoyed working with him in the D4 design studios and will be enrolling in the MArch(Prof) programme in 2023 to undertake research assistance work for this reconstruction. It will include CAD drawings and modeling. Full guidance on what to do will be provided.

Project

Circular economy is an alternative model and approach to the linear economy, to deal with the negative externalities of the capitalist system such as pollution, carbon emission and climate change. Circular economy is a production and consumption model, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, retrofitting and recycling existing products as long as possible. The goal of this approach is to create a closed-loop system, minimizing or eliminating resource inputs, waste, pollution and carbon emissions. This research investigates the potential outcomes of a circular economic model at the neighbourhood scale by exploring the interconnections between land use, mobility, materials, building forms and energy sources. The investigation is focused on existing examples of circular economy applied at the neighbourhood scale, with the aim of identifying the potential applicability in a local scenario. The research identifies practical outcomes dealing with barriers to a circular economic model in the built environment. Potential output is a joint academic publication. The project will be carried out within the Future Cities Research Hub and will benefit from the support of other members of the hub.
Required skills include: good knowledge of literature search; good understanding of archive and database research; good knowledge of MS Office suite.

Project

“Returning” car-prioritised city streets to pedestrian-friendly environments is increasingly valued for its health, social and environmental benefits. Extensive research, government incentives and activism groups are promoting sustainable transport and the use of active travel modes across the globe. However, pedestrian infrastructure today needs to accommodate not only movement made on foot but also other uses of small-wheeled, low-speed vehicles, including mobility scooters and kick scooters. To support and encourage effective mode shift, it is vital to understand if the current footpath infrastructure meets the needs of those travelling by active modes and connects destinations meaningfully to members of the community.
This research will analyse Auckland streets and footpaths from multiple aspects, including the physical (morphology), perceptual (streetscape) and behavioural (practices) characteristics, to derive insights on issues of use, connectivity, accessibility, and image of the existing network. The project will be carried out within the Future Cities Research Hub and will benefit from the support of other members of the hub.
Requirements: Students should have interests in urban landscape and the public environment with a basic ability to perform analyses critically. Basic ability to use drafting software (cad and SketchUp) and photoshop is required. It is also beneficial to have a willingness to learn basic statistical analysis techniques and use statistical software (specifically, the R statistical package).

Project

New planning and policy reforms in New Zealand push cities to grow upward and outward, challenging the survival of urban and rural green spaces and the sustainability of cities. Therefore, this project aims to explore the interphase between grey and green spaces and their emergent opportunities to bring nature back into cities.
This call is open to students interested in a broad range of topics: re-greening grey areas, green urban facades, vertical green infrastructure, urban farming, green areas and well-being, the impact of developing built intensity, mapping the loss, use and opportunities of urban green spaces within and outside the city among others, the role and potential of green spaces for the resilience and sustainability of cities. The research can have a single or multiple scales. The purpose is to identify opportunities that increase the resilience of the built environment to social and environmental crises and the transition toward more sustainable urban landscapes and quality of life through the greenery.
The project will be carried out within the Future Cities Research Hub and will benefit from the support of other members of the Hub.
Required skills include: a willingness to assess and measure changes and transformation in urban and rural areas, ArcMap (GIS) or QGIS, and basic notions of statistics (advantageous but not compulsory).

Project

Supported in part by a number of UoA Summer Scholarships, the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects has published a series of maps of New Zealand architecture. Refer: www.hthub.ac.nz/block-itineraries-2
This scholarship project involves the research and production for a map of Whangarei and the wider Northland region. The project will begin with library-based research to gather information, moving on to the layout and graphic of the map itself, before carrying out fieldwork to verify the correctness and currency of the map produced.
The work project will run mid-November to mid-February. The map will be published (printing sponsored by Dulux) in early 2023 by Architecture New Zealand (the nation’s most significant architecture journal), as well as being distributed by the NZIA and the School's History & Theory Research Hub.
Requirements: Solid research and graphic design skills are a necessity, and the ability to write well about architectural history is an advantage.

Supported in part by a number of UoA Summer Scholarships, the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects has published a series of maps of New Zealand architecture. Refer: www.hthub.ac.nz/block-itineraries-2
This scholarship project involves the research and production for a map of Taupo, Gisbourne, and the East Coast region. The project will begin with library-based research to gather information, moving on to the layout and graphic of the map itself, before carrying out fieldwork to verify the correctness and currency of the map produced.
The work project will run mid-November to mid-February. The map will be published (printing sponsored by Dulux) in mid 2023 by Architecture New Zealand (the nation’s most significant architecture journal), as well as being distributed by the NZIA and the School's History & Theory Research Hub.
Requirements: Solid research and graphic design skills are a necessity, and the ability to write well about architectural history is an advantage.