Dr Francisca Rodriguez Leonard

Biography

Dr Francisca Rodriguez is a lighting designer, researcher, and educator developing new methods to understand how people experience and adapt their luminous environments, advancing design that responds to perception, performance, and recovery. Her research integrates computer vision, advanced visualisation, physiological and environmental sensing, occupant feedback, and ethnographic inquiry to examine how people interpret, negotiate, and modify spatial and environmental conditions in daily life. A central focus of her work is dynamic lighting and views, or how temporal variations in light and scene composition influence perception, attention, and mental restoration. She collaborates with organisations including The Prince Charles Hospital, The Princess Alexandra Hospital, the Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Services (STARS), St. Andrew's Hospital, the Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO), and Architectus to test how indoor environments support daily functioning and psychological recovery.

Francisca’s professional contributions extend from research to policy and standards. In Chile, she authored the chapters on lighting systems for visual comfort, energy efficiency, and light pollution in the National Housing Standards, influencing the design of new housing to this day. Internationally, she contributes to research as a member of the International Commission on Illumination (CIE RF04: Lighting in the Usage of Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality Devices) and as an Australia’s Representative for IEA SHC Task 70 (Subtask B: Visual and Non-Visual User Requirements).

Francisca holds a PhD in Architecture and Lighting from QUT (Australia), a MSc in Lighting Design from KTH (Sweden) and a BA in Architecture from USM (Chile). Before joining academia, she worked as a senior lighting designer at the award-winning practice Estudio DIAV, leading projects in museography, heritage, educational, and residential design across Latin America.

At QUT, Francisca is the Interior Design Study Area Coordinator and a Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Built Environment. She is also a member of the Design Institute of Australia (DIA), the International Commission on Illumination (CIE), Australian Division, the Architectural Science Association (ASA), and the Australian Health Design Council (AHDC). Through her collaborations with communities and industry partners, she advances design research that connects evidence-based insights with the lived, everyday use of space.