Supervisors
- Position
- Professor
- Division / Faculty
- Faculty of CI, Education & Social Justice
- Position
- Associate Professor
- Division / Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- Position
- Lecturer Interior Design
- Division / Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
External supervisors
- Mr Ben Hackwood, Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS)
Overview
We have an ongoing project that investigates how patients and their carers respond to different lighting conditions and outdoor views in hospital rooms (recovery ward). We want to better understand how daylighting and views influence occupants’ attitudes during their recovery process.
This would contribute to designing hospital environments that are more responsive to users’ requirements for well-being.
Research activities
You may be involved in the following activities.
Literature reviews
Hospital room typologies
Revise BCA design guidelines and exemplary case studies to define and assess typical room typologies a person may inhabit during their hospital stay (e.g., patient room, rehabilitation area).
Virtual reality in architecture
Revise current technologies to best reproduce the architectural experience in a virtual reality environment (e.g., headset capabilities, rendering software).
Study visit
Document in the field a real hospital environment using specialised instruments for replication in a virtual reality environment.
VR model prototyping
Build a realistic 3D model of hospital rooms that is compatible with VR use. Prototyping different lighting and window presentations.
VR model testing
Render the 3D model for compatibility with the VR environment. Test and iterate for usability.
Outcomes
We aim to have an overview of:
- hospital room typologies in Queensland based on the best practice recommendations
- prevalent technologies to virtually reproduce the architectural experience.
We also aim to prototype and test a VR model to be used in a laboratory experiment with former hospital patients and their carers.
Skills and experience
Our ideal candidate will:
- be an undergraduate student in architecture or interaction design
- be interested in learning:
- about hospital typologies both theoretically and in the field
- about virtual reality for architectural evaluation
- how to optimise 3D models for virtual reality use (Unity or similar)
- have experience in using digital tools for 3D modeling and rendering (Rhino/Revit or similar).
Keywords
Contact
Contact the supervisor for more information.