Katie Skillington
Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Architecture, Construction, Environmentally Sustainable Design
Biography
Katie is a PhD candidate at MSD currently researching the environmental performance of Australian multi-residential buildings, with a focus on the effect of dematerialisation on life cycle environmental impacts (LCA) and indoor environment quality (IEQ). Her research interests lie in the examination of environmentally sensitive design (ESD) approaches, multi-criteria environmental assessment, and occupant experiences of buildings experimenting with novel design approaches. She also has a broader interest in the origins of ESD in Australia, governance to support better integration of ESD into the building sector, and the integration of ESD into design education.
Her research work is complemented by her professional and teaching practice. Katie is a Registered Architect (Practicing) in Victoria and co-founded Skart in 2017, a collaborative providing architectural and Passive House services to residential projects. Her teaching experience includes construction, property and architectural design studios at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at MSD.
From 2015-2017, Katie was a Monbukagakusho (MEXT) scholar at the University of Tokyo, where she obtained a Master of Sustainability Science and the Dean’s Prize for Outstanding Achievement. She also holds a Bachelor of Production from the Victorian College of the Arts and Master of Architecture from the Melbourne School of Design.
Thesis
Design for dematerialisation: examining effects on natural and human environments
The building and construction sector substantially affects the health of natural environments due to its intensive resource use and emissions at various life cycle stages. Compounding this issue are concerns regarding the liveability of urban environments, and the effect of buildings on occupant comfort. A key challenge for the building sector is addressing these multi-dimensional concerns, especially in light of projected population increases and growing affluence.
The rapidly growing Australian multi-residential market is acutely exposed to this challenge, as recent developments have been subject to scrutiny for their poor environmental performance and internal amenity. Design for dematerialisation has emerged from this context, and a possible means to developing more environmentally sensitive built outcomes. Dematerialisation aims to reduce material and resource inputs whilst maintaining a building’s functional intent. However, from the perspective of the building sector, dematerialisation is neither well-defined nor widely researched. Post-occupancy evaluation of projects exemplifying aspects of dematerialisation in the multi-residential sector have not been evaluated. As such, the extent to which dematerialisation may affect the environmental performance of a building is not yet understood.
This research aims to fill this gap and determine the extent to which dematerialisation may affect the performance of multi-residential buildings, from the dual perspectives of indoor environment quality and life cycle environmental impacts. A mixed-methods, multiple-case study methodology combining life cycle assessment with post-occupancy evaluations of indoor environment quality is used to establish this much needed understanding.