Dr Aaron Davis is a Lecturer in Architecture with a teaching and research focus on co-design and community engagement processes, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the intersection between social and environmental sustainability.
Aaron has significant expertise in sociocultural and environmental sustainability, computer simulation, design processes, community engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and design for health and wellbeing. His experience in teaching in industry-linked and research-linked courses is highly regarded and he has a strong commitment to student learning outcomes and success. Aaron’s research practice is interdisciplinary, and Aaron has a strong emerging research profile. Aaron is recognised as a leader... Read more
About me
Dr Aaron Davis is a Lecturer in Architecture with a teaching and research focus on co-design and community engagement processes, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the intersection between social and environmental sustainability.
Aaron has significant expertise in sociocultural and environmental sustainability, computer simulation, design processes, community engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and design for health and wellbeing. His experience in teaching in industry-linked and research-linked courses is highly regarded and he has a strong commitment to student learning outcomes and success. Aaron’s research practice is interdisciplinary, and Aaron has a strong emerging research profile. Aaron is recognised as a leader in development and delivery of highly engaging co-design approaches, and is currently working with the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Health, SAHMRI, CSIRO, the Australian Health Design Council, as well as a wide variety of architecture, engineering, and construction firms across Australia. This reflects his understanding of the importance of bringing industry partners into research, and to connect up-to-date industry practices into his teaching.
Aaron is a member of IVE, the Centre for Interactive and Virtual Environments, and the Design Clinic, working on a range of healthcare, sensemaking, and data physicalisation projects.
About me
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 24/11/2021 |
Dr Aaron Davis – A man with a social sustainability mission, https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/people/aaron-davis-social-sustainability-mission |
| 12/04/2016 |
“Urban heritage in Australia” Radio interview, 891 ABC Adelaide, https://www.abc.net.au/radio/adelaide/ |
| 11/04/2016 |
"Organically developed cities and heritage” Radio interview, Radio Adelaide, http://radioadelaide.org.au |
| 07/04/2016 |
Lessons in Living Heritage from Tokyo to Adelaide, https://theconversation.com/lessons-in-living-heritage-from-tokyo-to-adelaide-52957 |
About me
Doctor of Philosophy University of South Australia
Master of Sustainable Design University of South Australia
Master of Architecture University of South Australia
Bachelor of Music The University of Adelaide
Bachelor of Architectural Studies University of South Australia
Aaron's research is interdisciplinary and spans a range of areas associated with architecture, design, and the built environment. One of the current highlights of Aaron's work is a large philanthropically funded project in partnership with the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health that is using a living lab methodology to redesign healthcare environments through evidence-based architectural design. He is also working on the development of a framework for capturing the value of collaborative (end-user engaged) design processes.
Aaron has a strong track record in projects that focus on the design of age-friendly and disability-friendly environments, and on co-designing health... Read more
Research
Excludes commercial-in-confidence projects.
NOVELL Redesign - transforming stroke rehabilitation environments, Unknown, 01/01/2022 - 30/06/2024
Theo Murphy Initiative Think Tank: A co-design exploration of academic recognition, Australian Academy of Science, 31/03/2021 - 31/03/2022
Co-design of a user-focussed prototype intervention, CSIRO Australia, 25/05/2020 - 31/08/2021
Research
Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. To see earlier years visit ORCID or Scopus
Open access indicates that an output is open access.
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2021 |
Open access
14
12
|
| 2021 |
Open access
|
| 2021 |
Open access
3
|
| 2021 |
Open access
|
| 2019 |
Open access
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2022 |
|
| 2021 |
Open access
3
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2022 |
Open access
7
6
|
| 2022 |
|
| 2022 |
Open access
|
| 2021 |
Open access
14
12
|
| 2021 |
Open access
8
8
25
|
| 2021 |
Open access
2
2
2
|
| 2021 |
Open access
5
4
2
|
| 2021 |
Open access
|
| 2019 |
Open access
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2021 |
Open access
|
| 2020 |
Open access
|
| 2019 |
Open access
|
| 2018 |
Open access
1
|
| 2017 |
Open access
10
9
|
| 2017 |
Open access
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2018 |
|
| 2018 |
Open access
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2021 |
Open access
|
Bernhardt, J, Lipson-Smith, R, Davis, A, White, M, Zeeman, H, Pitt, N, Shannon, M, Crotty, M, Churilov, L & Elf, M 2021, ‘Why hospital design matters: A narrative review of built environments research relevant to stroke care’, International Journal of Stroke, https://doi.org/10.1177/17474930211042485
Davis, A & Gu, N 2020, ‘Blockchain-based transparency in the building industry: A potential symbiosis between BIM, LCA and DLT’ Conference Presentation: The Transparency Project, 20-21 February, Adelaide, South Australia.
Davis, A 2019, ‘Opportunities and challenges of living labs in an urban context: Lessons from the Adelaide Living Laboratory’ Conference Presentation: The Human Heart of Innovation: Living Labs Australia 2019 Conference, 13-14 November, Adelaide, South Australia.
Davis, A 2017 ‘From rhetoric to reality: Theoretical perspectives on realising the circular economy’ Powering the Change to a Circular Economy Conference, Adelaide, 15-16 November.
Davis, A & Gwilt, I (in press), ‘Making data: the next generation’, in I Gwilt (ed.) Making Data, Bloomsbury, London, UK.
Gwilt, I, Davis, A, Smith, R, Chua, A, Mignone, J (in press), ‘Augmenting Environmental Graphics in Healthcare Spaces’ in V Geroimenko (ed.), Augmented Reality Art: From an Engineering Technology to a Novel Creative Medium 3rd ed., Springer, London, UK.
Research
Aaron's research is interdisciplinary and spans a range of areas associated with architecture, design, and the built environment. One of the current highlights of Aaron's work is a large philanthropically funded project in partnership with the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health that is using a living lab methodology to redesign healthcare environments through evidence-based architectural design. He is also working on the development of a framework for capturing the value of collaborative (end-user engaged) design processes.
Aaron has a strong track record in projects that focus on the design of age-friendly and disability-friendly environments, and on co-designing health innovations. He has worked with the CSIRO, the FDI World Dental Federation, the Australian Academy of Sciences, the Australian Centre for Global Ageing, and a range of other national and international organisations. Aaron is actively seeking further research partnerships and opportunities, and thrives on the challenge of working on 'wicked problems'.
Aaron’s diverse and interdisciplinary experience have led to him becoming a fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar, and an Australian youth delegate to the World Trade Organisation. Aaron has authored a wide range of traditional and non-traditional academic publications, including journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, industry research reports, and popular media content. He has been featured in Architecture & Design, and has hosted and participated as an expert panellist and speaker in a range of public events and forums, including Australian Heritage Week, the History Festival, and the Festival of Architecture and Design. He has also spoken about issues relating to the built environment as a guest on ABC Radio, and has hosted a series of documentary-style research presentations for the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living.
External engagement & recognition
| Organisation | Country |
|---|---|
| CSIRO Australia (Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation) | AUSTRALIA |
| Dalarna University | SWEDEN |
| Flinders University | AUSTRALIA |
| Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health | AUSTRALIA |
| Griffith University | AUSTRALIA |
| National University of Singapore | SINGAPORE |
| Sheffield Hallam University | UNITED KINGDOM |
| Silver Thomas Hanley (STH) Health Architecture | AUSTRALIA |
| Swinburne University of Technology | AUSTRALIA |
| University of Adelaide | AUSTRALIA |
| University of Melbourne | AUSTRALIA |
| University of South Australia | AUSTRALIA |
| University of York | UNITED KINGDOM |
| Wageningen University and Research Centre | NETHERLANDS |
External engagement & recognition
| Engagement/recognition | Year |
|---|---|
European Healthcare Design Awards 2022 Design Research ProjectRoyal College of Physicians London |
2022 |
Honorary Mention Paper AwardCUMULUS Conference |
2019 |
FellowSalzburg Global Seminar |
2016 |
Aaron teaches a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses at UniSA through traditional lecture-tutorial structures, studio-based teaching, and project-based work integrated learning. Aaron has significant expertise in a diverse range of areas including architectural design processes, creativity and innovation, sociocultural and environmental sustainability, computer simulation and environmental modelling, community engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and architecture and design for health and wellbeing.
Aaron has been recognised in the UniSA Excellence in Teaching awards, and excels in on-campus, online and blended modes of teaching. He is empathetic and approachable while also critical and constructive, and always seeks to make course content engaging and interesting. He has delivered numerous keynote addresses on teaching innovation, and has published on architectural pedagogy in the Journal of the Association of Architectural Education (Charette), and on models of interdisciplinary education in a paper that received an award at a Cumulus Design Education Association conference.
Teaching & student supervision
Teaching & student supervision
Supervisions from 2010 shown
| Thesis title | Student status |
|---|---|
| Designing data for immersive cultural experiences and events | Current |
| Exploring a formal integrative learning system for entrepreneurial new ventures. | Current |
| Investigating common characteristics of design and healthcare collaborations for better outcomes | Current |
| Responsible Housing: Creating a strategy to facilitate holistic sustainable development in the Australian housing industry | Current |
| The use of augmented reality (AR) in an infographic environment to improve the level of happiness, motivational and emotional well-being of employees in the hospital context. | Current |
