Cool Living
ed. Hot Dry
About the Author
Bobbie Bayley is a Director of Architectural practice Dogspike Design & Architecture, a researcher and advocate.
If you think this resource could be useful please get in touch.
email : dogspike dot design @ gmail dot com
This project was part of her final year of the Masters of Architecture program at the University of Newcastle (UON) in 2023.
She began her studies and architectural journey in 2012 at UON. She has spent the last 6 years working with Healthabitat and carrying out
australian-centric thinking, arid architectural journeys, research, discovery and community engagement.
The year-long Independent Design Thesis was the vehicle to explore a topic which is of increasing concern to many: Sub-par community housing and the threat of climate change. People’s houses will cost them their lives, or people will have to walk away.
This project attempts to create a suite of tools which don’t currently exist -
• A hierarchical list of what you do first and what you do last to improve thermal comfort in existing community housing
• An action list backed by data and relevant for the patterns of living often experienced in remote communities
• Work that can be used by community who are tired of hot houses OR by the organisations who have the ‘power’ over the ‘asset’, not just the powercard
Future Practice
Living in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), I am using this research as an opportunity to learn about the building science and National Construction Codes relevant for the built environment for this climate zone.
This will be an important foundation to contributing meaningfully to the built environment of Mparntwe and surrounds.