Knowledge

Plunder our brains and the brains of global experts in our Knowledge section. Find out the latest news, trends and ideas across every area of design thinking and practice including interiors, buildings, precincts and cities.


Thumbnail for the article 'Public realm: A matter of inclusion' by William Hames, Iain Stewart and Sonja Duric

Public realm: A matter of inclusion

William Hames, Iain Stewart and Sonja Duric

Helping people navigate and understand how a place works involves careful consideration and planning to improve accessibility, orientation and connectivity, along with those intangible moments of magic that lift a space to cultural icon status visited the world over.

Thumbnail for the article 'A green return on investment: The future for returnable goods' by Yaara Plaves & Rebecca Antos

A green return on investment: The future for returnable goods

Yaara Plaves & Rebecca Antos

As designers, we create retail centres that deeply consider site, context and sustainability to deliver a return on investment for our stakeholders. But many retailers, especially online retailers, are experiencing a fresh challenge – waste around returnable goods – and with it, new opportunities across the retail economy to refine what we do and how we work to bring us closer to zero waste. One solution is to optimise ‘reverse logistics’.

Thumbnail for the article 'The shape of water' by Yaara Plaves, Madeleine Steele & Talia Uylaki

The shape of water

How regenerative design can save our public pools and improve water safety

Yaara Plaves, Madeleine Steele & Talia Uylaki

Australia is an urban coastal nation – we love the water and our well-known fascination with the beach and water is part of our cultural DNA. But despite the strong culture around water, recent figures reveal that drowning deaths are increasing. The infrastructure of public swimming pools is also fast approaching its use-by-date, meaning we’re falling short in meeting the contemporary and anticipated future needs of our communities. However, we believe design can help.

Thumbnail for the article 'There’s no place like home: Sarah’s journey and finding a home in architecture'

There’s no place like home: Sarah’s journey and finding a home in architecture

As a young child, Sarah experienced housing insecurity first-hand. She moved constantly with her loving family from a baby to young adulthood, moving into 15 different homes growing up in Adelaide. Every time she moved, Sarah would sit and draw the floorplan of her new home so she knew where to go and could start to feel at ease in her new surrounds. This started her path towards architecture, having experienced the criticality of a secure home, our sense of ‘place’ and the importance of our mental health as part of our life experiences.

Thumbnail for the article 'The designed environment' by Taliya Uylaki and Sonja Duric

The designed environment

A neurotypical and neurodiverse perspective

Taliya Uylaki and Sonja Duric

Our wellbeing in the workplace is impacted by whether the built environment anticipates and meets our sensory needs.

Thumbnail for the article 'What’s your ‘why’?'

What’s your ‘why’?

Q&A with Denise Harper

We recently caught up with Associate Denise Harper from our Brisbane studio who shares her passion for social justice and her role in advocating for everybody to access safe and inclusive spaces.

Thumbnail for the article 'Retail therapy: How retail is the ‘third space’' by Harold Perks, Emil Jonescu, Soobeen Jo, Paris Jacobs and Gingi Engloner

Retail therapy: How retail is the ‘third space’

Harold Perks, Emil Jonescu, Soobeen Jo, Paris Jacobs and Gingi Engloner

Generally, there are three elements to modern-day life – personal life, work life and lifestyle. Retail takes place firmly within the lifestyle element, becoming our ‘third space’ commodified as an experience rather than a product transaction.

Thumbnail for the article 'How do we create spaces that elevate meaning?'

How do we create spaces that elevate meaning?

Insights from Culture Bites

As design facilitators, we draw inspiration from the world around us. We believe that design outcomes are stronger when we all work together, giving everyone a voice rather than designing in isolation. By applying this thinking to the public realm, the outcomes can be better than anyone expected – fresh spaces for people to find, discover, nurture, take care of and grow. What can we learn from our experiences and how can our industry do this better?

Thumbnail for the article 'Paying attention: How to beat the retail goldfish bowl' by Harold Perks and Dr Emil Jonescu

Paying attention: How to beat the retail goldfish bowl

Harold Perks and Dr Emil Jonescu

The key is starting with our understanding of the unique behavioural, cultural and psychological drivers we’re experiencing right now and how this may evolve in the future.

Thumbnail for the article 'An explosion of activity-based retail is about to hit our shopping centres' by Harold Perks, Madeleine Steele, Yaara Plaves and Dr Emil Jonescu

An explosion of activity-based retail is about to hit our shopping centres

Harold Perks, Madeleine Steele, Yaara Plaves and Dr Emil Jonescu

As Australia ramps up to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, new and existing multi-city sports infrastructure will cater for athletes competing and millions of spectators watching on the world stage. But what will happen to these spaces afterwards? And how can we learn from them to create healthy and thriving communities for the future?

Thumbnail for the article 'Laneways: Time + place + circumstance = opportunity'

Laneways: Time + place + circumstance = opportunity

An urban activation case study

Our Research & Development team recently applied Gehl’s Twelve Quality Criteria approach to the modern-day challenge of activating laneways. In fact, to one in particular, near 92 William Street in Perth.

Thumbnail for the article 'Reducing aggression in emergency department waiting rooms'

Reducing aggression in emergency department waiting rooms

We know that spaces can empower or disempower people. The tipping point is often how that space is designed.

Hames Sharley’s Research team recently discovered a potential link between aggressive behaviour in Emergency Departments and spatial design, paving the way for a re-think of how these spaces are designed for clinicians, patients, visitors and the broader community.