Swayn Open Research
The Alastair Swayn Foundation is committed to information sharing and transparency of the research it funds. We believe that research supported by the Foundation should be made discoverable and readily accessible online. The Swayn Open Research repository provides a place for researchers to promptly have their findings published on an open access basis, to benefit the architecture and design community.
GROUNDING: Practice, Process & Place
Adaptable and site-responsive, the framework aims to establish respectful modes of working on Country and with landscapes that inform our projects, while also expanding the boundaries of our respective practices and disciplines.
How integrated into their communities are aged care typologies in Canberra? An assessment of walkability
A case study of Canberra Aged Care in Lyneham, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), forms the basis of a mixed-methods study combining the Seniors Walking Environmental Audit Tool-Revised (SWEAT-R), and spatial and visual mapping. Central to this study is a novel phenomenological graphical delayering method, developed to translate the experience of walking into a visual analytic tool.
Colouring Canberra’s Suburbs Blue: exploring an alternative densification option for suburban infill
Using the post-war suburb of Watson as a case study, the research analyses the characteristics of Canberra’s “ex-govie” suburbs, where redevelopment pressures are intensifying. Four design scenarios were developed using a real urban section in Watson to test how Bluefield housing principles could be applied to Canberra’s context.
Family-Friendly Apartments in Canberra: Spatial Lessons from Detached Houses for Higher Density Housing
Apartment living is often regarded as unsuitable for Australian families with children. However, this perception may reflect the spatial limitations of typical apartment design rather than an inherent incompatibility between families and higher-density housing.
Enduring Cultural Matter: Architectural materials are never neutral
Drawing from her residency at the American Academy in Rome, Stephanie explored material reuse not just as a design strategy, but as a cultural act. Through the lens of spolia - the reuse of fragments from existing structures - she traced how materials can carry memory, labour, and meaning across time, from the travertine quarries of Tivoli to the basalt plains of Western Victoria.
Mirndiyan Gununa: an embedded case study of workplace dynamics of a remote Indigenous Art Centre
The case study report collates preliminary and baseline data investigating the work and workplace dynamics of a Far North Queensland IAC, Mirndiyan Gununa Aboriginal Corporation (aka MIArt), Mornington Island, as an embedded case study. The report presents the key outputs of the study and provides an overview of the IAC and its context to provide an historical and cultural overview.
SUP: The Super Urban Podcast Project
The Super Urban Podcast is a series of conversations about cities and how they’re designed; how we imagine them and how we could re-imagine them, hosted by Ian Nazareth, Graham Crist and Christine Phillips.
Shared and Sustainable Future Communities
Shared and Sustainable Future Communities explores how regulatory barriers in the ACT affect the growth of cohousing, and outlines reforms to enable more sustainable, affordable, and community-driven housing models.
Solid Yarns: Collaborating with Respect
Solid Yarns is a podcast about how First Nations creatives and industry partners can work together. Each episode features a First Nations creative in conversation with their client, unpacking a project brief and sharing stories behind the work.
Living Together: Five European Studies
A research project examining five exemplary medium‑density, high‑quality housing case studies in Europe and the UK. They show how land, social capital, and amenities are shared and how design promotes sustainable performance and social connection.