As designers, we have a responsibility to investigate and present the social costs and benefits of our designs to all key stakeholders. Whether its building safe routes to…
*Potential trigger warning* – discussion of sexual violence.Just over a month ago, two female Victoria University students were sexually attacked on the ‘City to Sea’ pathway connecting the…
A good deal of research and case studies have demonstrated that vacancy sensors/settings (manual ON/auto OFF) save more energy than occupancy sensors/settings (auto ON/auto OFF). Some of the…
The Union of Concerned Scientists recently released a report on the dangers that climate change pose to our cultural resources. The report is summarized here – History Under Water: Clim…
In this post, Tayla introduces the three-part takedown of Jimmy Nelson’s Before they Pass Away by looking at colonial photography, and the danger of reading photographs as ‘truth’. It…
On the 6th of March 2014 when Tarapuhi and I (Hollie) were getting our morning coffee at one of our fave coffee places (which also happens to be a…
Although colonisation is often seen as a part of our history, as a relic of the past, it is a force that has created and sustained structures within our society that…
Inspired by John Key’s comment “Wellington is dying” (ugh), between March and May 2014, the Stout Research Centre is holding the ‘Wellington Seminar Series’. The seminar features presentations…
School can be an intimidating experience for students. The first days and weeks of a school year, whether we’re talking about the student’s first day of school ever,…
New Zealand’s concern over an ‘obesity epidemic’ has resulted in overweight bodies being linked to a biomedical model of disease. This post discusses some of the issues from…
This post was taken from Hollie’s Honours research thesis and has also been posted on the Savage Minds blog. “University students blocked Auckland’s Symonds Street as the…
Kia ora, We are the anthsisters – welcome to our blog. We are Tarapuhi Bryers-Brown, Tayla Hancock and Hollie Russell and together we make up the Anthsisters. Although…
Spatial restrictions and a lack of flexibility can have significant impacts on productivity/performance, as was found during the fieldwork conducted for a Kansas school district’s master planning effo…
Our built environment isn’t just about the building or the physical; it’s also about the people. It’s about understanding occupant daily activities and interactions, about understanding how this…
Cognitive psychologists generally divide our decision making systems, with respect to risk, into analytical vs. emotional reactions. The former carefully considers costs versus benefits, while the lat…
Thermal comfort in schools is impacted by a variety of factors, and this was discussed somewhat in a previous post: Culture and Thermal Comfort. But beyond HVAC system…
Not only do designers need to engage as many different stakeholder groups as possible to give them a voice, but they need to do it using multiple methods…
The following is a lessons learned taken from the renovation of elementary school in rural New Mexico. It was part the findings from a post occupancy evaluation (POE)…
The following is a lessons learned taken from the renovation of elementary school in rural New Mexico. It was part the findings from a post occupancy evaluation (POE)…