Delivering research that builds stronger neighbourhoods
An under-supply of secure, affordable and appropriate housing is negatively impacting the health and wellbeing of many Australians. To tackle this issue and prepare communities for societal change, Deakin's HOME brings together communities, not-for-profit organisations, industry and government. We co-design unique solutions to offset heightened housing stress, rapid urban population growth, new patterns of migrancy and inequality, and an ageing population.
Since 2018, HOME has connected interdisciplinary researchers from all Deakin faculties to enable a holistic understanding and approach. We provide diverse theoretical and practical expertise in disciplines including:
- health
- built environment
- social inquiry
- economics
- law
- the creative arts and more.
We use action research, informed by systems and design thinking, to develop strategies that are community-tailored, evidence-based and place-focused. HOME’s research informs Victorian housing policy and practice, shapes design and policy interventions and builds stronger cities, regional and rural areas, suburbs and neighbourhoods.
Our research areas
Drawing on a wide pool of expertise, HOME offers a uniquely agile research approach. We conduct research across four key themes aligned with our vision to provide ‘a home for all’ – that is, affordable, safe, well-designed, sustainable and connected housing for everyone.
Home for life
We design adaptable, universally accessible homes that meet personal needs, promote engagement in meaningful activities, and are safe, secure and suitable for all stages of life.
Home we can afford
We conduct research informing home designs that minimise energy use and environmental impact, while using low-cost materials to match budgetary requirements, providing a home that’s available to all.
Home where we know neighbours
We recognise the significant psychological and physical health benefits of social connectivity. Our research delivers homes designed to foster connectedness and to strengthen relationships across difference.
Home that is connected
We draw on a wide range of expertise and collaborations to ensure homes are connected to occupations, services, education, nature, transport, play, food and the wider world.
Help us build stronger neighbourhoods across the world
A PhD with HOME will provide you with access to a stimulating and supportive environment where you can conduct innovative and high impact research. Interdisciplinary collaboration is the foundation for all HOME research. As a PhD student, you’ll be part of a globally connected research community with access to industry experts and collaborators across all Deakin faculties and disciplines.
The transdisciplinary methodologies and community collaboration arising from our partnerships is translating research into innovative solutions to deliver affordable, accessible and sustainable housing.
Professor Richard Tucker
Co-Director, HOME
Our research leaders
HOME is the only research centre at Deakin combining researchers from all four faculties, and seven schools, in one interdisciplinary group. Our 30+ strong team has vast research expertise spanning architecture, health, economics, law, anthropology, the creative arts and more. The HOME team is supported by members who represent each faculty and is led by our two co-directors.
Professor Richard Tucker
Professor Tucker has published over 100 outputs on sustainable design, urban design, architectural design pedagogy, the impact of sustainable design on children’s environmental behaviours, and the relationship between health and the built environment.
Dr Fiona Andrews, PhD
Dr Andrews' research on the relationship between the built environment and health, including how the design of places (neighbourhoods, housing and home environments) affect family wellbeing, has produced both academic outputs and informed housing policy change at local and state government levels.
Our research has already resulted in policy change to support the design of housing that better meets the needs of residents.
Dr Fiona Andrews, PhD
Co-Director, HOME
Our partnerships
HOME is a trusted partner of government, industry, philanthropic and community organisations, with established connections to world-leading research institutions in relation to housing diversity, affordable housing, homelessness and high-density living programs.
We facilitate dialogue between stakeholder communities, working together to understand their needs and devise collaborative solutions. This sustained engagement has changed the housing landscape for disadvantaged communities in Victoria, directly benefitting the health and lives of people experiencing homelessness and housing precarity while supporting circular economy innovations and sustainable design.
Featured projects
Discover some of the ground-breaking research projects conducted in collaboration with our researchers, partners and community stakeholders.
Microvillage to transitional housing for homeless men
HOME was proud to be nominated for this project as a finalist in the 2022 Engagement Australia Excellence Awards, in the Award for Outstanding Engagement for Research Impact. The project built a housing model which provides homeless men in the Geelong region with independent living units, to support them in transitioning to their own permanent accommodation.
Microvillage
The initial Microvillage project explored the viability of increasing the supply of affordable small houses. It focused on people with limited funds who wanted to live in homes that minimise consumption of materials, land and energy, and which link with the community in meaningful ways.
Together, the Microvillage projects demonstrate an arc from research engagement to impact that underpins all of HOME’s projects. In this case, via sustained partnerships between philanthropy and industry, the research moved from understanding community needs to policy/design recommendations, to built outcomes, and to the evaluation of a new housing model for other contexts of housing precarity.
Family-friendly apartment design
Our research, in partnership with the Victorian Department of Environment, Water, Land & Planning, illuminated a novel approach to increasing the supply of family-friendly apartments in Victoria. We provided expertise on family-friendly apartment design to inform a design competition and planning regulations. Together, these resulted in exemplar designs for fast-tracking more liveable apartment development.
Accessible and inclusive Geelong
Our research determined what was required to establish Geelong as a leading accessible and inclusive city. This project informed a collective plan of action, supported by a wide range of community stakeholders, to enable Geelong to be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people.
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Contact us
If you'd like to study with us, collaborate with us, or learn more about our research, we'd love to hear from you. Have a question? Get in touch with the team.