PhD

OPEN CALL: Work with us on exciting—and important—creative and research projects!

The Capabilities Approach to Justice

^{The capabilities approach to justice in application to powerful owls}

Research Objectives

Would you like to use cutting-edge innovations to help animals, plants, bacteria and rivers live better lives along side humans? Our research group focuses on the use of advanced technologies to support designing for and with nonhuman and well as human stakeholders. There are several labels to this approach to design including ecocentric design, more-than-human design, and interspecies design.

Necessary Background

To work on the project within our lab you need to be familiar with and in agreement with this overall framing. To become familiar with the key concepts, please look at the following materials:

A discussion of interspecies design as an ethical and necessary future:

Roudavski, Stanislav. “Interspecies Design.” In Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Anthropocene, edited by John Parham, 147–62. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Discussions of the challenges for more-than-human architecture:

Roudavski, Stanislav. “Notes on More-than-Human Architecture.” In Undesign: Critical Practices at the Intersection of Art and Design, edited by Gretchen Coombs, Andrew McNamara, and Gavin Sade, 24–37. Abingdon: Routledge, 2018. https://doi.org/10/czr8.
Roudavski, Stanislav. “Multispecies Cohabitation and Future Design.” In Proceedings of Design Research Society (DRS) 2020 International Conference: Synergy, edited by Stella Boess, Ming Cheung, and Rebecca Cain, 731–50. London: Design Research Society, 2020. https://doi.org/10/ghj48x.

An example of a project for a nonhuman stakeholder that follows the principles described above:

A brief article in the Conversation: Urban owls are losing their homes. So we're 3D printing them new ones
A conference paper on some aspects of the project: Roudavski, Stanislav, and Dan Parker. “Modelling Workflows for More-than-Human Design: Prosthetic Habitats for the Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua).” In Impact - Design with All Senses: Proceedings of the Design Modelling Symposium, Berlin 2019, edited by Gengnagel, Christoph, Baverel, Olivier, Burry, Jane, Thomsen, Mette Ramsgaard, and Weinzierl, Stefan, 554–64. Cham: Springer, 2020. https://doi.org/10/dbkp.

You can see further relevant publications on academia.edu: Stanislav Roudavski

You can view a video presentation that discusses some of the relevant topics here:

You can see further project- and topic-based video presentations here.

Topics and Projects

In this inherently transdisciplinary field, many topics combine and impinge on design or - reversely - can benefit from design visualisations, provocations, and prototyping.

Key themes include:

More-than-Human Design and Architecture
- design participation processes and methods (nonhuman expertise, multiple knowledge systems, nonhuman leadership)
- data-driven design and engineering (simulation, modelling, fabrication, systems, monitoring)
- capabilities-based approaches to designing for/with nonhuman stakeholders
More-than-Human History and Heritage
More-than-Human Technical Innovation
More-than-Human Ethics and Politics
More-than-Human Knowledge and Communication
More-than-Human Biology and Ecology
More-than-Human Philosophy

The lab can engage with a broad variety of possible projects provided they are compatible with our more-than-human orientation and focus on innovation. We are happy to consider all ideas.

To make some suggestions, possible projects that can engage with material research and robotics can include:

Analysis of tree geometries as habitat structures and design of generative human-made replacements or prosthetic additions. This direction already uses automatic feature recognition on point clouds and AI routines to abstract and rebuild these structures. We have built and are planning to make more physical prototypes.
Analysis of existing near-surface habitats where things like mosses and lichens live, stone surfaces, ground, bark. Development of generative routines to produce building elements informed by this analysis.

Forms of Graduate Research

We can consider co-supervisions with any university and across disciplines. Our projects customarily require multiple supervisors, for example in ecology, design and technology.

Many of our members collaborate with the The University of Melbourne and Melbourne School of Design that support three forms of graduate research work: the written thesis, the PhD by publication, and the PhD by creative work.

Our preference is to follow the form of a thesis composed of publications that are informed by design experiments, or 'the written thesis with publication'. We also disseminate research outcomes through exhibitions, festivals, performances, and public installations that can include structures, recorded works, interactive applications, and other creative forms.

Methods

Deep Design Lab uses a broad spectrum of methods but our leaning is towards evidence-based, data-driven research that constructs novel theory via design experiments. These experiments can involve the construction of physical prototypes, computational modelling, scenario planning, games, storytelling and other approaches.

Funding

If you need funding for your graduate research, you will have to apply for one of the competitive scholarships. Melbourne School of Design offers several such scholarships to domestic and international students.

Structure of Research Proposal

If the above is of interest, read these guidelines that will help to to develop a logical research proposal.

Make sure to support your proposal with evidence derived from academic sources. Use a formal citation style for citation. We use The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition.

Applicant Qualifications

You will need excellent marks (an average above 80%) and be passionate about research into more-than-human design. We welcome applicants with advanced technical skills or creative experience.

Writing Skills

Our research group seeks to present research outcomes to a variety of interdisciplinary audiences. This requires excellent proficiency in spoken and written English. We encourage all students, including English speakers, to take take formal courses in academic presentation and academic writing.

Examples of courses include:

You should also know knowledge management and referencing skills. We use Zotero for the management of references and citations. Please be familiar with this systems and use it in preparation of your proposal.

English as Second Language

If English is not your first language, you will need high scores in English proficiency tests, including writing. You can see the scores below. Please note, our research group expects higher scores than those listed for the Melbourne School of Design.

IELTS (academic English only)	TOEFL (paper-based)	TOEFL (Internet-based)	Pearson Test of English (Academic)	Cambridge English: Advanced/Certificate of Advanced English (CAE)
7.5 overall, with no band less than 7.0	615 + TWE 5.0	100+ Writing 27 Speaking 24 Reading 24 Listening 24	76+ No communicative skill below 68	190 + No skill below 185

Technical Skills

We aim to support our research with solid evidence and, therefore, especially welcome students that can complement their creative abilities with skills in programming, numerical analysis, geographical information systems, sensing and imaging, mechatronics, robotics, material science or similar.

Our recommendation is to prepare by taking some online courses in programming and statistics, there are many available.

If you are a beginner, consider:

Learning | Daniel Shiffman

Materials to Submit

Research proposal (can be an initial idea for discussion, for the final expectations at the University of Melbourne, see here)
CV
English language test results
Portfolio of design and research work (include information on your design and technical capabilities and achievements)
Examples of writing, if available (especially publications)

Timeline

We suggest that you begin the process early. One year before applying or as early as possible is ideal. It is best to discuss the project and prospects with potential supervisors face-to-face, or at least in a video conference. It is common for the research proposal to emerge through collaborative development.

Examples of PhD Projects at the Lab

For examples of existing PhD topics, see:

From Alexander Holland

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Simulation of Bird Vision

^{A simulation of bird vision}

Designing with Nonhumans

Supervisors:

Stanislav Roudavski, The University of Melbourne, Senior Lecturer, More-than-Human Design
Phillip Gibbons, Australian National University, Professor, Ecology
Jason Thompson, The University of Melbourne, Associate Professor, Urban Design, Transportation, and Health

This thesis seeks to expand the notion of design to include nonhuman lifeforms as empowered contributors. It argues that designing with rather than for nonhuman beings such as birds and trees is necessary in the era where human-centred approaches fail to address the environmental crises. To explore the conceptual and practical circumstances of inclusive designing, this thesis constructs an argument of three parts. The first part defines design. Biological studies show that many organisms design their own environments. This background leads this thesis to a pragmatic, outcome-oriented definition of design as a more-than-human, shared ability to invent new forms of living.

Having understood design as more-than-human, this thesis then demonstrates the need to consider nonhumans as political agents. Nonhuman beings engage in political speech when they resist, abstain, and modify their behaviour. Acknowledging this capability, this thesis reframes agency as relational, distributed, and communal.

Nonhuman beings have capabilities that make some forms of participation more feasible than others. Often, they lack the powers to plan for their futures because the anthropocentric frameworks within which they live do not value their contributions. In response, part three amplifies participatory methods with computational techniques including artificial intelligence and simulation.

Necessary, this topic engages with the evidence from multiple disciplines to show that concepts such as politics, language, justice, and democracy can benefit from the inclusion of nonhuman agents. Recent research in sensory ecologies, biosemiotics, embodied cognition, nonhuman behaviour and learning in combination with ecocentric analysis of ecological justice provide an opportunity to contribute. This thesis responds to such research by amplifying these frameworks with techniques of design computing. The main research question of this thesis is:

How can humans design with nonhumans?

A possible response, or the hypothesis, of this thesis is that:

Humans and nonhumans can design together using data-driven methods. The product of this design can create more equitable collectives and help their members live better lives.

Current more-than-human approaches lack established research methods. To investigate its hypothesis, this thesis uses design experiments to construct conceptual explorations that combine technical implementations with imaginative possibilities. These experiments engage with real-world places, communities, and stakeholders. Examples include tools that quantify contributions by birds, trees, and others making them available as guidance in practical projects.

From Dan Parker

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Artificial Nest for the Powerful Owl

^{A prosthetic-hollow design for the powerful owl}

Designing for Multispecies Cohabitation: The Case of Prosthetic Habitats

Supervisors:

Stanislav Roudavski, The University of Melbourne, Senior Lecturer, More-than-Human Design
Kylie Soanes, The University of Melbourne, Research Fellow, Ecosystem and Forest Sciences

How can the design of the built environment help to achieve multispecies cohabitation? What can design contribute to the endeavour of creating places where human and nonhuman lives thrive? The need to address such questions is increasingly urgent in the context of climate change, urbanisation, and mass species extinction. In response, Dan’s PhD aims to establish innovative design measures that support coexistence between humans and other living beings. Such design poses complex practical and theoretical challenges that span multiple scales, stakeholders, and knowledge bases. Combining expertise in architectural design, biological sciences, and environmental humanities, Dan’s thesis introduces the idea of ‘prosthetic habitat-structures’ as one promising approach to designing with and for nonhumans. Prosthetic habitat-structures refer to a design strategy which aims to reinstate absent habitat opportunities by grafting elements onto existing structures like trees or buildings. Dan focuses primarily on the design of prosthetic tree-hollows. These structures are important in response to the global decline in numbers of large old trees. The hollows that develop in these trees provide crucial habitat structure many species of birds, mammals, and reptiles. However, tree hollows can take several decades to form and are in short supply in urban and agricultural areas. Existing designs for human-made replacements, such as nest boxes, have known limitations. In response, Dan’s PhD proposes that techniques of computer-aided design, notions of interspecies cultures, and approaches to co-design can improve the implementation of prosthetic habitat-structures across their entire lifecycles. To test these hypotheses, the PhD instigated comparative case-studies on human-owl cohabitation in Australia and Italy. Outcomes include field installations, theoretical frameworks, and practical toolkits that help establish new best practices for interspecies design. This research stands to benefit a range of multispecies communities and contributes to a growing body of interdisciplinary work among researchers and practitioners who share more-than-human concerns.