- Posted on 23 May 2025
- 5-minute read
Creative Places is a new initiative that supports non-traditional approaches to research and highlights the exemplary creative practice produced at UTS.
Established in 2024, the internal funding scheme was initially offered to academics in the disciplines of Design, Architecture and the Built Environment. Researchers were invited to consider how they might respond to the theme of ‘creative places’.
“The theme was deliberately broad, as we wanted to provoke a diversity of approaches and outcomes”, said Prof Jua Cilliers, Associate Dean (Research). “We were impressed by the number of proposals submitted and the range of perspectives within our research community.”
Ten projects were selected by a panel convened by Prof Cilliers, Interim Dean Prof Mark Evans and Prof Anna Cristina Pertierra, the previous Associate Dean (Research). The successful recipients include academics from each of the Schools of Design, Architecture and Built Environment, as well as cross-disciplinary teams and collaborators from other UTS Faculties and Centres. Staff at every stage of their research career are represented, including Higher Degree Research candidates.
Early career researcher Dr Nahum McLean received funding for a project that expands on his PhD research into novel bio-based foam materials. The panel commended his growth as a researcher that was evident in his proposal. “I’m excited to receive this support and to have the opportunity to learn how to lead and manage a research project at UTS”, said Dr McLean.
Proposed project outcomes include prototypes, digital avatars, motion capture workflows, site-specific installations, campus activations, symposia, workshops and exhibitions. The topics covered span digital fashion, environmental history, urban transformation, technological innovation, sustainability and community engagement.
Creative Places projects
Embodied Digital Fashion
Researcher: Alyssa Choat (School of Design)
Collaborators: Thomas Ricciardiello (UTS Data Arena), Elaine Laforteza (UTS Centre of Social Justice and Inclusion), Lisa Lake (Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion + Textiles)
An exploration of the evolving concept of the body in the digital age, using a practice-based methodology that integrates motion capture, 3D computer graphics, and performance. This collaborative project will produce a range of videos, interactive digital fashion avatars and motion capture workflows that showcase the embodied dimensions of digital fashion.
Fashion and Nature
Researcher: Timo Rissanen (School of Design)
Collaborators: Prof Kate Fletcher (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK), Ania Zoltkowski (PhD Candidate), Karina Kallio (PhD Candidate), Lisa Lake (Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion + Textiles)
An ambitious, action-oriented two-day symposium for HDR students that focuses on fashion, sustainability, creativity and ethics. Prior to the symposium, participants are paired up and introduced to the method of ‘Braiding', drawing on experiences relating to the symposium theme and building a shared understanding through interweaving their stories together.
Follow the Creek
Researcher: Dr Sarah Jane Jones (School of Design)
Collaborators: A/Prof Ilaria Vanni (School of International Studies and Education), A/Prof Alexandra Crosby (School of Design), Holly O’Neil (PhD Candidate)
An interactive place-activation project exploring the water narratives of the UTS precinct, restoring connection to waterways that are now underground. Through installations, wayfinding markers and writing, this project seeks to revitalise lost water stories by revealing the hidden creeks, streams, wetlands, and histories beneath our feet.
Good Space/Bad Space
Research Team: A/Prof Linda Matthews (School of Architecture / UTS Visualisation Institute), Dr Mohammed Makki (School of Architecture), Dr Rafael Luna (School of Architecture)
Collaborators: Marc Carmichael (UTS Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology)
This project follows on from the ‘Quantifying Quality’ study, which generated a numerically evidence-based model for assessing the quality of urban space. A structure will be installed on campus to understand whether the redistributed colour and brightness datasets, and additional sound, will have a similar qualitative effect on the public.
Inside-out
Researcher: Dr Rachael Cassar (School of Design)
Collaborator: Dr Tobb Robinson (School of Design)
This project draws on the historical practice of caching – the deliberate concealment of garments within architectural structures. By revisiting and reinterpreting this practice, it aims to open new dialogues about how clothing and architecture can intersect to challenge our current understanding of waste, conservation, consumption and identity.
Photo-voicing Practices in Creative Placemaking
Research Team: Prof Shankar Sankaran (School of Built Environment), Prof Jua Cilliers (School of Built Environment), Em/Prof Stewart Clegg (UTS Business School), A/Prof HY William Chan (School of Architecture), Dr Gabriela Quintana Vigiola (School of Built Environment), Mehrafarin Takin (PhD Candidate)
This project will demonstrate how participatory research practices can be used to creatively imagine and facilitate the transformation of urban spaces. Using the Circular Quay Renewal Project as a case study, a photo-voicing workshop will use place-based images to promote a critical dialogue about the transformation of urban spaces and inspire innovative placemaking proposals.
Seamless Research: Exploring Shima Seiki Knit Technology
Researcher: Dr Cecilia Heffer (School of Design)
Collaborators: Dr Rachael Cassar (School of Design), Patricia Chircop (PhD Candidate), Wajiha Pervez (PhD Candidate), Dr Donna Sgro (School of Design), Dr Frédérique N. Sunstrum (School of Design), Lisa Lake (Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion + Textiles)
This exhibition showcases a diverse range of projects emerging from the Shima Seiki Lab, which houses state-of-the-art seamless knit technology acquired by UTS in 2023. An accompanying symposium will present novel research developments spanning sonic knitted lace, archival preservation, dynamic, sustainable manufacturing models, circular design for athletic leisure wear, CLO digital fashion integrated with Shima Seiki software, and real-time biometric tracking for medical textiles.
The Motherboard: A bio-based surfboard made with bacterial cellulose sourced from SCOBY
Researcher: Dr Nahum McLean (School of Design / UTS Material Ecologies Design Lab [MEDL])
Collaborators: A/Prof Stefan Lie (School of Design / MEDL), Isabella Enrica Alevato Aires (PhD Candidate / MEDL), Ben Styles (MEDL)
This project showcases an innovative cellulose foam material developed through Nahum's PhD research. The Motherboard, a prototype surfboard, is crafted from SCOBY, a by-product of the Kombucha brewing process. This bacterial cellulose foam offers a bio-based and biodegradable alternative to the polystyrene and polyurethane foams commonly used in various industries.
The Politics of Participation
Researcher: Dr Campbell Drake (School of Architecture)
Collaborators: Dr Zoe Sadokierski (School of Design) Dr Kevin Bradley (School of Architecture), Dr Sarah Jane Jones (School of Design), Dr Rohan Lulham (University of Sydney), Dr Jacqueline Gothe (School of Design)
This exhibition will survey a range of socially engaged projects by UTS researchers (and their collaborators), presenting a variety of participatory artefacts including drawings, models, videos and photographs. An accompanying symposium will examine the value and legitimacy of participatory processes within architecture and design production in 2025.
Untitled (interventions for 2025)
Research Team: Dr Andrew Burrell (School of Design), Dr Biljana Jančić (School of Design)
Collaborator: Prof Cameron Tonkinwise (School of Design)
A practice-based, Research Through Design project that investigates the creative potential of operating between digital space and the built environment. A number of site-specific, public interventions on the UTS campus will inform a speculative investigation into the materiality of the digital and physical spatial experience, and their entanglements.
More information
Stay tuned for the launch of the full program of Creative Places events, exhibitions and activations, including opportunities for the public to participate.