Post-Carbon Research Centre

The Post-Carbon Research Centre tackles complex challenges of decarbonising the built environment and infrastructures to transition to a sustainable, equitable and resilient future.

The Centre brings together multi-disciplinary research capabilities across the built environment and infrastructure sectors.

It combines expertise from Design, Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Computer and Geospatial Science, and the Social Sciences.

With the aim of generating transformative action, the Centre translates across context by integrating creative, technical, socio-cultural, and industry sector knowledge.

Researchers from the Centre execute real world applications that enable both innovation and impact and stay connected to social and political context for implementation at scale. Using a whole life cycle approach, the Centre strives for innovation across full life cycle, value and supply chain.

The Centre’s work is organised around three research themes: transition, design and production.

Download our Capability Statement (PDF 436KB)

Key research areas

Mother holding small child pointing at windmills in the distance

Transition

This theme looks at how policies across different areas and institutions can be aligned for creating carbon-positive and climate-adaptive buildings and infrastructure. It focuses on the mandates of different levels of government for enabling uptake of existing technologies and practices at scale, aiming for creating a socially just society. This theme also looks at pathways for advancing the skillsets, health and well-being of the workforce to build infrastructure that will create positive impact on the human and natural systems.

Design

This theme assumes a life cycle approach to design using advanced measures of sustainability in the built environment. It encompasses innovation and creative practice methodologies for decarbonisation and shared ideas to create better places worldwide. This research area involves planning and financing in partnership with the community and invites a range of approaches including the use of digital tools to model energy optimization and visualize alternate futures. This will embrace the integration of smart sensor technologies, artificial intelligence and creation of digital twin tools for managing energy systems and infrastructures.

Production

This theme is about the material and technology required for the production of decarbonised infrastructure and built environment. This theme deals with environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional construction and involves processes such as offsite construction for reducing production cost and materials waste. It involves digital tools and techniques in construction such as additive manufacturing, 3D printing and robotics and will explore alternatives such as biomaterials. This theme will also deal with sustainable procurement and project management practices in the delivery of projects.

Clusters

Research clusters cross-cutting the Centre’s key research themes

Housing

Buildings

Precincts

Infrastructure and systems

Featured project

Community-Led Air Quality Network Victoria

The Community-Led Air Quality Network Victoria project supports local governments to deploy low-cost sensor networks through community co-design, improving local air quality monitoring, decision-making, and public awareness across Victoria.

Find out more about the Community-Led Air Quality Network Victoria

People

Meet our members

Connect with us

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

Learn more about our commitment to Indigenous cultures

Post-Carbon Research Centre