This research aims to develop cross-cultural approaches to contemporary Western glass Jewellery design by using the Chinese philosophical notion of ‗harmony between man and nature‘ on glass and metal jewellery. By analysing the principle of ‗harmony between man and nature‘, new approaches are developed. This is achieved by using cross-cultural practices, 3D prototyping techniques and glass studio practices to create glass jewellery designs. The methodologies include: philosophical methodology and experimental research. Tacit knowledge drawn from previous experience is deployed to encourage experimentation with materials and the ways they are used in glass and jewellery practices. The research also utilises Chinese ‗holistic approaches‘, such as ‗harmony‘, ‗balance‘, ‗flexibility‘ and ‗change‘ to glass and jewellery making and the resulting aesthetics provide new practical strategies and contemporary glass jewellery designs. By analysing Chinese culture and traditions I have facilitated six case studies which explore philosophical understandings through studio practice including the following six philosophical approaches: ‗Integration of Yin and Yang‘, ‗Unification of Time and Space‘, ‗Same Structure of Man and Nature‘, ‗the Concept of Change‘, ‗Self-cognition and External-cognition‘ and ‗Combination of Subject and Object‘. Case studies are also used to examine personal approaches to studio practice using Chinese paintings and interpreting them into 3D designs and glass jewellery. Other studio techniques include: machine productions, 3D printing, water-jet cutting, hand making, silversmith, kiln casting and lampworking. The resulting contemporary glass jewellery designs; informed by Chinese philosophy and traditions of ‗harmony between man and nature‘ provide a different and innovative approach to the field of glass and jewellery design and offers a new contribution to knowledge.

This research explores aspects of architectural phenomenology as evidenced in the ‘quirk’, described here as a peculiarity or idiosyncrasy of a building’s personality. Using digital technology, this study frames and contextualises a body of sculpture, performance and installation in glass that interprets personal ideas of home through social, cultural and emotional connections. The research is focused on exposing the quirk to anthropomorphise the site, expressing its familiar and intimate nature. Previous research in creative glass has used digital design and manufacturing technology in studies that contribute primarily to the practical advancement of CAD/CAM processes. This new research applies such techniques, but is instead focused on their capacity to record, translate and realise ideas in relation to the quirk of the architecture. This approach translates quirks through data capture to visualise aspects of architectural phenomenology, which is defined in this context as the embodied, personal and sensory experience of space. A methodology which adapts architectural practice has been applied to provide a creative, flexible framework of site selection, discovery of the quirk and its translation, realisation and analysis. The four bodies of work described in this PhD include a monumental architectonic sculpture, a series of ‘window’ panels created using photographic imagery, a kinetic subterranean installation and a time-based performance of the experience of sleeping on glass. The contribution to knowledge can be claimed through a model of practice that utilises phenomenology through the translation of the architectural quirk to create a unique and diverse body of artwork; and the development of original working methods for waterjet cutting and kiln-forming to produce architectonic sculpture and imagery in glass. This PhD offers an example of the application of architectural phenomenology for those wishing to use architecture as inspiration for artwork.