published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / History / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Tras analizar la construcción del proyecto en el movimiento moderno y su relación con la promesa arquitectónica en algunas obras de sus maestros, se realiza un estudio sistemático de la construcción de la Ópera de Sydney y del Centro Pompidou de París. De este análisis surge una constelación de circunstancias que motivan la transformación del proyecto arquitectónico durante su proceso constructivo. La existencia de puntos en común y el carácter estructural de algunos de ellos permiten sospechar una situación en la arquitectura -al menos de la segunda mitad del siglo XX- en la que se pueda cuestionar el proyecto entendido como anticipación fidedigna y completa de su realización. El proyecto recurre a la doble tarea de separar y agrupar tareas y conocimientos en los múltiples agentes que confluyen en obra. Su eficacia residirá en la medida en la que sepa preparar las condiciones para la convergencia de todos estos especialistas que concurren en una obra cada vez más compleja. En particular se hace indispensable la participación de la figura de un ingeniero comprometido con el proyecto y al que es capaz de incorporar la complejidad técnica de una forma no sólo compatible sino también activa en su definición. Desde el punto de vista del objeto arquitectónico, del continente, el proyecto entendido como un documento técnico congelado ya no es ni completo ni infalible.El proyecto adquiere otra condición que es la de moldear y formular determinadas hipótesis sobresu uso y su contenido. Se trata de propuestas pioneras en su formulación programática. El proyecto no se limita a organizar y asignar espacios a un programa, sino que en sí, también actúa sobre la organización del edificio. La dificultad que conlleva la determinación unilateral por parte del arquitecto del uso colectivo y social repercutirá en la evolución posterior de la obra. El contenido, por tanto, también se escabulle de las certezas del proyecto. Como fenómeno económico, ya los primeros modernos abandonaron la aspiración de taylorizar la construcción, apostando por una industria semi-prefabricada en la que la relación de la arquitectura con la construcción es de denegación: nace de ella y la necesita para violentarla o llevarla al límite.Se trata de un fenómeno económico de difícil predicción y que genera conflictos en la obra porque la industria de la construcción busca su rentabilidad en la optimización de las soluciones y acude al catálogo para resolver problemas conocidos. La flexibilidad de esta industria para abordar problemas nuevos es casi excepcional y está poco estimulada y así la obra difícilmente se inscribe en una economía de la prescripción, condicionada además por factores de beneficio y velocidad.En definitiva, el análisis comparativo de estos dos ejemplos muestra como, la progresiva complejidad tecnológica, la especialización -que cuenta con un protagonismo activo y renovado dela figura del ingeniero-, la implantación de nuevos programas, la dificultad de anticipar el fenómeno económico de la construcción y la variabilidad de los clientes son algunos de los vectores de incertidumbre que acompañaron el desarrollo de sus respectivos procesos de materialización, en un marco colectivo de la creación arquitectónica y en un contexto público de su trascendencia. Ante esta nueva situación que se genera a partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, la arquitectura y en definitiva los arquitectos, buscan nuevos respuestas. La ópera de Sydney y el Beaubourg de París anuncian caminos de distinto carácter. Ante esta realidad hemos podido adivinar algunos mecanismos al alcance del proyecto y del arquitecto en el estudio de los ejemplos de referencia. El proyecto se fragmenta, adopta geometrías deformables, adquiere un carácter estratégico, anima a la recuperación de espacios de colaboración transversales entre los distintos agentes y fundamentalmente entre arquitectos e ingenieros... Todo ello se hace imprescindible para la coherencia final del objeto arquitectónico. La arquitectura entendida como realidad ya no podrá ser sólo concebida. A partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX deberá ser, además, construida, porque sólo así habrá sido capaz de transformarse, sortear o incorporar las dificultades y posibilidades que han surgido durante su proceso constructivo. El cómo haya sido capaz de atravesar ese tránsito será, al menos, igual de importante para el resultado final que el punto de partida. Si Le Corbusier afirmaba que "l'important c'est le choix", la pérdida de control del proyecto sobre el producto arquitectónico obliga a ampliar esa condición para una arquitectura posible. / After the analysis of the construction of the project by the moderns and its relation with the architectural promise in some of the works built by its masters, the thesis makes a sistematic study of the constuction of the Sydney Opera House and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. From this analysis, we emphasise a whole host of circumstances that give rise to the transformation of the architectural project during its building process. Nevertheless, the existence of points in common and the structural character of some of them allow us to suspect a situation in architecture¾at least in the second half of the 20th century¾in which we might question the project understood as a worthy and complete anticipation of its realisation. The project foregrounds the twin task of separating and grouping assignments and kinds of knowledge in the multiple agents who come together on the building site. Their effectiveness will reside in the extent to which it is known how to establish the right conditions for the convergence of all these specialists. The participation becomes indispensable of the figure of an engineer committed to the project and who is capable of incorporating in the latter the technical complexity of a form not only compatible with, but also active in, its definition. From the point of view of the architectural object, of the container, the project understood as a fixed technical document is no longer either complete or infallible. The project acquires another quality, which is that of shaping and formulating certain hypotheses on its use and its content.The project is not restricted to organising and assigning spaces to a programme but rather it also acts in itself on the organisation of the building. The difficulty that comes with the unilateral fixing on the part of the architect of the collective and social use of the building will have repercussions in its subsequent evolution. The content, then, slips away from the certainties of the project. As an economic phenomenon the first Moderns gave up on their aspiration to Taylorise building work, in backing a semi-prefabricated industry in which the relationship between architecture and building work is one of denial: it is born of it and needs it in order to subject it to violence or take it to the limit. Consequently, this is an economic phenomenon that is difficult to predict and which generates conflict on the building site because the construction industry is after cost-effectiveness in the optimisation of solutions and relies on the catalogue in order to resolve known problems. The flexibility of this industry is all but exceptional and is little encouraged. All this means that notwithstanding attempts at normative and dimensional unification, the building site is hardly inscribed in an economy of prescription.To sum up, comparative analysis of these two examples shows how progressive technological complexity, specialisation (which relies on the active and renewed role of the figure of the engineer), the implantation of new programmes, the difficulty of anticipating the economic phenomenon of the construction work and the variability of clients are some of the vectors of uncertainty which accompanied the evolution of their respective processes of materialisation, in a collective framework of architectural creation and in a governmental context of their importance. Faced with this new situation, which is generated during the second half of the 20th century, architecture and finally architects look for new responses. The Sydney Opera House and the Beaubourg in Paris announce paths of a different kind. In the presence of this reality we have been able to intuit some mechanisms within reach of the project and of the architect in the study of the reference materials. The project fragments, adopts deformable geometries, acquires a strategic quality and encourages the reclaiming of spaces of transversal collaboration between the different agents, chiefly between architects and engineers... All this turns out to be essential to the final coherence of the architectural object.The architecture as reality will no longer be able to be just conceived. From the second half of the 20th century onwards it will have to be, moreover, built, because only thus will it be capable of transforming itself, getting round or incorporating the difficulties and possibilities that have arisen during its building process. The reasons for it being capable of making that changeover will be at least as important for the final result as the point of departure. If Le Corbusier stated that "l'important c'est le choix," the loss of project control over the architectural product obliges that condition to be extended for a possible architecture.

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Science. / The suitability of the Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea commercialis) as a monitor of heavy metal contamination in estuarine and coastal waters was assessed. Case study I examined the influence of body size (ie: soft tissue dry weight) on the tissue concentrations of Cu, Zn, and Fe. Sampling was replicated both spatially and temporally in order to determine whether the size-metal relationship for these elements varied with geographical location (ie: differing levels of environmental contamination) or season. All oysters were collected from 'wild' populations in the HawkesburyfNepean estuary. Least-squares regression analysis indicated that Cu concentrations were independent of body size at all times. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that this relationship did not change with either geographical location or season. Size-metal relalionships for Zn indicated that concentrations for this element varied from being independent of size to being size-dependent with proportionally greater concentrations present in the larger individuals. Yet lests for homogeneily of slopes (ANCOVA) showed that no differences in regression coefficients occurred with geographical location or season. Iron concentrations were size-dependent with proportionally greater concentrations in the smaller individuals. ANCOVA revealed that homogeneity of slopes with geographical location occurred only on two of the four sampling occasions. Further examination of data revealed that the size·range of the individuals sampled may be important in determining size-metal relationship for iron. Case Study II examined the concentrations of Cu and Zn in S. commercialis deployed into the Georges River/Botany Bay and the Port Stephens estuaries. The influence of tissue assimilation/loss on metal concenlralions was also examined. Organisms of a homogenous genetic stock, of a similar size and age, and transplanted to a similar lidal height were utilized. As all organisms were of a similar size and age at the time of their deployment any differences in size during sampling were attributed to growth. Results indicated that tissue loss (ie: 'degrowth') not accompanied by a similar loss of metal resulted in an increase in metal concentrations. The assimilation of new tissue at a greater rate than metal accumulation (ie: 'dilution') resulted in decreased metal concentrations. From these relationships it was apparent that measures must be taken to reduce, account for, or eliminate the effects of growth in bivalve monitoring programs. Unless this problem is addressed, metal concentration values in S. commercialis are likely to give an inaccurate estimation of the level of environmenlal contamination and confound attempts to isolate pollution point sources.

Purpose: To study ???on??? and ???off-axis??? wavefront aberration of eyes of children and to determine the relationship with refractive error development. Methods: On and off-axis ocular aberrations of cyclopleged eyes of children (mostly 12 year olds) were measured and compared to data obtained from a group of mostly 6 year old children. Only data from the right eyes were analysed (pupil diameter=5 mm) and categorised into refractive error groups based on ???M???. Differences in ???on??? and ???off-axis??? aberrations between refractive and ethnic groups were analysed using univariate and multivariate analyses of variance with adjustment for multiple comparisons. Off-axis refraction was analysed using skiagrams and mean relative spherical equivalent. Results: Data from 1,636 12 year old children (mean age 12.6 ?? 0.4 years) was analysed. Lower order aberrations were the largest and higher order aberrations contributed to only 25% of the wavefront. There were no differences in the amount of total higher orders between refractive groups. Of the individual higher orders, spherical aberration was greater in hyperopic eyes (0.07 ?? 0.06 ??m) in comparison to emmetropic and myopic eyes (0.05 ?? 0.04 ??m and 0.05 ?? 0.04 ??m) (p<0.001). Myopic eyes had more positive values of Z(3,-1) (p<0.05). Similar results were obtained for the 1,364 6 year old children (mean age 6.7 ??? 0.4 years). Despite East Asian children being more myopic than other ethnic groups (p<0.01), there were no differences in higher orders except for low hyperopic East Asian eyes presenting with higher levels of positive spherical aberrations (p<0.001). When compared to the fovea, off-axis myopic eyes had hyperopia (0.55 to 1.66 D) and emmetropes and hyperopes had myopia (0.10 to -2.00 D). Astigmatism and defocus were the dominant off-axis aberrations. The magnitude of higher order aberrations (mostly 3rd orders) increased with eccentricity but was similar across refractive error groups. Conclusions: Myopic eyes do not have abnormal or excessive levels of on and off-axis higher order aberrations but had patterns of off-axis refraction that may be associated with progression. Considerable inter-subject variability in higher order aberrations was seen for all refractive groups. However, their magnitude was small and suggests that any impact on the optical quality of the eye is negligible.

In this thesis three independent studies of tidal dynamics have been pesented. The first is an analytical study of continental shelf tides forced at the ocean boundary. Earlier studies have shown that the response for a sloping shelf and a flat shelf differ and that the response for a flat shelf changes when tides are incident at an angle. Other studies considered a sloping shelf but they did not take into account a possible non-zero depth at a coastal wall. This study shows that the effects of a sloping shelf, a coastal wall and obliquely incident tides an all significantly modify the response on the shelf. The modification increases with the width of the shelf, and in a wide shelf scenario, near resonance, it greatly modifies the response. Secondly, the Princeton Ocean Model in barotropic mode along with a tracer transport module has been used to study the tides of Sydney Harbour. The tidally induced residual circulation due to the semi-diurnal tide consists of a series of recirculating gyres which are due to the interaction of flow with topography. This study shows that in the harbour it is the Lagrangian residual velocity not the Eulerian residual velocity which determines the net transport of material over a tidal cycle. In addition, the flushing time of the harbour varies significantly in space, and the tidal mixing is restricted in the vicinity of the entrance. The third is a theoretical study of forced oscillations in a rotating, flat-bottomed, circular basin. This study shows that the direction of propagation of waves in a basin depends on the ratio of its radius to depth. At each latitude there is a critical value of this ratio and this value decreases with increase in latitude. Beyond this value, waves start to propagate around the basin in the opposite direction to the earth ???s rotation (clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere).The presence of friction increases this critical value which shows that friction plays an important role in determining the response.

The Problem: Novel community-acquired, non-multiresistant strains of oxacillin- (methicillin-) resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA) have emerged in many parts of the globe. Little is known of the clinical features, the epidemiology, and the antibiotic treatment of these strains. Materials and Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on patients presenting to Emergency Departments or Dermatology Clinics with staphylococcal infections. Patients were stratified into three groups, non-multiresistant ORSA (NORSA), multiresistant ORSA (MORSA) and oxacillin-susceptible S. aureus, and clinical comparisons made. Strains of NORSA and MORSA were typed using antibiograms, phage typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Antimicrobial studies were performed to compare different methods of detecting resistance to oxacillin and to non-beta-lactams. Time-kill studies were performed with one drug to explore killing kinetics. The interaction between drug combinations was examined using disk approximation and time-kill methodologies. A single point pharmacodynamic analysis was performed. Results: There was an increase in infections with NORSA, MORSA and OSSA. NORSA strains appeared to be more virulent than OSSA and MORSA strains. NORSA was strongly associated with skin and soft tissue infections and with Polynesians. Most of the NORSA strains were related to New Zealand ????Western Samoan Phage Pattern???? (WSPP) isolates, and unrelated to community-acquired, non-multiresistant MRSA strains from Western Australia. Two patients were found to have British EMRSA-15 strains. NORSA strains were unrelated to MORSA strains. Resistance to rifampicin, fusidic acid, ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim emerged in the time-kill assays. Combinations of antibiotics, particularly with ciprofloxacin, often showed antagonism. Gentamicin, fusidic acid, clindamycin, teicoplanin, vancomycin, and linezolid were predicted to perform well. Ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, doxycycline, flucloxacillin and quinupristin/dalfopristin were predicted to fail. Conclusions: WSPP strains of New Zealand and EMRSA-15 strains from Britain exist in South Western Sydney. These organisms are virulent, and increasing in incidence in several areas of Australia. Antimicrobial treatment of infections with these strains is problematic and requires further study.

This thesis argues that the significance of apartments in Sydney's urban history has not been recognised due to a cultural resistance to apartment living. This lack of acknowledgement has masked the urban, social and architectural impact of the apartment building type in Sydney's history. As an interdisciplinary reading of the development of the purpose-built apartment building in Sydney since its inception in 1900, the thesis is premised on a desire to use the apartment building as a vehicle to tell an alternative housing history to the more commonly told one of house and garden. In the process, it provides a different story of the city's development through the lens of the apartment building and challenges cultural prejudices against apartment living. The research documents the growth and changes of apartments, tracking their location, diversity of type and scale across the Sydney metropolitan region. The research analyses prototypical and generic apartment buildings in the context of the city's history. Drawing on the intersection of eras and themes as a method of critical inquiry, the thesis covers aspects of domestic debates, market, regulation, scale, demography, geography distribution, design and typology, traversing a time period of 1900 to 2008. The thesis explores the debates for and against apartment living in Sydney, emphasising the roles played by apartments in the broader discourses of Australian cultural and design history. The thesis concludes that after more than a century, the debates between apartment and cottage living continue to rage. In systematically providing a trajectory for the history of apartments from ideology to typology, this thesis establishes a place for apartments in Sydney's urban and cultural history; and simultaneously provides a deeper historical context to assist the process of better understanding and responding to the contemporary debate about high-density living and its consequences for the life of the city. Despite the size of its largely undocumented subject, this thesis demonstrates the effectiveness of its rationale: to use analysis of a specific, controversial building type to provide new insights into Sydney's urban history, ideologies and built forms.

In this thesis three independent studies of tidal dynamics have been pesented. The first is an analytical study of continental shelf tides forced at the ocean boundary. Earlier studies have shown that the response for a sloping shelf and a flat shelf differ and that the response for a flat shelf changes when tides are incident at an angle. Other studies considered a sloping shelf but they did not take into account a possible non-zero depth at a coastal wall. This study shows that the effects of a sloping shelf, a coastal wall and obliquely incident tides an all significantly modify the response on the shelf. The modification increases with the width of the shelf, and in a wide shelf scenario, near resonance, it greatly modifies the response. Secondly, the Princeton Ocean Model in barotropic mode along with a tracer transport module has been used to study the tides of Sydney Harbour. The tidally induced residual circulation due to the semi-diurnal tide consists of a series of recirculating gyres which are due to the interaction of flow with topography. This study shows that in the harbour it is the Lagrangian residual velocity not the Eulerian residual velocity which determines the net transport of material over a tidal cycle. In addition, the flushing time of the harbour varies significantly in space, and the tidal mixing is restricted in the vicinity of the entrance. The third is a theoretical study of forced oscillations in a rotating, flat-bottomed, circular basin. This study shows that the direction of propagation of waves in a basin depends on the ratio of its radius to depth. At each latitude there is a critical value of this ratio and this value decreases with increase in latitude. Beyond this value, waves start to propagate around the basin in the opposite direction to the earth ???s rotation (clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere).The presence of friction increases this critical value which shows that friction plays an important role in determining the response.

The Aboriginal settlement known as ‘The Block’, Aboriginal Redfern or Eveleigh Street, forms an Aboriginal neighbourhood in inner Sydney. Since its deliberate and largely unexpected formalisation in 1973, this urban Aboriginal presence continues to unsettle the largely non-Aboriginal community that surrounds it and geographically binds it in place. The Block was founded as the ‘Black Capital of Australia’ and stakes a claim in the heart of Australia’s first and most prominent city, Sydney. The ‘return’ of Aboriginality, however, to a place from which it had been banished, remains a (post)colonial paradox.

This thesis argues that the significance of apartments in Sydney's urban history has not been recognised due to a cultural resistance to apartment living. This lack of acknowledgement has masked the urban, social and architectural impact of the apartment building type in Sydney's history. As an interdisciplinary reading of the development of the purpose-built apartment building in Sydney since its inception in 1900, the thesis is premised on a desire to use the apartment building as a vehicle to tell an alternative housing history to the more commonly told one of house and garden. In the process, it provides a different story of the city's development through the lens of the apartment building and challenges cultural prejudices against apartment living. The research documents the growth and changes of apartments, tracking their location, diversity of type and scale across the Sydney metropolitan region. The research analyses prototypical and generic apartment buildings in the context of the city's history. Drawing on the intersection of eras and themes as a method of critical inquiry, the thesis covers aspects of domestic debates, market, regulation, scale, demography, geography distribution, design and typology, traversing a time period of 1900 to 2008. The thesis explores the debates for and against apartment living in Sydney, emphasising the roles played by apartments in the broader discourses of Australian cultural and design history. The thesis concludes that after more than a century, the debates between apartment and cottage living continue to rage. In systematically providing a trajectory for the history of apartments from ideology to typology, this thesis establishes a place for apartments in Sydney's urban and cultural history; and simultaneously provides a deeper historical context to assist the process of better understanding and responding to the contemporary debate about high-density living and its consequences for the life of the city. Despite the size of its largely undocumented subject, this thesis demonstrates the effectiveness of its rationale: to use analysis of a specific, controversial building type to provide new insights into Sydney's urban history, ideologies and built forms.