Dr Gillian Lawson
This person does not currently hold a position at QUT.
Personal details
Keywords
Chinese Landscapes, Ecological Landscape Planning & Design, Environmental Education & Knowledge Choices, Landscape Architecture, Local Community Spaces & Public Well-Being, Social Discourse & Cultural Exchange, Water Sensitive Landscape Design
Research field
Architecture, Sociology, Urban and Regional Planning
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (Queensland University of Technology)
- MSc(Agr) (University of Sydney)
- GDipLandArch (Queensland University of Technology)
- Graduate Certificate in Education (Higher Education) (Queensland University of Technology)
- BSc(Agr)(Hons) (University of New England)
Professional memberships and associations
- Australian Institute of Landscape Architects - Registered Landscape Architect (RLA) (1998 - present)
- International Sociological Association - Member (2010 - present)
- Australian Institute of Horticulture - Member (2011 - 2016)
- Australian Society for Horticultural Science - Member (1984 - 1993)
Australian Society for Horticultural Science
Teaching
- Landscape Design Studio 8
- Landscape Design Studio 7
- Research Methods
- Work Integrated Learning Study Project in Vietnam
- Work Integrated Learning in Internships
- Landscape Planning & Policy
- Geographical Information Systems
- Landscape Management
- People and Environment
- Landscape Ecology and Physical Geography
- Plant Ecology and Planting Design
- Environmental Design
- Professional Skills
- Computer Skills
- Sustainable Development in China
- Synthetic Environments
- Horticultural Skills
In Landscape Design 7 and 8, Dr Lawson’s teaching in the final year of landscape architecture is focused on complex problem-based learning in multi-scalar landscapes. She encourages her 4th year students to:
- identify a problem or challenge facing a local community,
- study and apply past and contemporary theoretical concepts to planning and design,
- consider making landscape changes from various environmental and social perspectives.
In Research Methods, her students are encouraged to:
- integrate data collection, analysis and interpretation with their design work,
- identify and use other research studies to inform their work and
- improve their design outcomes through an evidence-based approach.
In the Work Integrated Learning units, she looks for opportunities in our everyday world for students to apply their knowledge, skills and leadership to culturally-driven planning and design, particularly in landscape architecture. This may be through immersion, practice or research in the culture of a different workplace, community, city or region of the world.
Publications
- Lawson, G., Cushing, D. & Taborda, C. (2017). Motivations of young people to study landscape architecture. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Urban Design and Planning, 170(1), 23–30. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/98912
- Yang, C., Sim, J. & Lawson, G. (2016). Deciphering historic landscapes: A case study of Slender West Lake in Yangzhou, China. Landscape Research, 41(1), 95–112. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/82774
- Ly, P. & Lawson, G. (2016). Die Raumorganisation im vietnamesischen Wohnungsbau (Socio-cultural organisation of living spaces in pre- and post-reform Vietnamese housing). Archplus, 226, 132–135. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/102420
- Lawson, G., (2016). The power of design in flood-prone communities. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/102416
- Renata, A., Lawson, G., Cushing, D. & Menzies, D. (2015). Indigenous cultural landscapes: equitably defining the 'authenticity' of the intangible. Sharing Cultures 2015 - Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Intangible Heritage, 365–371. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/92711
- Lawson, G., (2013). A rhetorical study of in-flight real estate advertisements as a potential site of ethical transformation in Chinese cities. Cities, 31, 85–95. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/53711
- Stav, Y. & Lawson, G. (2012). Vertical vegetation design decisions and their impact on energy consumption in subtropical cities. The Sustainable City VII : Urban Regeneration and Sustainability [WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Volume 155], 489–500. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/52702
- Luo, T. & Lawson, G. (2011). An investigation of unique challenges in national historic relics and scenic sites (NHRSSs) in Chinese research literature 1982-2008 using co-word analysis. Journal of Tourism and Leisure Studies, 17(2), 293–314. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/47426
- Lawson, G., (2010). Changing pedagogic codes in a class of landscape architects learning 'ecologically sustainable development'. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 31(2), 199–216. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/37704
- Zhang, W. & Lawson, G. (2009). Meeting and greeting: activities in public outdoor spaces outside high-density urban residential communities. Urban Design International, 14(4), 207–214. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/33072
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Gillian, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Assessor, Examiner or Supervisor Role
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Invited Examiner for PhD Thesis in Architecture at University of Auckland, NZ on a project titled "Green Infrastructure and Urban LIveability: Measuring Accessibility and Equity in Auckland"
- Type
- Membership of Review Panels on Prestigious Grant Applications
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Peer reviewer for ARC Discovery Grant 2016 on a project titled "Planning urban futures using complex adaptive systems"
- Type
- Reviewer for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Invited reviewer for the top ranked international journal Landscape Research on an article titled "Hidden from the Wind and Enjoying the Water (藏风得水): Fengshui and the Shaping of Dong Villages in Southwestern China".
- Type
- Appointment to State/National/International Reference Group or Government Committees
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- Invited representative for QUT on the National Education Committee (NEC) of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) reporting to National Council on matters of higher education and research.
- Type
- Assessor, Examiner or Supervisor Role
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- Assessor of 6 packages for ERA2015
- Type
- Membership of Review Panels on Prestigious Grant Applications
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- Peer reviewer for the ARC Linkage Award 2015 on a project titled "Transforming derelict mine sites via collaborative partnerships"
- Type
- Reviewer for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- Invited Reviewer for the top ranked international journal Landscape Research for an article titled "Vernacular landscape in the Chinese ancient painting ¿The Dwelling in Fuchun Mountain¿:Reflections on human-environment coevolution in the Fuchun River Basin."
- Type
- Membership of Review Panels on Prestigious Grant Applications
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- Peer reviewer for an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2014 titled "Water Sensitive Urban Design: Post-implementation landscape sustainability assessment in new residential developments in South Australia"
- Type
- Membership of Review Panels on Prestigious Grant Applications
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- Peer reviewer for an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2014 "Every square metre: Exploring the potential of remnant public open space in greyfield suburbs to perform ecosystem services"
- Type
- Membership of Review Panels on Prestigious Grant Applications
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- Peer reviewer for an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2014 titled "Journey to paradise: a strategy for the development of a holistic design-methodology aimed at transforming degraded landscapes."
Selected research projects
- Title
- Design and architecture practice research: contemporary PhD (DAP_r)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- ID15-4972
- Start year
- 2015
- Keywords
- Practice Based Research; Embedded Industry Research; Studio Pedagogy; Design; Architecture; PhD Training; Higher degree; SME; Small to Medium Enterprise
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Measuring Visual Attributes for Assessing Visual Conflicts in Urban Environments (2017)
- Respecting Nature: The Centrality of Village Life in Jiangxi Province, South East China (2017)
- Transfunctional Living Walls-Designing Living Walls for Environmental and Social Benefits (2016)
- Deltaic Urbanism for living with flooding in Southern Vietnam (2015)
- Representation and Authenticity of Historic Landscapes in Australia and China (2015)
- Territoriality and the Regulation of Public Space in Favela Morro da Formiga, Rio de Janeiro (2015)
- The role of aesthetic style in the visual communication of climate change (2015)
- A critical regionalist approach to housing design in Vietnam: Socio-environmental organisation of living spaces in pre- and post-reform houses (2012)