Dr Douglas Brown’s PhD commenced with the Bushfire CRC and was completed in 2018, exploring householders’ perceptions of bushfire risk and whether perceptions change when different building materials or design and architectural features are applied. His research investigated if these factors increase or decrease risk perception, or whether other factors, such as proximity to bushland, change the perception of fire risk.Douglas examined which parts of their house residents might consider safer and most vulnerable during a bushfire and why.
In order to investigate how particular aspects of the construction of a house influences residents’ expectations of its performance during a bushfire, residents were asked which architecture, construction or design attributes they might expect to improve the performance of a house during a bushfire.
Douglas is a regular contributor to The Conversation, runs his own consultancy, Bushfire Architecture, and teaches in the bushfire protection and construction management courses at Western Sydney University.
Blog posts on Views & Visions
| Post | Date | Key Topics |
|---|---|---|
| 12 simple ways you can reduce bushfire risk to older homes | 06 Dec 2019 | emergency management, fire impacts, fire severity |
| Building for bushfire examples | 09 Feb 2016 | engineering, fire impacts, infrastructure |
Student project
Doulgas Brown completed his PhD in 2018 with the University of Sydney.
This study commenced with the Bushfire CRC and explored householders’ perceptions of bushfire risk and whether perceptions change when different building materials or design and architectural features are applied. The research investigated if these factors increase or decrease risk perception, or whether other factors, such as proximity to bushland, change the perception of fire risk.
Resources credited
Type |
Released | Title | Download | Key Topics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation-Slideshow | 10 Apr 2015 | Architecture, Design and Planning 2015 NSW RAF Presentation |
 Save (155.99 KB) |
planning |
| Presentation-Slideshow | 24 Apr 2015 | Bushfire risk perception: a study of the perceived vulnerability of domestic architecture in bushfire prone areas |
Save (1.69 MB) |
communities, fire, risk analysis |
| Presentation-Slideshow | 24 Apr 2015 | How do residents in bushfire prone areas view the risk of their homes? |
Save (2.1 MB) |
communities, fire, risk analysis |
| Presentation-Audio-Video | 15 Sep 2015 | Douglas Brown - bushfire risk perception and sheltering in a house |
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communication, decision making, guidelines |
