Paul Matthew

Dr Paul Matthew serves as the Program Convenor for the Master of Architecture and Lecturer in Design (Built Environment) in the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Queensland. His academic background includes a PhD awarded in 2021 by the School of Architecture at the University of Queensland, with his thesis titled "Midlife crisis: reducing life cycle energy use in Brisbane's older apartment towers," which examined strategies to lower energy use in existing urban apartment structures. Matthew's research centers on building performance and energy efficiency, sustainable retrofitting of older apartment buildings to achieve net zero energy and climate resilience, life cycle analysis of building materials for urban redevelopment, and housing design that supports health amid climate change, particularly for remote Indigenous communities in semi-arid Australia.

Matthew's key publications include the journal article "Housing design for health in a changing climate for remote Indigenous communities in semi-arid Australia" published in Architecture (2024), co-authored with Memmott et al. He has presented conference papers such as "Assessing and mitigating the impact of climate change on the energy efficiency of cavity brick apartment buildings" (2025, with Desai), "Life cycle analysis of building materials as a tool in decision making for urban redevelopment" (2022), "Upcycling Australia's older apartment buildings" (2018), "Midlife Crisis: Retrofitting Australia's older apartment buildings for the changing climate" (2017, with Leardini), and "Towards net zero energy for older apartment buildings in Brisbane" (2017, with Leardini). Additional contributions encompass research reports including "Building performance and energy efficiency monitoring" (2025, with Leardini and Snow) and "Bethany Nursing Home: Adaptive Reuse Design Report" (2024, with Watson and Skinner), as well as participation in the creative panel discussion "Building tomorrow: a panel discussion on the future of architecture" (2024). He is involved in the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub to Advance Timber for Australia's Future Built Environment (2023-2028) and acts as associate advisor for a PhD on valuing environmental sustainability in Southeast Queensland housing. His work contributes to advancements in circular economy practices and sustainable architecture.

Professional Email: paul.matthew@uq.edu.au