Leading an Australia–Malaysia partnership on tropical building performance

As University of Malaya Principal Investigator, Professor Amir led an international team supported by the competitive IRU–MRUN Collaborative Research Programme.

At a glance

Role: University of Malaya Principal Investigator and international team lead
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Darwin, Australia
Host: University of Malaya
Programme: IRU–MRUN Collaborative Research Programme
Grant: Research University Grant RU025-2015
Period: 2015–2017
Australian partner: Charles Darwin University
Australian Principal Investigator: Jeremy Trombley, Charles Darwin University
Collaborators: Edward Halawa, Ali Ghaffarianhoseini and colleagues across the international team
Project title: Enhancing the Energy Performance of Building Envelopes in Hot and Humid Climates of Darwin (Australia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

2Grant-supported journal papers

2Partner universities

The story

International leadership through competitive research funding

While at the University of Malaya, Professor Amir Ghaffarianhoseini secured funding through the competitive IRU–MRUN Collaborative Research Programme and served as Principal Investigator and lead of a large international team. The 2015–2017 project connected the University of Malaya with Charles Darwin University to address a shared architectural challenge: improving building-envelope energy performance in hot and humid climates.

A partnership across two research networks

The programme brought together Australia’s Innovative Research Universities (IRU) and the Malaysia Research University Network (MRUN). Amir led the University of Malaya side, working with Australian Principal Investigator Jeremy Trombley at Charles Darwin University, Edward Halawa and an international group of collaborators, including Ali Ghaffarianhoseini. The partnership connected complementary expertise and the climatic contexts of Kuala Lumpur and Darwin.

Building envelopes as a strategic design question

The project examined how façade and envelope design could improve energy performance and indoor comfort in tropical buildings. It connected architectural decisions with building physics, passive design and the practical demands of hot, humid cities, drawing lessons between Malaysia and northern Australia.

Two publications in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

The grant supported two peer-reviewed papers in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Exploring the advantages and challenges of double-skin façades (DSFs), published in 2016, examined design configurations, construction characteristics and implications for energy and thermal performance. A review on energy conscious designs of building façades in hot and humid climates: Lessons for (and from) Kuala Lumpur and Darwin, published in 2018, synthesised façade design knowledge across the two tropical contexts. Both papers explicitly acknowledge IRU–MRUN grant RU025-2015.

Evidence