SeaCities Lab

Joerg Baumeister is the Founder and Director of the SeaCities Lab at Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus. As a world-first, highly interdisciplinary initiative, the lab leverages synergies across established fields such as architecture and urban design, urban planning, marine biology and engineering, tourism, and data science.

The Team of the SeaCities Lab explores the Innovation Potential of Water in Shaping Future Urbanism, with a focus on Climate Adaptation - addressing flooding, heatwaves, and storms - as well as marine energy and food resources. Its goal is to integrate aquatic ecosystems into urban planning, creating more Resilient Cities.

For a quick overview of our projects, visit our Floating Exhibition!


For Systematic Innovation Processes that don’t rely on sudden inspiration, Joerg Baumeister developed the Brain Kit. By combining lateral and linear thinking, it generates and implements innovations almost automatically, as demonstrated by numerous publications and patents. Please explore the different thinking methods here.

The Brain Kit (K1): Ecological Thinking is a method that Links the Urban Elements with the Natural Elements allowing an ecological shift from consumption-driven and to clean and productive cities.


The Brain Kit (K2): Systems Thinking is a holistic approach to problem-solving that considers the Interconnections, Relationships, and Dynamics within the urban system rather than focusing on isolated parts.


The Brain Kit (K3): Innovative Thinking systematically applies different Processes to rethink existing solutions and Generate Novel Ideas.


The Brain Kit (K4): Creative Thinking is a problem-solving technique that involves approaching Challenges in Lateral, Unconventional Directions, outside the usual patterns, in contrast to linear thinking.

The Brain Kit (K5): Interdisciplinary Thinking works by integrating Knowledge, Methods, and Perspectives from Multiple Disciplines to address complex problems and create innovative solutions.


The Brain Kit (K6): Strategic Thinking utilises Existing Knowledge of Various Tactics from Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Clausewitz's On War, Machiavelli's Il Principe and others to achieve goals effectively.


The Brain Kit (K7): Process Thinking structures the innovation process as a logical sequence of Interconnected Steps and Feedback Loops to enhance efficiency and outcomes.


The Brain Kit (K1-K7): Please contact us if you are interested in more information, workshops, presentations, or consultations to Enhance the Innovation Capability of your Institution.

Patents

Joerg Baumeister holds Patents like DP 10 2005 029 728 for intelligent urban Infrastructure, EP4061698 / WO 2021099093 for a method stabilising floating bodies (with J.-M. Herrewyn), PCT/AU2022/050783 for an off-shore aquaculture system (with CRC Blue Economy / C. M. Wang) which is pending, and several Design Patents.

Videos

SeaCities Lab Floating Exhibition by J. Baumeister and M. Ziarmal (2024). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZOVpKOjeNo

SeaWatt 1000: The Clean Cheap Energy Solution on the Horizon by J. Baumeister and M. Ziarmal (2024). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBC4o87EpCM&t=1

Knutsford Street: Imagine that a Street could be more than a Street....Instead a Park like no other by J. Baumeister & J. Bolleter (Directors) and I. Hengstler (2016). https://youtu.be/Is-bmDi1ck4

Housing +. Modular. Serial. Affordable by J. Baumeister & D. A. Ottmann (Directors) and I. Hengstler (2016). https://youtu.be/CvWHFPv8Qak

Publications

- Journal Article 2026 (not published yet):
H. Karampour, L. Gyang, I. Underhill, H. Zang, C.M. Wang, Y. Chu, J. Baumeister; Beyond pipelines: Experimental testing and constitutive modelling of HDPE for offshore structural application, in: Proc. 45th Int. Conf. Ocean Offshore Arct. Eng. (OMAE 2026), June 7-12, Tokyo, Japan, 2026.

- Book 2025:

Baumeister, J., Ottmann, D., with He, S., Yan, Z. (2025). Urban Ecolution: Systemic Solutions for Net-Zero, Resilient, and Ecologically Integrated Cities. 2. Edition in English and Mandarin Chinese. Zenodo. https://zenodo.org/records/14625604

 

- Book 2025:

Baumeister, J., Giurgiu, I., Ottmann, D. (2025). At the edge of the Sea: The evolution of Amphibious Concepts. Springer CRI Series. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-96-0357-2

 

- Book Chapter 2025: 

Baumeister, J. (2025). Predicting Geostrategic Developments and Conflicts in the High Seas. In: At the edge of the Sea: The evolution of Amphibious Concepts. Springer CRI Series. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-96-0357-2_2