01 CASE STUDY OVERVIEW
Transforming a legacy platform into a modern knowledge hub
The Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc) is Australia’s flagship industry–government–research collaboration, connecting government agencies, private enterprise and universities to deliver applied research that shapes the future of the built environment. With more than 30 years of research outputs spanning housing, infrastructure, digital transformation and sustainability, SBEnrc plays a critical role in informing policy, industry practice and academic research.
Clue partnered with SBEnrc to redesign and rebuild its website, transforming a fragmented legacy platform into a modern, scalable research hub that makes decades of knowledge easy to find, explore and use. Built on Clue’s expertise in web design and development, the new platform was designed to support long-term growth, accessibility and research discoverability.
Client
SBENRC
Industry
Research & Infrastructure
Expertise
- Web & Experiences
Year of Completion
2026
Website
sbenrc.com.au
02 The Challenge
Decades of research, buried in plain sight
SBEnrc’s existing digital ecosystem no longer reflected the scale, credibility or importance of the organisation’s work. Research content was split across two separate websites, with more than 30 years of historical research housed across the platforms.
This fragmentation created significant challenges for users. Government stakeholders, industry partners and academic researchers struggled to locate relevant projects due to unreliable search functionality, limited filtering options and inconsistent project layouts. Valuable research outputs were difficult to surface, and the static, outdated CRC site posed long-term risks around accessibility, security and preservation.
With a trusted and well-established brand already in place, SBEnrc did not need a visual overhaul for its own sake. Instead, the challenge was to design a digital platform that could consolidate decades of research, dramatically improve discoverability and clearly communicate the organisation’s national significance and collaborative reach.
03 Our Approach
Designing clarity for complexity
Clue approached the project as a large-scale information design and systems challenge, not simply a website refresh.
We began with collaborative discovery and planning workshops to align on objectives, audiences and success measures. From there, we focused on rebuilding the foundations of the site through a robust information architecture that could support growth, complexity and long-term value.
At the core of the solution was a unified, database-driven research platform built in WordPress using Advanced Custom Fields. This allowed all research projects, reports and legacy CRC content to live within a single system, structured consistently and designed to scale.
To make research genuinely discoverable, we designed and implemented an advanced filtering and search experience. Users can now explore projects by sector, type, year, status, strategic themes, outcome themes and partner organisations. This multi-layered filtering gives different audiences multiple pathways to find exactly what they are looking for, whether they are policymakers searching for housing research, academics exploring sustainability themes or industry partners reviewing completed projects.
Consistent project templates were introduced to standardise how research is presented across fact sheets, reports, videos and related outputs. Each project page surfaces key information clearly, links related projects and highlights partner contributions, reinforcing the collaborative nature of SBEnrc’s work.
Alongside the research system, we modernised the visual design and user experience to better reflect SBEnrc’s role as a national leader in the built environment sector. The new interface is clean, confident and contemporary, better expressing SBEnrc’s brand while allowing complex information to be consumed easily across desktop and mobile.
04 The Outcome
A platform that reflects the scale of the work
The new SBEnrc website replaces a fragmented, hard-to-navigate legacy platform with a single, cohesive digital home for Australian built environment research.
Decades of CRC and SBEnrc research are now preserved, searchable and accessible through one unified system. Advanced filtering and structured content allow users to quickly locate relevant projects, dramatically improving usability for government, industry and academic audiences alike.
The modernised design now clearly communicates the scale, authority and impact of SBEnrc’s work, positioning the organisation as a major national player with a digital presence that matches its influence. Beneath the surface, the database-driven architecture provides a future-ready foundation for ongoing research programs. Integrated analytics now give the organisation visibility into how research is accessed and used, supporting reporting, stakeholder engagement and long-term strategic decision-making.
By turning complex, dispersed content into a clear and navigable digital platform, Clue helped SBEnrc unlock the full value of its research and ensure it remains visible, credible and impactful for years to come.
