Sydney, NSW
The traditional idea of achieving the Australian Dream is to own a house in a suburb, with space more than one needs. The mortgage of a typical suburban house will take up approximately 30% of a person’s income for 30 years. Then one starts purchasing items for the house they own and pays for regular maintenance. To rethink the Dream, the ‘lifestyle’ or ‘way of living’ has to be redesgined. In this new model of suburban living, the ownership of a house unit is no longer the deal. Embracing the nostalgia of productive small towns and villages, the sharing spirit found in communities like the Kibbutz: one lets go of the typical housing ownership and owns only space that is needed for private activities while sharing spaces and items communally. In return, the Village offers an inclusive lifestyle of establishing new human connections and interactions in an active, healthy and nature-oriented environment, with opportunities for small-scale economic production. Overall well-being of the inhabitant living in a well-rounded and balanced habitat.
‘One House, Many Rooms’
33°57’40.5”S
Botany Bay/La Perouse
Located in Matraville, in the Eastern Suburbs area of Sydney, New South Wales, the Village sits in a typical middleclass suburb surrounding most parts of the ever developing city centre. Being 10km away from the Central Business District, one who earn his keep in the CBD would usually own a car or hop on public transport. While car ownership is not encouraged, public transport is easily accessible and car sharing system within the Village community can be easily adopted.
151°14’07.1”E
In the Local Environment Plan from the Randwick council, the eastern part of the site was planned for low density residentail while the west was planned for public recreation. In the planning of the Village, the designed tried to keep most residential buildings on the east and recreation and community zones on the west. However, it is a deliberate move to disperse community hubs around the site to emphasize the value of social interaction.
Masterplan The village’s masterplan features on site housing, caravan parks, communal zones, commericial zones, gardening, leisure and farming areas. Housing that is human-scaled with a focus on streets, with communal areas a stone throw away encourages more ground plane, horizontal movement and activity. Housing with little focus on boundaries or ‘personal land’ also breaks the mental barrier of ownership. In this cooperative housing scheme, the inhabitant owns only a room, while paying a nominal fee and being personally involved in the upkeep of the village. A housing unit, Type A and Type B, is essentially one big house, with many rooms. Modular in construction, both Type A and Type B units will save time and cost by prefabrication.
Hubs
House Types A & B Caravan Park Commercial / communal
Primary vehicular access
Site dimensions
North & North-East oriented houses
Secondary vehicular + pedestrian access
Randwick council LEP Inner green spaces
Streets
Site Section // House Type A
Site Section // House Type A
Site Section // House Type B
Type A House Type A features a single storey ‘base’ with both communal areas of a house and bedrooms. Three ‘cabins’ of individual rooms sits on top the main ‘base’. Up to 15 people can be living in one Type A house.
Elevation
Rooms Shared - indoors Shared - exterior Service
Exploded Axo
Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
Long Section
Type B House Type B consists of three sub-categories. All 3 are similar, only differing in the number of occupants it can accomodate. B1 houses 8 people B2 houses 12 people, and B3 houses 16 people. The double storey module feaures communal features at the ground floor, and two bedrooms above. The single storey ‘cabins’ serves as an bedroomonly extension module to the main double storey module.
Elevation
Street Layout
Rooms Shared - indoors Shared - exterior Service
Type B1 Ground Floor Plan
Type B2 Ground Floor Plan
Type B3 Ground Floor Plan
Type B1 First Floor Plan
Type B2 First Floor Plan
Type B3 First Floor Plan
Small Module Section
Main Module Section
Connected modules Section
Exploded Axo
Exploded Axo
Detail Section + Construction Details The construction of the houses are based on the concept of modules. Parts are assembled and prefabricated in a factory, flatpacked, and then delivered to site for final assembly. The walls, roof and first floor are constructed using Structural Insulated Panels, and can be cladded with finishes to user’s liking.
6
5
2 4
7
1 3
8
9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Edge gutter SIP Ridge Gutter to next module Window Sill Window Head Valley Gutter SIP Wall to SIP Floor Drop Ceiling Ground Floor to Foundation
Commerical Zones
Commerical zones in the village are accessible to the public, with facilities that can be accessed with a fee. Members of the village cooperative profit from the fees after maintenance.
Swimming Pool and Poolside facilities
Commercial Zone
Communal Building (front)
Caravan Park
Communal Building (back)
Type A - Street
Type B - Frontage
Type A - Street
Type B - Street
Poolside communal area
Garden Cooperative
Small-scale commercial
Small-scale farming
Suburban Village
Suburban Village Cooperative Living | One House, Many Rooms Julia Cheam | M.Arch UNSW Quinton & Margalit Studio | 2015