09 // HOUSING FORMS

09 //

HOUSING FORMS

The Missing Middle //

For a long time, Australia’s housing choice has been very homogeneous. Urban living usually means living in an apartment and suburban living is still associated with detached single-family dwellings. Although new forms of housing have been added to the market, Melbourne’s housing stock has not kept up with changing needs. The ‘missing middle’, is all housing forms that fall between the detached dwellings and high-rise apartment buildings. They are low to medium-rise and can achieve medium to high-densities while still maintaining the neighbourhood character of an area (Ryan, 2019). Addressing this missing middle is now more important than ever, as Melbourne is amidst a housing crisis. Housing prices have increased rapidly in the past decades and younger generations increasingly have more difficulties affording a home. In particular blue-collar workers and vulnerable people are being pushed out to fringe areas of the city with poor public and social infrastructure (Bentley & Martino, 2020). In order to limit the continuing urban sprawl, more affordable dwelling need to be build as small infill projects. The next pages will outline missing middle urban forms suitable and proposed for the Sybil Craig Quarter.

Apartments //

Figure 9.1 Dual Aspect housing in Fairfield, Victoria

Dual Aspect //

Apartments are a common form in Melbourne. We define apartments as dwellings whose open space is a balcony in contrast to flats which have access to communal, or allocated open space either on the ground or on the roof. Most apartment units in Melbourne are accessed from within the building. We propose dual aspect apartments instead, as this offers better cross ventilation (Hindocha, 2019). The open-air hallways also provide more opportunities to interact with neighbours and it is safer in terms of the Coronavirus. These buildings can be configured in a variety of ways to suit a variety of needs. These designs tend to result in a dense use of space. The designs are dependent on balconies for outdoor space. Figure 9.2 Studio Apartments, Canada

Studio Apartments //

Studio apartments have no dedicated bedroom space. The smaller the dwelling, the more creative the design process needs to be. Sometimes studio apartment buildings have open community facilities such as game areas, shared dining spaces and outdoor space. Due to their small size studio apartments can be very affordable. However, they are not suitable for all types of households because of the small space and lack of bedrooms. It is advised that studio apartments are mixed with other apartment types to ensure a mix of residents, unless the building serves a specific market such as students, elderly or starters.

Outdoor Space Orientated //

Figure 9.3 Courtyard housing in The Netherlands

Courtyards //

Courtyard developments rarely appear in Melbourne.They are a more common urban form in Europe, Asia and South America. Courtyards can come in a variety of forms from single dwellings around a courtyard to communal courtyards surrounded by multiple dwellings. We define courtyard developments as single or multiple dwellings encompassing a communal space with direct access from the dwellings to the communal space.

We consider this typology to be inclusive because dwellings can be a mixture of sizes and tenures which makes them accessible to a diverse range of residents. Research shows that courtyard living is highly suitable for elderly and disabled (Lee & Park, 2015). A shared central space is particularly beneficial for generating improtue conversations with neighbours. Whilst the shared space may pose some risk in future pandemics, the communal courtyard does encourage residents to engage with neighbours across the fence (Farida, 2013). Figure 9.4 Perimeter block housing in Stockholm, Sweden

Perimeter block //

Perimeter block developments are different to courtyard developments in that residents do not have direct access from their dwelling to the communal space. Access is via public passages. Perimeter blocks have similar communal and social benefits as courtyards but can accommodate more dwellings. This is because they are flats and thus do not have direct access to the public space but still have the right to use the public space. When designed well, dwellings in this typology benefit from natural cross ventilation and good, even levels of natural light. The corridor does provide a potential pandemic risk but this can be reduced by providing wide, ventilated corridors or open air corridors.

Figure 9.5 Multi-Occupancy dwelling in Utrecht, The Netherlands

Multi Occupancies//

We define multi-occupancy housing as dwellings that appear to be one, but in fact house multiple households. These dwellings can have shared spaces, but this is not a requirement. The difference with an apartment building is that all occupiers own a piece of land and usually have multiple storeys. The benefits are the neighbourhood and low-rise character of the building, yet it creates medium-density. Planning regulations become more flexible in Melbourne to obtain a permit for subdivision of land (Buxton & Tieman, 2005). Figure 9.6 Semi-detached dwellings in The Netherlands

Semi-attached and attached //

Semi-detached housing appears more and more in Melbourne as subdivision has become more flexible over the past years. Attached housing has made an entrance to the Melbourne housing market, but is still limited. Both types of housing can reach high densities, while still being low-rise. We encourage developers to build this housing form with a minimum of three storeys and a maximum of four storeys. This is the maximum floor amount suitable for one household.

Speciality Dwellings //

Figure 9.9 Shop top dwelling in Amsterdam

Shop tops //

Shop tops are dwellings on top of shops and businesses. They are common in neighbourhood activity centres. It draws more people into the heart of shopping districts and the mixed-use urban form encourages lively urban spaces and constant passive surveillance. Public and private space merge and boundaries are sometimes vague, yet this does not have to be an issue but rather create vibrancy. Figure 9.10 Infill dwelling in North Fitzroy

Micro lots //

Micro Lots are small dwellings, detached or attached, which can be built on plots as small as 20m2 . They can be designed to incorporate a home office on the ground floor. However, because they are usually built on small lots they are dependent on public parks for meaningful outdoor space. Because they are located on small lots these homes are generally more affordable. On their own these dwelling types are not dense but due to their high lot coverage and infill nature, extensive use of these will create high density neighbourhoods Figure 9.11 Three generation house in Amsterdam

Adjustable homes //

Adjustable homes are homes designed for multi-generational living. Each generation of the family has a dedicated living area and privacy. The design of the dwelling is flexible and can cater for different needs at different life stages. This makes this dwelling type highly inclusive. Because these dwellings are inherently adjustable, they are readily adjustable to add a home office, family study or an extra bedroom. Adjustable homes usually take the form of a multi-occupancy and can reach high densities as they house multiple households.

Housing Height proposal //

Figure 9.12 shows the proposed missing middle housing types on a scale of height. The lower-rise dwellings such as micro-lots, townhouses and multi occupancies should have a building height of approximately 3 floors. Shop tops and courtyards can become between 4 and 7 floors. Dual aspect flats and the perimeter block can reach the maximum building height of 10 storeys in the Sybil Craig Quarter. All housing forms ensure a high density on the site.

3D Representation //

Based on the proposed housing forms, this is what the Sybil Craig Quarter would potentially look like. The low to medium-rise building blocks guarantee a human scale, however high densities are achieved on the site. The image below shows the site from an aerial south-west perspective. This shows some of the different housing forms of the site such as courtyard housing, perimeter blocks and detached housing. The larger blocks on the right bottom site are the STEM school facilities as well as many employment buildings where startups, creative businesses and small-scale manufacturing will take place.

Figure 9.13 3D View of Sybil Craig Quarters