Planning for the housing we need

Architects are acutely aware of the influence of economic conditions and public policy on the design of our places and spaces. As a profession, we are famously, the ‘canary in the coal mine’ when the economy weakens, and expensive capital works projects get moved to the ‘non-essential’ list for businesses and industries under pressure.

This time will be no different – the post COVID-19 economy will be starkly different and we are yet to fully understand what will emerge as viable and fundable.

As an architectural student in the 1990’s I had a formative experience of what recession can mean—In 1993, Australia’s unemployment peaked at 12% and was far higher for architects. Consequently, my architectural course had to reduce our ‘year out’ experience requirement to six months as even unpaid placements became scarse. I graduated in 1995 but economic conditions were still very weak and I headed to Singapore where more buoyant conditions were enjoyed until the late 1990’s Asian financial crisis.

This Singaporean stint was a catalyst for my career in residential architecture, a sector I have consistently worked in for nearly 25 years. Perhaps, more so, than other typologies, the design and delivery of multi-residential housing over this period has mirrored economic and public policy settings such as bank lending criteria, taxation, foreign investment regulations and population and immigration policy.

Changes to planning policy during this period have also played a part, however, have been relatively consistent in the ambition to densify around transport infrastructure and services. More recently, attention given to apartment amenity has undoubtedly influenced design, but has not been a fundamental driver of what has been built and where.

The pandemic has radically refocussed the experience of our cities back to our local areas, with the sudden retreat to our home offices highlighting the importance of healthy buildings and walkable, green neighbourhoods.

Interestingly, there had already been a shift towards apartments and housing models which promote the idea of community and placemaking at a neighbourhood level.

Weaker investment, particularly from international investors who represented approximately 16% of the residential market in 2018, indicates that multi-residential development had already refocussed and shifted towards owner-occupiers and smaller, more fundable developments.

Conversely, institutional investors have increasingly focussed on specialist and managed housing such as senior living models or student accommodation and more recently, are looking to the build-to-rent sector as an emerging asset class in Australia. The build-to-rent model emphasises shared facilities and amenity, often incorporating mixed uses such as co-working spaces which may offer a flexible and affordable alternative for businesses in the post COVID-19 economy.

Hayball has embraced this placemaking and community-based approach through new housing models such as Nightingale Housing and Assemble Communities.

These projects prioritise smaller clusters of apartments to build social engagement, invest in high quality communal spaces such as productive gardens and embed sustainable design features.

For owner occupiers and long term renters, building resilience will become more critical, with robust materials and higher environmental performance lowering operating costs and creating healthier environments.

These projects offer clues about new approaches that may be required, where ground plane activation can allow the buildings to operate as an integrated part of the local economy.

By providing wi-fi enabled shared or bookable spaces, cafes and co-working spaces, rather than exclusive resident facilities, meaningful interaction can occur with the surrounding neighbourhood. In a post COVID-19 economy, these hybrid uses may offer greater options to work where you live, beyond the CBD.

We are also designing several mixed tenure projects which bring together social and community housing with the private market to provide more integrated affordable housing. This pandemic has reinforced this critical need for safe and secure housing for the vulnerable members of our community and greater emphasis on shared facilities and public realm quality should support healthier neighbourhoods.

Future development will need to be nimble and creative – as we navigate the slow road to economic recovery, it is likely that smaller stages of development, new financial and delivery models and in some cases government support, will be required to progress viable projects, whether through the planned expedited approval processes or direct stimulus funding.

During the GFC, we saw the immediate benefit from investment in education projects and the NRAS affordable housing program to the planning, design and construction industry and ultimately to the community.

We are hopeful that in the post COVID-19 economy, private investment and government stimulus will underpin the next multiresidential cycle to create resilient and socially sustaining housing models that the community needs now more than ever.

Sarah Buckeridge is a Director at Hayball.

Sara has 25 years’ architectural experience working with the public and private sector in multi-residential and mixed use precinct design and has contributed to several government strategic planning projects. E: Sarah Buckeridge sbuckeridge@hayball.com.au

Endnotes

1 4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, 1994, Australian Bureau of Statistics [website], https://www.abs.gov.au/ AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/ e620f529f1c25637ca2570ec007868d6!OpenDocument, (accessed 5 May, 2020)

1 Foreign Investment, Property Council of Australia [website], https://research.propertycouncil.com.au/data-room/foreign-investment, (accessed 5 May, 2020)