Agile Housing: Densification for regional city living by Sananaz Ahmed Sananaz Ahmed

AGILE HOUSING: Densification for regional city living Sananaz Ahmed, 2020

Melbourne School of Design Master of Architecture Design Thesis Studio : Inten(d)sity Ballarat Studio Tutor : Dr Ammon Beyerle 1

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Contents

1. Thesis Statement: Agile Housing .............................

04 - 13

2. Site Analysis and Masterplanning.............................

14 - 35

3. Precedent Studies.....................................................

36 - 59

4. History of Ballarat Dwellings......................................

60 - 72

5. Concept Design ......................................................

73 -97

6. Final Proposal...........................................................

98 - 143

7. Future Directions....................................................... 144 - 145 8. References................................................................ 149 -149

01 AGILE HOUSING THESIS STATEMENT

P AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VE

? Sustainable communities that age-in-place. Today

Tomorrow

This thesis will explore diverse housing concepts to accommodate changing needs of occupants over a lifetime in order to create sustainable communities that age-inplace.

DENT VERSION 4

Thesis Statement Victoria’s regional cities are facing housing challenges that support ageing-in-place along with lack of diverse household types in the city centres. Beach illustrates in Generation Stuck the term ‘rightsizing’ as an alternative to downsizing

1. Beach, B. (2016) Generation Stuck. Retrieved from : https:// ilcuk.org.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2018/10/ Generation-Stuck.pdf

highlighting the importance of diverse housing and aspirations of occupants at any age to align their situation with a home that best suits their needs1.

Despite the growing trend towards smaller households, Australians have a strong cultural preference for separate houses on a suburban block which results in extremely low settlement densities in the world and has sustainability

2. State Government of Victoria (2010) Victoria’s regional centres – a generation of change. Retrieved from :https:// www.planning.vic. gov.au/__data/assets/ pdf_file/0011/102413/ Victorias-regional-centresa-generation-of-changeOverview-report.pdf

implications with loss of agricultural land2. This thesis will design medium density residences with agile housing strategies providing diversity and real choice in dwelling for regional city living at St Andrew’s kirk, Central Ballarat. The goal is to design mix of housing types that allow homes to adapt to the changing lifestyle of occupants across their lifetime. The development of the heritage site will adopt a sensitive material exploration and design response interpreting the site’s history to evoke collective memory for ageing in place.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Regional Living and densification 3. Ballarat Strategy (2015) | A Greener, More Vibrant and Connected Ballarat Retrieved from :https:// www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/ sites/default/files/2019-04/ Ballarat%20Strategy%20 2040.pdf

Ballarat is the third largest city in Victoria and its regional centre

4. ibid.

sector to provide facilities more than living spaces resulting in

encompasses major retail, health and education facilities3. For this reason, people from Melbourne metropolitan and surrounding areas are attracted to Ballarat for employment, education purposes as well as history and lifestyle. This integration of live, work and leisure demands the housing

densification and access to intensity4. As a result of achieving mix of uses, typologies and diversity, the residents in these inner city housing developments can have more social opportunity for cultural growth.

Figure 1: Towns by population size, 2006. Source: Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regional centres â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a generation of change 6

If Ballarat was a body builder, it would be deep into its bulking stage. - ABC News 20th July 2019, Dominic Cansdale

A researcher has warned the regional city could face â&#x20AC;&#x153;social disasterâ&#x20AC;? if urban sprawl is mismanaged. The council wants more medium-density residential developments in the CBD.

Figure 2: Ballarat aerial view Source: ABC News 20th July 2019 7

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Why Agile Housing for Ballarat? 5. C. Newton, A. Aibinu, S. Backhouse, R. Crawford, T. Kvan, E. Ozanne, A. Pert and C. Whitzman. (2016) Agile housing for an Ageing Australia.Retrieved from : http://anzasca.net/ paper/agile-housing-for-anageing-australia/

The City of Ballarat forecast has highlighted 24% increase in population of retirement age and the largest increase is expected in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lone person householdsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. As a result of the decline in average household size there is increase in social polarization where new housing in inner city has smaller units for individuals whereas family dwellings are located far from jobs, public transport and services5. There is a gap

6. ibid. 7. The Ballarat Strategy:A Greener, More Vibrant and Connected Ballarat (2015).

in Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conservative housing market which does not consider agile designs, construction technology or tenure for new housing that responds to diverse household types and our ageing population6.

8. Parkinson, S., James, A. and Liu, E. (2018) Navigating a changing private rental sector: opportunities and challenges for low-income renters, AHURI Final Report No. 302, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited, Melbourne, https://www. ahuri.edu.au/research/finalreports/302

As per the 2040 Ballarat Strategy, there is a need for diverse range of housing types that include apartments, units and townhouse style dwellings near opportunities of study or work for a growing and changing community7. It is also important to note that young adults do not have the same housing opportunities available to their parents due to global economic restructuring leading to high housing prices. This has led to shared housing assuming different forms in terms of living with family or strangers or friends formally and informally8. In addition, housing designs are usually focused on a single type of dwelling occupation: individual, couple or family. Agile housing is proposed to diversify the choice of housing options for a growing and changing community.

Agility in housing means adaptability over time of individual homes or multi-residential contexts enabling dwellings to be rearranged, divided or grouped as needs change9. Housing designs with movable walls, bathroom pods and technology can give the resident a multitude of choices within smaller footprint. However agility can also be created by a flexible model for accommodation that can change from a bigger house to simplex, duplex, single apartments, shared units, offices or shops where residents can adapt their homes to suit lifestyle change10.

9. The Gerontologist Vol. 52, No. 3, 357–366 (2011) The Meaning of “Aging in Place” to Older People. Retrieved from : https://academic. oup.com/gerontologist/ 10. Woodview Mews / Geraghty Taylor Architects. (2015) ArchDaily.Retrieved from :https://www. archdaily.com/769804/ woodview-mewsgeraghty-taylor-architects

Regional Cities

Isolation

Urban Sprawl Individual

Segregation

Urban Sprawl

Current Model in Regional Cities.

AGILE Home Adaptable Housing with diverse household

City

Proposed future model.

Participation

Collective Community

Individual at any age

Rightsizing

Figure 3: Diagram showing proposed future model for Agile Home

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

The graphs below show spare bedrooms for the ageing population is higher and creating artificial demand for supply of housing in the market. Lack of flexibility and wasted rooms create unsustainable approach to planning in the conservative Australian housing market. It also highlights the need for smaller households before 35 years of age compared to bigger households between 35-65 years. However after 65 years smaller households are in demand due to downsizing.

Housing capacity utilisation for different age groups (2011-12)

Figure 4 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20

Figure 4: Housing utilisation, by household age group. Source: Housing Decisions of Older Australians, 2015

10 0

15–24

25–34

35–44

45–54 Age group

Extra bedrooms needed

Figure 3.38

55–64

65–74

75+

None required/none spare

1 bedroom spare bedrooms spare Households living in dwellings 24with four or more bedrooms, 3 bedrooms spare or more bedrooms spare by age groupa

2001, 2006,and 2011 Source: ABS (Survey of Income Housing, 2011-12). 45 40 35 Most older Australians will not downsize during their retirement 30

Figure 5: Households living in dwellings with four or more bedrooms, by age group. Sources: Housing Decisions of Older Australians, 2015

25 Downsizing is often presented as a win-win for older people who struggle to maintain their property 20and also wish to release some equity to supplement their income. However, this remains15a relatively uncommon path for older Australians. According to the Commission’s survey,10about one in five older Australians have sold their property and purchased a less expensive 5 home since turning 50, and about 5 per cent have sold and moved to renting. Of the older0 home owners that have not moved yet, about 15 per cent had strong intentions to do so at some 15–24 point in the25–34 future. The35–44 primary reasons selling the family home 45–54 for not 55–64 65–74 75+are a group downsizing options (figure 5). very strong desire to age in place and the lack Age of suitable 2001

2006

2011

When people do downsize it tends to happen relatively early in retirement — over 85 per a Age household is defined as age of household person. cent of of older Australians who downsize do soreference before they turn 70. The key motivations for

Interpretation and re-use of historical site St Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kirk Ballarat is of historical significance and is an excellent example of AGILE planning since the buildings are highly valued by the community for its adaptation to accommodate residential, commercial, cultural/community and educational developments in this area between 1860s and 1950s11. Adaptive reuse of this site to accommodate medium density agile housing typologies, that can also adapt to the changing needs of the user with time, will be an acknowledgment to the history of this site for its ongoing adaptation from an original private dwelling in 1863 to the largest Norman style church in Victoria. Due to the increasing tension between Australian policies that support ageing-

11. Victorian Heritage Database Report(2005): St andrews uniting church.

12. Newton, C., Gilzean, I., Backhouse, S., Alves, T., Whitzman, C. and Pert, A. (2015) Building Transformation Through Housing Expos: A multi-pronged strategy to help address the wicked problem of affordable housing, State of Australian Cities Conference 2015, Goldcoast, AUS.

in-place and lack of appropriate housing typologies in the growing urban centers12, this thesis will address the gap in the field of the conservative Australian housing market by exploring lifetime home concepts of Agile housing to create sustainable communities.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Methodology My thesis poses the question: how can we design agile housing strategies for regional city living that allow homes to adapt easily to the changing lifestyle of individuals, from single professionals to couples, families, students and elderly to create sustainable communities? The basis of this research will be based on studies of multiresidential contexts with housing diversity and adaptability to test the agile housing within the existing context. The research methodologies are: 1) Site Analysis: This will include the history, climate, demographic patterns, household trends, social and cultural identity. 2) Precedents & Typologies: An analysis of multi-residential housing case studies with diverse household typologies and adaptability. 3) History of Ballarat housing: Understanding the historic character of the detached dwelling and re-creating a home inspired from Ballaratâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing heritage. 4) Timber Tectonics: Analyzing future of mass timber in regional cities to provide agile living spaces. These methods will provide the knowledge to test a prototype housing design for Ballarat through an iterative exercise of selective research - problem solving - design process, to identify possible solutions for agile housing.

Figure 6(facing page): St Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kirk Church at Ballarat 13

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

02 SITE ANALYSIS AND MASTERPLANNING

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 7: Site Mapping during Week 03 produced by groups in Class for collaborative site analysis. 16

Site Context Research The study area for site analysis is based upon long term Ballarat plan 2040 delivering a ‘10 Minute City’ to include liveable neighborhoods within a compact city. Respective groups within the class have looked at site studies to understand movement, form, density, heights, urban landmarks, land use plan, planning zone overlay, views from site and accessible green spaces within 10 minutes from St Andrew’s kirk site. As a result, the planning zone overlay identified sturt street as core retail area encouraging cafes, restaurants and niche retail opportunities along this road that promote Ballarat’s local art, craft and heritage. Furthermore, the land use overlay illustrates majority of single detached dwellings which causes housing issues due to lack of diverse household types in the CBD.

Dwelling needs in the growing suburbs may not be able to accommodate the changing physical or social requirements of these occupants as they get older leading to downsizing in the CBD. Flexible housing with diverse household types and rightsizing should be considered to create sustainable communities that age-in-place enjoying the benefits of proximity to services within the city.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 8: Land use plan mapped as part of individual work using GIS ArcMap software.

The proposed site is within less than 10 minutes to the health sector, education and manufacturing industries which makes it an ideal location for integrated live-work-play and opportunities for creative growth.

Victoria Land Use Plan LU_DESC Aged Care Complex / Special Accommodation Amusement Parks etc Boarding House Church, Temple, Synagogue, etc Cinema Complex Civic Buildings Commercial Development Site Commercial Land Community / Neighbourhood Facility Community Health Centre Community Service Facilities or Other Day Care Centre for Children Detached Home Disability Housing Kindergarten Film / Movie Theatre, Playhouse Fuel Outlet / Garage / Service Station

STURT ST

DAWSO N

LYDIAR

D ST

General Purpose Factory

REET

General Purpose Warehouse Granny Flat / Studio Ground Level Parking Health Clinic Health Surgery Library / Archives (National/State/Regional) Live Entertainment Low Rise Office Building Market Garden Mixed Use Occupation Multi-Level Office Building Multi-Storey Car Park Museum / Art Gallery (National/State/Regional) National Company Restaurant National Company Retail Office Premises Parks and Gardens (Local) Private Hospital Pub/Tavern/Hotel/Licensed Club Railway Passenger Terminal Facilities Rectory, Mance, Presbytery Neighbourhood Shopping Complex Regional Park Religious Hall Residential Development Site Residential Hotel /Apartment Hotel Complex Residential Investment Flats Residential Land Retail Premises Retail Premises (single occupancy) Retirement Village Unit School / College School Primary - Public/Private Semi-Detached / Terrace Home / Row House Serviced Apartments / Holiday Units

Scale - 1:10,000

Unspecified - Transport, Storage, Utilities Vacant Residential Home Site / Surveyed Lot

Figure 9: Planning Zone overlay mapped as part of individual work using GIS ArcMap software.

The site observes a continuous stretch of commercial zone strips on either side which will bring footfall into the proposed site if commercial activities are introduced along the edge of the Sturt street. However, as noted in the Ballarat CBD Strategy streetscapes are dominated by car parking, roads are wide and difficult to cross.

PPRZ

Victoria Planning Zone Overlay

IN1Z

SUZ5

GRZ1

PUZ4 RGZ1

SUZ5 SUZ12 MUZ

SUZ2

PUZ2

SUZ5

MUZ

ZONE_DESC

PUZ4

C1Z

COMMERCIAL 1 ZONE

C1Z

PPRZ

SUZ16

PUZ3 GRZ1 C1Z

C1Z

COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT ZONE - SCHEDULE 1 GENERAL RESIDENTIAL ZONE - SCHEDULE 1 INDUSTRIAL 1 ZONE

PUZ4

SUZ5

C1Z

COMMERCIAL 2 ZONE FARMING ZONE

PUZ2

INDUSTRIAL 3 ZONE LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL ZONE MIXED USE ZONE

RGZ1

NEIGHBOURHOOD RESIDENTIAL ZONE - SCHEDULE 1 NEIGHBOURHOOD RESIDENTIAL ZONE - SCHEDULE 2

C1Z

PUBLIC CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE ZONE

SUZ5

PUBLIC PARK AND RECREATION ZONE

RDZ1

PUBLIC USE ZONE - CEMETERY/CREMATORIUM PUBLIC USE ZONE - EDUCATION

C1Z

PUBLIC USE ZONE - HEALTH AND COMMUNITY

C1Z

PUBLIC USE ZONE - LOCAL GOVERNMENT PUBLIC USE ZONE - OTHER PUBLIC USE

SUZ5

PUBLIC USE ZONE - SERVICE AND UTILITY PUBLIC USE ZONE - TRANSPORT RESIDENTIAL GROWTH ZONE - SCHEDULE 1

C1Z

ROAD ZONE - CATEGORY 1 ROAD ZONE - CATEGORY 2

GRZ1

RURAL ACTIVITY ZONE - SCHEDULE 1

SUZ5

RURAL CONSERVATION ZONE RURAL CONSERVATION ZONE - SCHEDULE 1

PUZ2

SUZ5

RURAL CONSERVATION ZONE - SCHEDULE 2 RURAL CONSERVATION ZONE - SCHEDULE 3

SUZ5

RURAL LIVING ZONE SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 1

C1Z PPRZ

GRZ1

PUZ2

SUZ5

GRZ1

SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 15 SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 16

GRZ1

PUZ2

PPRZ

SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 3 SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 4 SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 5

GRZ1

C1Z

SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 13

SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 2

C1Z

GRZ1

SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 11 SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 14

GRZ1

RGZ1

C1Z

SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 10

SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 6 SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 7

MUZ GRZ1

MUZ

SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 8 SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE 9 SPECIAL USE ZONE - SCHEDULE12 TOWNSHIP ZONE URBAN GROWTH ZONE - SCHEDULE 1 URBAN GROWTH ZONE - SCHEDULE 2

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

The study area was further compared and analyzed with the Ballarat CBD strategy which proposed improved pedestrian access and activated laneways from Camp Street all the way to Dawson Street. The Masterplan design can look at extending these connections into the church site, activating frontages along Sturt street for retail, outdoor dining or commercial, looking to create a CBD gateway in the wider context. One of the main problems identified was that apart from Sturt street gardens there is no central space where people can meet or public events be held. Can St Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kirk site be more accessible, visible and alive by creating this event space for the public and community through a journey or exploratory walk within the Masterplan?

Figure 10: Site analysis within urban context and 10 minutes from site identifying improved pedestrian access and laneways. Source: Making Ballarat Central - The CBD strategy 2017-2021 Action Plan

Figure 11: Diagram showing potential access through site and height of buildings (Initial studies).

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Vision and Design Principles for Site 13. Our Creative City (2017) Source: https://www. creativeballarat.com.au/ about

Ballarat is a UNESCO named Creative City13. It is a city built on a unique and rich past which has always been full of creative energy. As a result of Ballarat’s Creative City Strategy, the proposed site has 4C’S as its collective future vision. These 4C’s would be Cultural heart, Connectivity, Convenient and Community.

Design Priciples identified:

1) Return streets to people 2) Bring the landscape into the block 3) Make heritage buildings more accessible visible and alive. 4) Connect the Retail area and activate frontage along Sturt Street. 5) Create ecological, social and cultural systems. 6) Improve well-being by creating green open space for neighborhood. 7) Propose varied experiences through exploratory walk within site.

St Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kirk Ballarat is located on the north side of Sturt Street Gardens and consists of a Church (south east corner), Sunday school building (north - east corner), manse (north - west corner) and a fence which surrounds the Sturt street perimeter. The main challenge is the cast iron fence from 1902 and a brick render fence which runs through the southern boundary, thereby becoming existing constraints in the development for provision of site access only utilizing the existing frontages. The scale of the development is also a sensitive issue regarding the form, materiality and heights of new proposed buildings. However, there is an opportunity to increase the scale of development to the northern part of site maintaining the visual primacy of Church on site specifically along Sturt street. 4.0 Description and streetscape context 4.1

Description of subject site

Sunday School Manse

Figure 12: Annotated Aerial photograph. Source: Appraisal of Heritage Issues Document, St Andrews Uniting Church

Brick fence Church Arched opening in fence Cast-iron and bluestone plinth fence Pair of cast-iron lamps

Sturt Street median

Figure 25

Annotated aerial photograph of subject site; north is to the top of the image Source: Base map Nearmap, 2018

The St Andrews Uniting Church site is located on the north side of Sturt Street and is bounded by

AGILE HOUSING I

development

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 13: Opportunities and Constraints for Development. Source: Lovell Chen, Appraisal of Heritage Issues Document, St Andrews Uniting

Masterplan - The Exploratory Walk The proposed masterplan vision is to create a journey for the people and increasing opportunities for ‘pedestrianism’ to make these heritage buildings more accessible, visible and alive. The site is envisioned to act as a meeting space

14. Jan Gehl (2010) Cities for People, the human dimension. 15. ibid.

and social forum for the city dwellers which is overlooked or neglected in most of the cities today14.

Cities for people by Gehl further talks about human dimension of city planning to strengthen the social function of city

16. Jane Jacobs (1961) The Uses of Sidewalks: Safety from The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

space as a meeting place contributing to social and cultural sustainability15.This is particularly important for ageing-inplace where attractive public spaces, variation of urban functions, short walking distances will increase ‘activity’ and feeling of security since there will more eyes on the street.

Adaptivity and agile spaces in a masterplan create places of discovery, uncertainty and innovation. The great urbanist Jane jacobs argues the idea of an open city should be dense and diverse with packed streets or squares that include quirky adaptations or additions to existing buildings16.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

17. Sennett, R. The public realm. The Blackwell City Reader, 2010

Urban culture needs slow time to foster interactions where people can absorb, participate and adapt to changes in the future17. According to Sennett, cities like Naples create a sense of place for its people through attachment and this

18. ibid.

happens with time. In these cities the mutation of social and visual forms happens through chance variation, complexity, diversity and dissonance18. This illustrates the importance of

19. Wilfrid Laurier University Press (2009). Rites of Way : The Politics and Poetics of Public Space. Retrieved from :http:// ebookcentral.proquest. com/lib/unimelb/detail.

agile planning and ageing in place where the house adapts with the community and its people, evoking a sense of place and memories.

The proposed masterplan will look at streets, squares and parks to create a journey for the passers-by, visitors and also for those who live, work and play there every day. Our group envisioned to imagine this model of “architecture as event” or a framework to configure urban spaces in our cities through participation, urban interventions and arts19.This will create a lively neighborhood along with social and cultural opportunities to enjoy in this historic site making the disused church more accessible, visible and alive.One of the key design features is to extend the landscape spine and connect the landmark historic buildings within the site St Andrew’s kirk site.

Figure 14: Diagram showing the proposed walk through the Masterplan.

Y WALK THE JOURNEY DIAGRAMS. EXPLORATORY WALK

IL TA

IL ETA

T UR

GA ST

New Town Plaza. Activate frontage along Sturt street. Extend Sturt street gardens to proposed plaza Create CBD Gateway. Promote outdoor & upper floor terrace dining with Sturt st views.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

THE JOURNEY DIAGRAMS. EXPLORATORY WALK

Figure 15: Diagram showing proposed town plaza with retail.

ble and

The first zone in this journey is a new town plaza creating a gateway for the Sturt Street Gardens. This plaza will further promote outdoor dining opportunities with Sturt street views, art installations and a place for people to gather by activating

along

the frontages along this corridor. Gradual setbacks for the building also encourage outdoor first floor terrace dining with

views to garden. Compact buildings with 2 or 3 storeys and break in massing will create permeability and maintain visual NS

AR on corridors into the site improving safety because of eyes TG

pace for

the street.

TS UR

IL ETA

New Town Plaza. Activate frontage along Sturt street. Extend Sturt street gardens to proposed plaza Create CBD Gateway. Promote outdoor & upper floor terrace dining with Sturt st views.

ry walk

Church Square (OLD MEETS NEW) Transtition Zone Rest, meet and create spaces of refuge. Art Installations to create Identity and act as affor

T UR

IL TA RE

GA ST

New Town Plaza. Activate frontage along Sturt street. Extend Sturt street gardens to proposed plaza Create CBD Gateway. Promote outdoor & upper floor terrace dining with Sturt st views.

After the gastronomic experiences and retail landscape in the town plaza, there is a place for rest and refuge - The Church Square where old buildings meet the new buildings. Umbrella

Figure 16: Diagram showing the proposed Church sqaure between old and new enclosures.

laneway in Ballarat is a good example of creating identity for a laneway and similar explorations in design can be done for this transition zone at Church Square.

Church Square (OLD MEETS NEW) Transtition Zone Rest, meet and create spaces of refuge. Art Installations to create Identity and act as affordances.

Umbrella Laneway Ballarat

MAD Architects Art Installation

Facade Illumination - White Night Ballarat

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Church Square (OLD MEETS NEW) Transtition Zone Rest, meet and create spaces of refuge. Art Installations to create Identity and act as affordances.

Figure 17: Diagram showing interactive zone for pop up spaces and workshops.

The square is succeeded by an interactive street and create potential spaces for creative art forms like painting,

Umbrella Lanewa

in-site installation works, multimedia, film, fashion, music , photography etc to encourage the Ballarat Creative Sector. These pop up spaces and microskilling workshops 2

encourage lifelong learning for residents, visitors, students MAD Architects A and older people promoting active aging along with aging in place. This interactive street sits between the Church and Sunday school creating spaces of participation where one

can walk and experience inner working of a historic culture Facade Illuminati Adaptive Reuse of Sunday school for Community Arts and Theatre Center.

INTERACTIVE ZONE (Encourage Creativity) Pop up zone for microskilling workshops, teaching & lifelong learning for residents and public. Crafts, Films, Fashion, Moving Image, Music, Performing Arts, Photography, public art, scuplture, writing

Adaptability of Church to encourage Events, conferences and community gatherings.

Facade Illumination - White Night Ballarat

Adaptive Reuse of Sunday school for Community Arts and Theatre Center.

Adaptability of Church to encourage Events, conferences and community gatherings.

The residential buildings wrap around a semi-public communal courtyard and play area for kids, adults and older

Figure 18: Diagram showing communal courtyard, landscape and play areas.

generations. The social interaction of playing can promote an 3

overall sense of well-being with positive benefits for adults and agile ageing. A home cannot be reduced exclusively to our private residence and extends into these communal courtyards as a space of dialogue, play and exchange.

Semi Public. Communal Courtyard and play areas.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 19: Diagram showing social gardens and final proposed New Town Plaza journey through site. Church Square

XPLORATORY WALK

Lifelong learning

Cultural Centre A cultural centre is proposed at the ed of the exploratory walk which is rotated to face the axis of the church. In this way, the journey connects the 2 landmarks churches and makes the heritage buildings accessible, visible and alive.

Social Gardens and Cafeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Community gardens maintained by residents intending to increase biological, social and cultural diversity by working together.

Communal Courtyard Social Gardens

VISION 4Cs

CREATIVE BALLARAT

TURAL HEART OF CBD

COMMUNITY CONNECTIVITY CONVENIENT THE PROPOSED JOURNEY WILL MAKE DISUSED HERITAGE BUILDINGS ACCESSIBLE, VISIBLE AND ALIVE.

5 3 4 2 1

CREATE A NEW CBD GATEWAY

CIRCULATION AND ACCESS

Ballarat also has a vision to create a city of landscape but the site does not have any public green areas within 10 minutes

Figure 20: First iteration of masterplan and feedback received at design crits.

from the Church. Social gardens are proposed at the end of the journey with aim of increasing social and cultural diversity by bringing people together. This proposed journey through the Masterplan will make the discused heritage buildings accessible, visible and alive.

3 4 2

4 2

1) Urban Farming could be a smaller space and residential buildings can be proposed on this site increasing1) Urban Farming could be a smaller the density along with adaptive car-space and residential buildings can parking for events. be proposed on this site increasing the density along with adaptive car2) Consider Fence as opportunity in parking for events. the design process. 2) Consider Fence as opportunity in 3) Establish hierarchy for journey the design process. through site 3) Establish hierarchy for journey 4) Long facade along Sturt street through site and could articulate the massing for gradual increase in heights from4) Long facade along Sturt street south to north. and could articulate the massing for gradual increase in heights from south to north.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 21(Below): Second iteration of Masterplan including residential building and cultural centre in the north to connect the landmark buildings within the site.

EXPLORATORY WALKS

This building is proposed to be demolished and replaced with a cultural centre along with open landscape activities for the community.

A cultural centre is proposed at the end of the exploratory walk which is rotated to face the axis of the church. In this way the journey connects the 2 landmark churches within the site creating a logical transition between the spaces. 6m

6m This building is proposed to be demolished and replaced with a cultural centre along with open landscape 15m activities for the community.

The green strip between the residential buildings encourages active participation 15m of the community consisting of prospect-refuge spaces for walking, resting, barbequing and events.

A 12m

12m

The communal courtyard is a semi public space with play areas and neighborhood activities for residetnts. The long facade along sturt street is replaced with dense small buildings creating more articulation and views into the site.

The communal courtyard 12m is a semi public space with play areas and neighborhood activities for residetnts.

The long facade along sturt street is replaced with dense small buildings creating more articulation and views into the site.

Creative zone between Church and Sunday school with workshops for crafts, films, fashion, 12m moving images on facade, photogrpahy, sculpture etc.

Creative zone between Church and Sunday school with workshops for crafts, films, fashion, moving images on facade, photogrpahy, sculpture etc.

The green strip between the residential buildings encourages active participati of the community consisting of prospect-refuge spaces fo walking, resting, barbequing events.

A cultural centre is propose at the end of the explorato walk which is rotated to fac the axis of the church. In th way the journey connects the 2 landmark churches within the site creating a logical transition between t spaces.

Lyons Street

Sturt Street Gardens

Figure 22: Masterplan,second iteration ,group work by Yuqi, Steve, Siyu, Sana. 35

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

03 PRECEDENTS & TYPOLOGY STUDIES

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 22: Geraghty Taylor Architects,2015. Woodview Mews Source: https://www.archdaily. com/769804/woodview-mewsgeraghty-taylor-architects

Precedent Study 01 - Woodview Mews Woodview Mews, a livinhome housing typology in london, illustrates how an alternative housing typology can deliver an outcome that creates opportunities for residents to adapt to their changing needs with time and maintain sustainable communities. This housing typology has three standard floor

20. Woodview Mews / Geraghty Taylor Architects. (2015) ArchDaily.Retrieved from :https://www. archdaily.com/769804/ woodview-mewsgeraghty-taylor-architects

layouts:open plan, a floor of bedrooms and 1 or 2 bedroom flat along with a service zone where kitchen, utility and bathrooms are located. In Woodview mews, 18 modules are stacked into 6 blocks where a typical house can use 3 modules creating a flexible accommodation.

21. Woodview Mews / Geraghty Taylor Architects. (2015)Archello. Retrieved from : https://archello.com/ project/woodview-mews

However if the block were converted to 3 flats or split as a duplex, it would have a separate entrance to each of the units and common stair20. In addition, a family could buy the house and give the upper floors for rent to pay off the mortgage or upsize when they have children and downsize to allow ageing parents live in the ground floor flat21.Woodview mews transitional agile housing model shows how it further creates intergenerational living with the choice of using space for each generation, reducing unaffordability and allowing people to age in place creating sustainable communities.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Flat Duplex House

duplex+ 1 flat

Figure 23: Analysis of section and plan(modified): Woodview Mews. Source: https://www.archdaily. com/769804/woodview-mewsgeraghty-taylor-architects 40

3 flats

duplex+ 1 flat

House

HOUSE

DUPLEX 4 bed

FLAT

4 individuals

3 bed

siz

6 individuals

2 individuals

tim

2 bed

ith

do wn siz

e HOUSING DIVERSITY & ADAPTABILITY: - Dividing - Rearranging - Grouping

Figure 24: Overview of woodview mews precedent analysis 41

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Precedent Study 02 - Urban BIGyard Although a bigger scale project, BIGyard, is a new urban model typology in Berlin illustrating greater sense of community for high density with well balanced private, semiprivate and public spaces. BIGyard shows each multi-storey dwelling unit has high spatial along with typological diversity consisting of three-storey garden houses topped by three-

22. Zanderroth architekten(2017)Urban BIG YARD: Co-Housing Development. Retrieved from : https://archipreneur. com/urban-bigyard-cohousing-developmentzanderroth-architekten/

storey double-aspect penthouses and a four-storey narrow townhouse that addresses the street22. This housing diversity creates a strong sense of community for individuals,families, children and elderly where all the units are facing a narrow landscaped courtyard and invite interaction within families. BIG yard project further highlights the importance of housing diversity for strong sense of community to create a village atmosphere in the city.

Figure 25 (facing page): Simon Menges,2017. Urban BIG YARD: Co-Housing Development https://archipreneur.com/ urban-bigyard-co-housingdevelopment-zanderrotharchitekten/ 43

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Patios, roof terrace and balconies creates for areas of contemplation and retreat. 4.2m floor to ceiling height creating openness and sociability facing the communal landscape. Ground floor workspace with shop window facing the street creating private and professional spaces.

Figure 26: Simon Menges,2014. BIGyard / Zanderroth Architekten https://www.archdaily. com/793287/bigyardzanderroth-architekten 44

Work

TOWNHOUSES Roof garden

Live

Patio

Cook/Eat PENTHOUSE Live

Patio

Cook/Eat

or ey

st 3

sp or

wi Room th siz re rtya e d) rd

Balcony

re y

Live/Cook/Eat

re a

td o

inc

st o

ity

GARDEN HOUSE

Room

tiv

4 cr st ea se orey

Roof garden

Studio

Room

HOUSING DIVERSITY (inner city living) = SENSE OF COMMUNITY

Figure 27: Overview of urban BIGyard precedent analysis 45

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

With these precedent studies, my thesis will explore agile housing strategies for regional city living with real choice for diversity, that allow homes to adapt easily to the changing lifestyle of individuals, from single professionals to couples, families, students and elderly to create sustainable communities.

HOUSE

DUPLEX 4 bed

FLAT

4 individuals

siz

6 individuals 3 bed

2 bed

2 individuals

tim

ith

siz

e HOUSING DIVERSITY & ADAPTABILITY: - Dividing - Rearranging - Grouping

Work

TOWNHOUSES Roof garden

Live

Patio

Cook/Eat PENTHOUSE Live

Roof garden Patio

Figure 28: Summary of precedent studies and analysis: housing diversity & adaptability. 46

Live/Cook/Eat

re a

Balcony

wi Room th (s siz ha our ty re e d) ard lC

or ey td 3 oo r s stor ey pa ce in cr e

inc

ity

HOUSING DIVERSITY (inner city living) = SENSE OF COMMUNITY

tiv

GARDEN HOUSE

Room

as e

Cook/Eat

or ey

Studio

Room

Figure 29: Precedent study images of Courtyard housing, Barking London.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Other Precedents, Courtyard Housing Barking London Cultural: Form inspired from traditional almshouses and that of the church evoking memory and sense of belonging. Density: Low Density, 21 units/hectare Site: Brownfield site used for industry Form: Chimneys, bay windows and roof create rhythm and identity to distinguish individual homes. Social (Voids): Layering of private and communal courtyard along with bay windows generates a friendly domestic scale. Light and air from private courtyard to living areas along with glazed wall creates flexiblity and openness. However entrance threshold too small but the void is used to mark its territory from street. User: Senior living & families. Lifetime home concept with accessible features. Plan: L-shape plan with flexiblity and simple spatial strategy repeated across the site. Material: Use of brick giving collegiate feel however use of tight material palette. Roof: Monopitch roof makes it possible to identify each house giving a sense of individuality.

Figure 30: Analysis of spatial plans, access, form, material and density studies of courtyard housing, Barking.

Monopitch

Communal Courtyard

Glazed Wall Identity

Communal Courtyard Views

Private Courtyard

Street

Private Courtyard Peep into courtyard

Entrance threshold too small Street view

Flexible floor plan - 88sqm:2 bed

Flexible floor plan - 72sqm:1 bed 49

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Other Precedents, Goldsmith Street UK Cultural: Form inspired from English housing

tradition -

victorian terraced houses but project is modern in conception. Density: Low rise, human scale. 45 houses and 60 flats in one hectare. Site: Streets rather than apartment blocks. Form: Curved walls on corner leading visitors into street and interlocking forms. Social (Voids): Units share central terraces , wide landscape walkway, private front garden and balconies for bigger units. The narrow 14m street sets the layouts for these houses. For passivhaus, windows have to be smaller and architects used illusion to create enlarged feel with white set back panel around the window. User: Families - social housing. Plan: 8x6m house types, wide and shallow with all habitable rooms facing south. Material: Use of cream bricks, 600mm thick walls , perforated balconies, black glazed pantiles, metal bris soleil. Roof: Roof angled at 15degrees for sunlight to reach front terrace. Environment: Passivhaus environment standards.

Figure 31: Analysis of spatial plans, access, form, material and density studies of Goldsmith street, UK.

TER

WIN

STREET (14M)

GARDEN (14M)

SUN

TER

WIN

SUN

STREET (14M)

Street

Courtyard

Threshold space with services

STREET GARDEN (14M) STREET

Minimise overlooking through careful design of windows.

Open alley in the centre doubles up as shared communal garden and safe play are for children Threshold spaces with bins and services along with front garden create areas of refuge and personal space from street. 51

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 32: Precedent study images of Goldsmith street, UK

HOP LANE

IDENTITY IDENTITY

Precedent study Ballarat public spaces - Hop Lane Ballarat CBD CBD is a four Ballarat is block a fourpattern blockwith pattern with Lydiard and Armstrong Streets as main Lydiard and Armstrong streets Ballarat CBD is a four block pattern with as main thoroughfares along with Dana ,Mair and Lydiard and Armstrong Streets as main Sturt Street providing cross streets. thoroughfares along with Dana, Mair and thoroughfares along with Dana ,Mair and Sturt Street providing cross streets. Sturt Street providing cross streets. Ballarat CBD is a four block pattern with Class Lanes areStreets used as Lydiard and 2Armstrong asfunctional main spaces for loading and service, access thoroughfares along with Dana ,Mair and Class 02 lanes are used as functional 2 LanesItare used as functional to car parking. could have potential Sturt Class Street providing cross streets. spaces for loading and service, for connection but loading physical connection spaces for andaccess service, access to car parking. could have potential through block isIt not required. to car parking. It connection could have potential for connection but physical Classthrough 2 Lanes are is used functional block not as required. forloading connection butaccess physical connection spaces for and service, This was an underutlized street to carwhich parking. It could came to lifehave through through block is potential not umrella required. for connection physical This was but an underutlized streetHop installation,lights and aconnection hidden through block is not which came to required. life through umrella Temple Bar/Dining. Hop Lane and wasa hidden an underutilized street installation,lights Hop Temple Bar/Dining. came street to life through umbrella This waswhich an underutlized which came to life through umrella installations, lights and a hidden Hop installation,lights and a hidden Hop Temple Bar/Dining. Temple Bar/ Dining. This was an underutlized street which came to life through umrella installation,lights and a hidden Hop Temple Bar/Dining.

Class 2 Lanes are used as functional spaces for loading and service, access to car parking. It could have potential for connection but physical connection through block is not required.

Ballarat CBD is a four block pattern with Lydiard and Armstrong Streets as main thoroughfares along with Dana ,Mair and Sturt Street providing cross streets.

IDENTITY

Enclosure Enclosure

Laneway Laneway

Enclosure

Laneway

Laneways creating mid-block pedestrian links.

Enclosure

MAIR ST

Figure 33: Ballarat Umbrella Laneyway study.

Laneway LYDIA RD

ARMS TRON

ST N

G ST N

Enclosure STURT ST

RD ST

LYDIA

Enclosure

Enclosure Enclosure

IDENTITY

Ballarat CBD is Lydiard and 53 Arm thoroughfares a

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

The use of Art Installations at Hop Lane tackles the degrading of the urban environment by acting as a catalyst in urban spaces providing visual identity for the neighborhood. Moreover, it creates spaces of positive desire and has resulted in successful placemaking. Cultural creativity opens up adaptive ways of experiencing, seeing, understanding and transforming places. Therefore, it will be the driving force of community revitalization for future. The redesign of Ballarat Umbrella Laneway was a small assignment that examined relationship between place and participation as part of studio exercise to redesign a public space in Ballarat. The streets were analysed in both plan and street eye level to understand the place, occupation, materiality, history and analytical diagrams were produced explaining these observations. Figure 34: Redesign of Ballarat Umbrella Laneway - Assignment place + participation.

LANEWA

HOP LA

s Kiosk ctive , Intera ents,art ation ev rm with hop info works

Recycled pallets foldable seats with planters

ARMS

TRON G ST

Ballarat lifestyle reflected through urban street art

Scale - 1:2,000

LYDIAR D ST N

S SK TRE AT ET EB O AR

Opportunity to extend laneway through mid block.

Figure 35: Ballarat Umbrella Laneyway images for precedent study

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Precedent study Public Spaces - Berlin Figure 36: Google map aerial image of Hackesche Hofe.

A great example for public space that creates a pedestrian atmosphere and intimacy is located in Berlin Mitte known as

Figure 37 (facing page top): Sketch of Hackeshe Hofe analysing the street and public space experiences.

Figure 38 (facing page bottom): Sketch of Hackeshe Hofe courtyard analysing the private and public space experiences.

Hackesche Hoefe. It has 8 interconnected courtyards that create diverse experience dedicated solely to pedestrians which include restaurants, cinema and a unique atmosphere that brings back moments from Berlinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s past. The development was a former industrial estate which is now the largest cultural centre in the city of Berlin. A true urban microcosm with cafes, cinemas, restaurants, shops, art exhibitions and places of performance.

Public Courtyard

Church

7 5

ien

Largest Cultural Centre in the City with 8 interconnecting courtyards.

str

abe

Str

abe

8 3

4 2

Oranien

burger

Strabe

tra

e al

Promenade Hackesher Markt

Edge zone with good facades & furniture create a niche effect and invite passers by to stop.

Large courtyard is broken into smaller human scale activities and open to multiple use.

Enclosed experience vs exposed experience

Third place acting as threshold between street and building.

Promenade is located between the journey from train station entrance to destination.

Act as stopping points to slow down the movement of pedestrians. Planter boxes, furniture, signage act as barriers and distiguish street from activity zones in the promenade.

Shifts between walking, resting, conversing & stopping.

Courtyard

Hackesche HĂśfe

The courtyard space becomes a place of importance and a special feature when it is enclosed by buildings.

Centres attract activity (Jacobs,1961) and the foutain centrepiece creates a space of experience for actors (visitors) and audiences(residents)

The entrance looks into a house facade creating an effect of proper enclosure.

The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tree effectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; asserts that, sitting activity should cluster under trees ,Whyte (1980).

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

The changing relationship between private,public and being in a public space was analysed through this class assignment: morphology + urban DMA. A medium density example in Europe was selected, in this case Hackesche Hofe, and observations were made to understand humans, non humans, how space is occupied formally and informally, interactions between people and the space, capacities, emotions, social distance, conflicts and contestations. Architectural sections were then produced to show public life in these spaces and streets.

The objective of these precedent studies for public spaces is to design agile interfaces through proposing an architecture which facilitates city making as a collective and conflictual endeavour. Similar to Hackesche Hoefe, where a disused industrial site was transformed into an active cultural centre, my thesis will propose interface types that enable adaptations and transformations where a city can be reimagined along with agonistic spaces through artisitic interventions. The church at St Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kirk in the proposed site is a contested monument and the thesis will explore agonistic interventions by means of artwork to deconstruct the hegemonic memory Figure 39: Precedent study google images of Hackesche Hofe. 58

of the church and ignite thought provoking reactions for the people of Ballarat.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

04 HISTORY OF BALLARAT DWELLINGS

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

The Detached Dwelling 23. Ballarat (2014). Australian Terrace Houses. Retrieved from: http://www. australianterrace.com/ terraced-houses-in/victoria/ ballarat/

Ballarat is a low-rise city. Like most Australian cities, it is mostly famous for its 19th century villas, Victorian terraces, federation homes and Georgian style red brick homes. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data (2006), Ballarat CBD and inner suburbs have 7% of terrace housing

24. Boyd (1987), Australia’s Home: Its Origins, Builders and Occupiers.Melbourne University Press, 1987 25. ibid.

which are mostly single storey23. In the book Australia’s home, Robin Boyd described the four roomed cottage as the ‘bungalow’ which was divided into four rooms by a central hall and was a principle plan type which all Australian housing had adopted in the mid-twentieth century24. •

The Primitive Cottage consisted of two rooms,living and sleeping, and was extended during or after construction. The living room was longer than the sleeping and could be accessed by a front Veranda. This was also an expansible home where an additional kitchen and children’s bedroom were added to match the front verandah25.

Figure 40: Robin Boyd: Five Principle Plan types Source : Australia’s Home

Kitchen

Sleep

Figure 41: Analysis of the primitive cottage plan type.

Living

Sleep

Veranda 62

Expansible

•

The analysis diagram of the primitive cottage plan type shows that this is similar to the Palladian Villa where rooms have more than one access openings that lead to other rooms not to a corridor or central hall. When rooms are connected without a corridor it creates a spatial configuration known as “room-to-room enfilade” which enhances the degree of flexibility where activities are interchangeable and the rooms can support each other26.

27. Boyd (1987), Australia’s Home: Its Origins, Builders and Occupiers.Melbourne University Press, 1987

The Bungalow, as mentioned earlier, is the English cottage plan which had a central passage along with two or three rooms on each side and spread over the ground floor27. Today, modern houses or apartments adopt this corridor for flow distribution which reduces adaptability and creates institutional housing such as prison or monastery. In contrast, the use of enfilade in the plan can accommodate more living patterns along with changing needs in time.

Figure 42: Robin Boyd: Five Principle Plan types Source : Australia’s Home

Sleep

Living

Veranda

•

26. K. W. Seo, S. Kim (2013). Interpretable Housing for Freedom of the Body: The Next Generation of Flexible Homes. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ jbcpr.2013.13011

Figure 43: Analysis of the bungalow plan type.

Veranda 63

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

28. Boyd (1987), Australia’s Home: Its Origins, Builders and Occupiers.Melbourne University Press, 1987

•

The Asymmetrical Front was a variation to the bungalow plan where one of the rooms was thrust forward in line with the front veranda reducing the latter to the size of a porch. Rooms were arranged along the central corridor with spaces for utility, kitchen and maids room towards the rear. The veranda was a major feature of the facade which set the spatial planning for the interiors and changed in character to a glazed partitioned central vestibule at the back of the house. Other types of plan discussed by Boyd is the L-shape and Triple front which are also known as double fronted or triple front since two or more rooms face the street. Boyd further illustrated that more than one million Australian houses was based on the Asymmetrical Front type pf plan and others were variations of these five plan types28.

Utility

Figure 44: Robin Boyd: Five Principle Plan types Source : Australia’s Home Figure 45: Analysis of the primitive cottage plan type.

Sleep Veranda

Living

Kitchen & Dining

29. ibid

Bath Hall

Bedroom 2

Bedroom 1

Living

Laundry Kitchen

Bathroom HALL

Dining Living

Children Master-bed

Entrance

The mid twentieth century plan analysis shows a simple rectangle

which

allows

grouping

plumbing

and

interchanging rooms around the hall. It is interesting to note the living and bedroom in the front were a retention from the Bungalow plan along with a U shaped kitchen and an eating nook29. Throughout history, kitchens were the most important room in the house however they were always at the back of the house. With modern homes, as the society evolved and men got interested in cooking the kitchen re-positioned itself

Figure 46: Planning in the midTwentieth Century Source : Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Home Figure 47: Spatial Analysis Diagram

as the heart of the house in an open plan. 65

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Appendix 2.2

Ballarat Heritage Precincts Study, Part A, Volume 6, July 2006

Figure 2.16: Floor plan of residence for R E Dunn (16 Brawn Avenue) n.d [c.1936]. Source: Archives of Bartrop Real Estate, 50-54 Lydiard Street South, Ballarat.

Dr David Rowe: Authentic Heritage Services Pty Ltd & Wendy Jacobs: Architect & Heritage Consultant

Figure 48(Left) : Floor plan of residence for R E Dunn (16 Brawn Avenue) n.d [c.1936]. Source : Archives of Bartrop Real Estate, 50-54 Lydiard Street South, Ballarat. Figure 49(Right) : Floor plan of residence for L J Treloar (20 Brawn Avenue) n.d [c.1941]. Source : Archives of Bartrop Real Estate, 50-54 Lydiard Street South, Ballarat. 66

Appendix 2.2

Ballarat Heritage Precincts Study, Part A, Volume 6, July 2006

Figure 2.17: Floor plan of residence for L J Treloar (20 Brawn Avenue) n.d [c.1941]. Source: Archives of Bartrop Real Estate, 50-54 Lydiard Street South, Ballarat.

Dr David Rowe: Authentic Heritage Services Pty Ltd & Wendy Jacobs: Architect & Heritage Consultant

Bedroom 3 Kitchen

Dining

Laundry

Porch Bath

Porch

Bedroom 2 Bedroom 2

Living

Kitchen

Bedroom 1

Dining

Living Bedroom 1

Veranda

Laundry

Bath

Porch

The sample dwelling plans from Ballarat Heritage Precinct is similar to Boydâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s principle plan types particularly the asymmetrical front which is a variation to the Bungalow plan. These brick interwar bungalows in Ballarat are characterized

30. Rowe (2006).Ballarat Heritage Precincts Study. Retrieved from: http:// images.heritage.vic.gov.au/ attachment/18224

by single storey detached compositions with gabled roof forms and projecting verandahs or porches30 â&#x20AC;˘

The house plans have a central passage with rooms distributed on either side accessed from the front and back of the house through a veranda or porch.

whereas the bedrooms along with the

HALLWAY

on one side of the central passage

LIVING ZONE

are adjacent to each other often

SLEEPING ZONE

The living, dining and kitchen rooms

bath are grouped together. â&#x20AC;˘

In this type of house plan, the rooms within a zone can support the activities of the other room, for example, the three spaces: living, dining and kitchen are linked together and the activities support each other for family gathering. However, the central hall links the access between the living and sleeping zones from the middle of the house where the residents have to go through this predetermined traffic center to move to other spaces in the house. Does the hallway improve the flexibility for planning or reduce the possibility of polyvalency?

Bungalow with central corridor & kitchen at back.

Primitive cottage

SLEEPING ZONE

LIVING ZONE

SLEEPING ZONE

HALLWAY

LIVING ZONE

SLEEPING ZONE

SANANAZ AHMED

LIVING ZONE

AGILE HOUSING I

Open Plan with kitchen in the front and back gardens.

Utility

Living

Sleep

Veranda

Expansible

Veranda

Kitchen & Dining

Living

Sleep

Veranda

Kitchen WC

Living

Sleep

Veranda

Sleep

Veranda

Kitchen

Bath Hall

Bedroom 2

Dining

Porch Bath

Laundry wc Bedroom 2

Bedroom 1

Bedroom 3 Porch

Kitchen

Living

Bedroom 1 Porch

Dining

Bedroom 1 Veranda

Figure 50: Summary of the historic detached dwellings.

Laundry

Bath

Bedroom 2 Living

Living

Veranda

Post war living - Open plan, light and views. 31. Culture Victoria.Phillip Goad, Homes built for Post-war living. Retrieved from: https://cv.vic.gov.au/ stories/built-environment/ what-house-is-that/phillipgoad-homes-built-for-postwar-living/ 32. ibid.

In the post war house, the kitchen became the heart of the home having direct open access to the dining room. The kitchen-dining-living room as a unified space is a post war invention which is also the result of home becoming the private entertainment centre with the rise of telvision31. As a result, the backyard became the back garden which could be accessed from the living room along with the concept of indoor-outdoor spaces for entertainment instead of laundry or toilet. Residential design was a product of convenience which brought the car to the front door and at closest distance to the kitchen. This moved the location of the kitchen from the back to the front of the house to decrease distance between garage and kitchen32.

Figure 51: Brochures featuring a range of modern house plans. How the post-war small home movement helped deliver the great Australian dream. Source : National Library Of Australia 69

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Six-pack Living. 33. Pickett,C. (2006).The ‘six-pack’: the past and present of walk-up flats Retrieved from: https:// www.aicomos.com/ wp-content/uploads/2009_ UnlovedModern_Pickett_ Charles_SixPack_Paper. pdf

When walk up flats replaced houses in the suburbs, Harry Seidler said “The total effect of this demolition of individual houses for replacement on the same site by now quite standard three-storey flats is truly horrifying. The results are barrack-type buildings, their long dimensions filling the depth of the narrow allotment. What used to be yards at the back and on the sides…are denuded of vegetation and paved for

34. Perković,J.Six-pack Living: Type Street Apartment. Retrieved from:https:// assemblepapers.com. au/2019/07/16/sixpack-living-type-streetapartment/

cars. On floors above, the living rooms of adjacent blocks face each other across the five-metre wide canyon…”28. Despite criticism, the suburban ‘six-pack’ flats built during the 1960s provided afforable accommodation for low income groups, single people,renters and couples without children. These flats were the most common apartment format in Australian cities with two-three floors high and devoid of elevators. They replaced the footprint of a detached house on a single lot with tightly packed flats of monotonous design and could fit 8-12 families instead of one29. It was not built for aesthetic vision of the building but to maximize shared spaces where most residents would socialize on the staircase. These were one of the first examples of community living in the city and the principle of the staircase for socializing could be adopted for the Agile housing concept.

9/27/2020

Six-pack Living: Type Street Apartment | Assemble Papers

9/27/2020

Six-pack Living: Type Street Apartment | Assemble Papers

opportunities are there. With only twelve apartments, a six-pack is a boutiqueevelopment. The common staircases naturally form a safe public-private space, The apartment opens onto externalthe staircase, nse opportunities tothemeet neighbours. In a future ‘version 2.0’ of the typical of six-pack buildings, with wonderful views to the west. ent, Jack would love to create a skylight to the shower. “That kitsch idea of ing under the stars,” he says, self-deprecatingly. Potentially, he wonders if strata makes it possible to buy the roof and create a rooftop terrace or garden that could be y the residents.

Humble apartments are still themany same design 44 Typesix-pack St is a typical six-pack building, in norarely way accordedLike of us,careful Jack Chen’s pathattention to property thatdistinct one sees where is at a premium. (Indeed, 50 sqm are frominthecities thousands builtspace in the suburban ownership properties happened via below a year renting in a six-pack. streets in Australia without barely any regulatory Unlike many, he decided to stay. still seen as a high risk investment, and most banks will refuse to finance them. Only one controls. bank would offer a mortgage to Jack.) Jack’s is the only fully renovated apartment in the building, inhabited by a mix of rotating renters and owners, as well as social housing residents. The typology was a huge money-maker: it could fit eight to twelve families where before there was one, even if the apartments themselves were the epitome of modest. So many were built so quickly in St Kilda, that they increased the population of the suburb by 10,000 in one decade. “Walk-ups are the most common apartment format in Australian cities and towns,” writes Charles Pickett for Powerhouse Museum. Despite this, they have rarely been appreciated. Architectural historian Miles Lewis called them “the worst disaster ever” to blight Melbourne’s residential landscape, dismissing the whole period of the 1960s in architecture as “the reign of the six-pack”. Writing in 1979, Harry Seidler noted: “The total effect of this demolition of individual houses for replacement on the same site by now quite standard three-storey flats is truly horrifying. The results are barrack-type buildings,

Six-packs are everywhere in our suburbs: Jack’s living room overlooks another such building to the east.

https://assemblepapers.com.au/2019/07/16/six-pack-living-type-street-apartment/

11/17

3/17

Figure 52: Tom Ross. 44 Type St, A typical six-pack building.

city continues to densify, apartment living becomes more normalized, and space Retrieved from: https:// ues to be at a premium, six-packs oﬀer ready-made resident communities of aassemblepapers.com. very eable size. In time, Jack has a vision of a spectacular building coming to life: “We au/2019/07/16/six-pack-livingut in vertical planters, remove all this excessive, unused parking – there is so type-street-apartment/ much al to build a community.”

warm thanks to Jack, who invited us to his glorious apartment. We at Assemble Papers

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Overview of historical dwellings Figure 53: Diagram showing the layering of hallway and staircases from detached homes as well as walk up flats superimposed into agile housing model.

In agile housing, the staircase yet again becomes the social place where people meet, stop and have conversations. The hallway from the detached home is re-introduced as a communal staircase and the corridor from six pack living becomes the veranda for access into the blocks. These threshold spaces act as arrival to the residences and also as a spatial agent where they receive and bid farewell. It is neither in the public nor in the private sphere and help people connect because of its social quality. In the historic dwelling, there was a lot of interaction between people on the porches and the street front which enriched their daily lives. This threshold space is one of the other qualities that my thesis proposal will explore in the medium density dwelling.

The detached home

Six pack living

Agile housing

UNIT HALLWAY

UNIT

VERANDA

UNIT UNIT

CORRIDOR

SLEEPING ZONE

HALLWAY

LIVING ZONE

UNIT

HALLWAY

UNIT

HALLWAY

05 CONCEPT DESIGN:AGILE HOUSING

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Site location in the proposed masterplan Figure 54: Group Masterplan showing location of individual site for design thesis.

The site for agile housing was selected from the group masterplan project which is located adjacent to the Church and Sunday school. The exploratory walk in the masterplan identifies a public and communal space in this proposed site where the former is an interactive zone to encourage creativity, lifelong learning through studios, workshops, crafts, textile making, art whereas the communal space is a semi-public courtyard for residents along with play area. The agile housing blocks will explore its relationship between the church, public space, community and the city.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN STUDENT VERSION PRODUCED BYAUTODESK AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

What is Agile Housing? Agility in housing means adaptability over time for dwellings to be rearranged, divided or grouped as needs change. Agility could be created by an adaptable model for accommodation that can change from a bigger house to simplex, duplex, single apartments, sharing units, offices or shops. Agile housing strategies allow homes to adapt easily to the

changing lifestyle of individuals, from single professionals toSTUDENT PRODUCED PRODUCED BYBY AN AN AUTODESK AUTODESK STUDENT V

PRODUCED BY AN PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STU

couples, families, students and elderly to create sustainable

PRODUCED B

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

communities that age-in-place.

FUTURE?

Figure 55: Diagram showing the changing structure of family with time. ESK STUDENT VERSION

SK STUDENT VERSION

DESK STUDENT VERSION

DESK STUDENT TODESK STUDENT VERSION VERSION

Figure 56(facing page): Diagram of flexible model of accommodation that can change from a small house to a big house and vice-versa.

TODAY!

AGILE HOME

STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

SANANAZ AHMED

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

AGILE HOUSING I

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

“A family could buy the house and give the upper floors for rent to pay off the mortgage or upsize when they have children and downsize to allow ageing parents live in the ground floor flat.”35 The idea behind this framework is Rightsizing and to

35. Woodview Mews / Geraghty Taylor Architects. (2015)Archello. Retrieved from : https://archello.com/ project/woodview-mews

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION PRODUCED STUDENT VERSION create lifetime homes that can adapt easily. Agile homes willBY AN AUTODESK36.

Parkinson, S., Rowley, S., Stone, W., Amity, K., Spinney, A. and 1) Living independently as a single person, family or couple Reynolds, M. (2019) Young Australians and the 2) Living in the family home housing aspirations gap, 3) Sharing with others in group household PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION AHURI Final report 318, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute PRODUCED BY AN AUTODES Limited.

further explore to provide three types of living conditions36:

family with elderly & adult kids

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

Y AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION Y BY ANAN AUTODESK D AUTODESKSTUDENT STUDENT VERSION VERSION

family with adult kids

AGILE HOME

PRODUCED PRODUCED BYBY AN AN AUTODESK AUTODESK STUDENT STUDENT VERSION VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

individuals/couples/elderly

family with elderly & kids

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Massing 37. Jacobs, J. M. (1993). The City Unbound: Qualitative Approaches to the City. Urban Studies, p.15

One of the objectives of the masterplanning exercise was to make the heritage buildings visible, accessible and alive. As a consequence of creating a positive urban space near these old buildings it was important to define the balance with its defining masses. One such balance is sense of enclosure which is governed by the spatial compositional characters of the urban space. This sense of enclosure is influenced by the scale of the urban street space. Therefore, instead of creating a big plaza around the church, the buildings were located in close proximity to the church to create streets of human intimacy and perception. According to Jacobs, streets that belong to historical cities have many advocates if they are of a smaller scale.â&#x20AC;&#x153;Small space makes people deal with each otherâ&#x20AC;?. Moreover, Jacobs also highlighted that narrowness and enclosure and intimacy bring a feeling of safety. The goal of these buildings is to transform this disused space into an urban street that provide a physical setting for socioeconomic activities, invite more recreation for people and embrace the physical and historical identities of the place. For this reason, creating the right scale of enclosure was the first step for site massing to facilitate an urban street enclosed by the old and

Figure 57(facing page): Location of blocks as a result of masterplanning exercise. These focus buildings will be developed for agile housing concept. 78

new proposed building.

Sunday School

Proposed Block 01

Existing Church

Proposed Block 02

Sturt Street Boulevard 79

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 58: Operational diagrams showing massing strategy

10m

Enclosure -

Setback - Creates

Offset - Deck/Veranda

3 storey block lower

an interstitial space

created on the rear

than height of the

between public and

as threshold space.

church

private for accessing

Garden units located

the staircase core.

below deck. Setback - Shops on ground floor forming walkways through building setback.

Articulation -

Roof - This is pushed up

Slack space - The

Generates a

to create gables similar

staircase landing

more human scale

to surrounding context

extended to create

where the buiding

replicated for rhythm

slack space for shared

mass is divided into

and lighting

activities. This also acts

smaller parts. Living

as entrance feature into

& sleeping zones

the apartment block.

undergo push/pull based on spatial requirements.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Planning for Agility Agile methodology was further researched in software development where adaptability means responding to changes through short iterations. Another important point is the concept of circular thinking while planning for agile living. Decoupling means a change in one does not require a change in the other. Thus creating independent modules within apartments like bath pods, kitchen pods and flexible living spaces that allow the user to expand or contract with small iterations. As a result of circular thinking, the shafts for services should be located in a way to allow maximum flexibility within the living spaces. The ideal location would be for shafts to be in close proximity to the staircase and the individual apartment units have a clear span for maximum flexibility.Through the precedent studies the chosen strategies were: 1) Fixed staircase,services and clear span within units 2) Dividing, rearranging & grouping units 3) Housing diversity - Independent living, family home & shared living 4) Threshold & Slack spaces 5) Groud floor activation

Figure 59: Core and dwellings arranged to form a block. An Agile unit is thePRODUCED combination of PRODUCED BYBY AN AN AUTODESK AUTODE dwelling+core.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STU

Agile Unit: This unit can perform its task independently where a change in other units shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t require a change in this unit.

TODESK DESK STUDENT STUDENT VERSION VERSION

Block: Dwelling+Core

N AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

Dwelling: 3 Storey for intergenerational family home

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION PRODUCED BY BY ANAN AUTODESK PRODUCED AUTODESKSTUDENT STUDENT VERSION VERSION

Core: Private or Communal Staircase and services

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Divisibility and density Figure 60: Conditions for divisibility and adaptability within dwelling blocks.

The idea of divisibility and adaptability is an important issue while planning as the types of households will continue to change according to lifestyle. Agility in housing allows the individual homes or flats to be rearranged, divided or grouped as needs change by a flexible model for accommodation that can change from a bigger house to simplex, duplex, flats, shared units, offices or shops. An agile unit that can function on its own with independent staircase and core was the first planning consideration. This unit can then be repeated to allow for vertical and horizontal divisibility depending on lifestyle changes

More private

Less private

Less dense

More dense

Condition 01: 3 family homes

Condition 02: 9 independent flats:

Condition 03: 15 sleeping rooms with

grouped to form a block. Individual

3 granny units, 3 1-Bed units and 3

private bathroom. Shared kitchen,

staircases for each home addressing

2-Bed units. Communal staircase,

dining,communal staircase, veranda

privacy and communal courtyard is

veranda and courtyard.

and courtyard.

shared. 84

Divisibility has an affect on density and it is projected that with increasing density in the future, the agile unit is divided up to accommodate more people from independent living to shared living model. With time, the independent agile units will form a strong community and can allow for a sharing mentality for the future where the sleeping and bathroom spaces are private but kitchen and dining areas can be shared. In other blocks, this can also be converted into a single or multiple occupancy work spaces creating an ideal model for live,work and play.

2020 - Current model

2040 - future adaptability

2060 - future adaptability Blurring of live,work,play

Proposed model: 1 family home, 3

20 years: The proposed model could

40 years: Collective living where

independent flats, 5 sleeping rooms

build a strong community with time

residents have the choice to design

for shared living. This mixed model is

and become more open to shared

the living spaces with emerging

a prototype for agile block with future

living. Ballaratâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high density future

lifestyles for live,work & play towards

adaptability for shared living.

will lead to divisibility and co-living.

a more open plan with integrated technology.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Housing Diversity The proposed model for an agile block will consist of mixed model for living including a family home, independent living units and shared living. The 3 different types of living arrangement is independent of each other and can co-exist in the same block with shared veranda/deck on the first floor along with a communal courtyard. The divisibility of the agile unit is considered in the design stage as access and the variations are proposed such that one family home can become 3 independent units or 5 sleeping units for shared living with changing lifestyle over time. This arrangement provides real choice for housing diversity where students or single working professionals prefer shared living to combat social isolation, financial requirements or come together for short durations for creative work. In contrast, family homes for inner city living provide independence for multigenerational living where working couple is able to care for ageing elderly and young children. The proposed site is in close proximity to hospitals, schools and work creating a new demand for this dwelling typology to create compact livable communities. In addition, when members of the family reduce the units can be rearranged into independent flats by converting the private staircase to a communal stair where people stop, meet and Figure 61(facing page): Housing Diversity diagram for intergenerational living(same family), independent and shared living 86

can have conversations. This flexibility of dividing up or joining allows for downsizing or upsizing with change and allows residents to earn income from divided units.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSIO

Block A:

Block B:

Block C:

PRODUCED BYBY AN AN AUTODESK AUTODESK STUDENT STUDENT VERSION VERSION - FamilyPRODUCED Home - Independent

- Shared Living

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STU

- 4 Rooms flats PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESKLiving/ STUDENT VERSION - Private stair A

- 6 people

- GF:Granny flat

- GF:Granny flat FF: 1 Room

SF: 2 Room - 10 people

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

- 7 people

Shared Living

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

- Communal Stair

PRODUCED BY AN AU

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION PRODUCED BY BY ANAN AUTODESK PRODUCED AUTODESKSTUDENT STUDENT VERSION VERSION

- Communal Stair

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

SF: 2 Room

PRODUCED BY A

FF: 2 Room

Independent DUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

DENT VERSION

Flats Family

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

Home PRODUCED PRODUCED BYBY AN AN AUTODESK AUTODESK STUDENT STUDENT VERSION VERSION N AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

TODESK STUDENT VERSION

Dividing Up

Agile Unit

N STUDENT VERSION

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Rightsizing The idea behind this framework is rightsizing and to create adaptable homes that are divisible to accommodate future densification. This diagram shows how a family buys a 2 Bed unit and later has the ability to buy the lower floors or give it for rent creating opportunities for lifetime investment. The family home for multigenerational living can be divisible to have a private staircase for the family members but separate living/sleeping spaces for privacy between members and independent living. However, the City of Ballarat forecast has highlighted 24% increase in population of retirement age and the largest increase is expected in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lone person householdsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. For this reason, it is expected to have smaller households in the future with more shared spaces to combat social isolation and live in affordable places closer to work or school in the city. Later stages of life, the family home can be converted into shared living spaces where the owner of the house can age-in-place and also get financial freedom through income from the renters. The housing diversity and adaptability creates a strong community that can age-in-place which further reduces the institutionalized model of ageing where the elderly can continue to live in the same community. The granny flats in the ground floor is proposed to be accessible Figure 62: Proposed ownership and rent diagram of a couple aged 35 years to 75 years during their lifetime. 88

units for extra care living. This housing model is based on rightsizing and lifetime home concepts of Agile housing to create sustainable communities that age-in-place.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDEN

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

35 years NOISREV TNEDUTS KSEDOTUA NA YB DECUDORP

OWN SF - 2bed unit

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

SHARED LIVING

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

OWN: INDEPENDENT LIVING

2030

NOISREV TNEDUTS KSEDOTUA NA YB DECUDORP

55 years

Income (financial independence)

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

A YB DECUDORP

Y AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

ELDERLY PARENTS

OWN 2040

75 years

2060 89

NOISREV TNE

BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

ADULT KIDS

PRODUCED PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK VERSION BY AN STUDENT AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

2020

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

NOISREV TNEDUTS KSEDOTUA NA YB DECUDORP

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

NOISREV TNEDUTS KSEDOTUA NA YB DECUDORP

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

RENT GF - 1bed unit

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

OWN: FAMILY HOME PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

RENT FF - 1bed unit

NOISREV TNEDUTS KSEDOTUA NA YB DECUDORP

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

ISREV TNEDUTS KSEDOTUA NA YB DECUDORP

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK PRODUCEDSTUDENT BY AN AUTODESK VERSION STUDE

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 63: Initial room studies PRODUCED for adaptability and modular planning.

1R = 6sqm

BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION 2R = 12sqm 0.5R = 3sqm 2.5R = 15sqm

1.5R = 9sqm

3.0

2.0

4R = 24sqm

0.5R = 3sqm

1R = 6sqm

4.0

2.0

1000mm clear zone around bed

3.0

3.0 4.0 6.0

1.5

WIC

Bathroom

Kitchen

Bedroom

Living Space

Corridor

Spatial studies on room sizes as per lifetime home living standards 1R = 6sqm

1R = 6sqm

2.0

0.5R + 0.5R = 6sqm 2.0 1.5

3.0

3.0 1.5 2.0

AGILE SPACES - 6sqm room spaces changing from bath,study to kitchen. 1.5R = 9sqm

1.5R = 9sqm

3.0

1.5R = 9sqm

3.0

AGILE SPACES - 9sqm room spaces can adapt from kitchen to bedroom 4R = 24sqm

4R = 24sqm

4.0

6.0

AGILE SPACES - 24sqm room spaces adapt from living, studio, office, void. 0.5R = 3sqm

2R = 12sqm

3.0

1000mm clear zone around bed

4.0

0.25R = 1.5sqm

AGILE SPACES - 12 sqm bedroom/work. 90

4.0

Stair

Agile interfaces: intensity “The charged void” describes “architecture’s capacity to charge the space around it with energy, which can join up with other energies, define the nature of things that might come, anticipate happenings… a capacity we can feel and act on, but cannot necessarily describe or record” (Smithson and Smithson, 2005) This charged void links the activity patterns between

38. Sevtsuk, A., Onur, E., Farre, N. & Reza, A. (2013). Capturing Urban Intensity. Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on ComputerAided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA 2013) (pp. 551560).Singapore.

buildings and people , form and use in a place, to create social transformations38. When density refers to dwelling

39. ibid

units per unit area or amount of people, intensity refers to the ground floor activities that connect people. This ground floor quality is called intensity and refers to the spatial interactions in a street where more diverse activities are considered more intense39. The interfaces between these agile dwelling units creates diverse activities for the creative industry to collaborate and discuss ideas. Agility in planning of the ground floor units make them desirable spaces for art cafes, workshops, creative studios and collaboration where these units are facing an urban street with seating furniture, planters & temporary shade that make people stop, rest and enjoy the urban street. Moreover, the church and the proposed agile blocks create an enclosure for the street and the heritage buildings can be admired from the cafes or studios on the ground floor.

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Semi-public: Ground floor of the housing typology is a link between the community and city. The open ground floor level is proposed to host cafes, retail, bookshops, restaurants, art spaces and studios for creative work or collaboration. A vibrant creative hub which is a semi-public space for people to meet, share ideas and come together as a community. Semi-private: The communal staircase has proposed slack spaces which is an extension of the landing at split levels. Slack spaces are outside the dwelling unit and are used by residents for recreation or occupational use. It can be used for communal dining, barbeque, play areas or work according to individual needs. Semi-private: The deck above the garden apartments is an interstitial space between the public and private creating socio-spatial flows and connections to the community. The veranda forms an interface between the shared courtyard and dwellings forming a communal balcony for all residents. It is an interpretation from the old historic houses and sixpack buildings for communal living.

Figure 64: Public, semi-public and semi-private spaces. Thresholds for people to meet.

flo

d un

tio

ti ac

gro

sla

m om

s ck

ard

rty

u Co

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Mass Timber and tectonics 39. ArchDaily(2019). Is Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) the Concrete of the Future? Retrieved from: https://www.archdaily. com/922980/is-crosslaminated-timber-clt-theconcrete-of-the-future

40. Zukunftsinstitut GmbH,(2017). The future of Timber Construction. Retrieved from: http:// keithtimber.com.au/wpcontent/uploads/2013/10/ StoraEnso-The-futureof-timber-constructionJune-2017.pdf

Wood is the new concrete of the future and is experiencing a revival39. Architect Michael Green notes, people sometimes hug his wooden buildings since it is a material we turn for comfort having a great cultural and psychological significance. With mass timber construction (MTC), wood can be used as a biophilic material for mid and high residential buildings to create greater spans and depths through engineered wood40. One of the highlights of using MTC, that unlike steel and concrete, their transformation from renewable trees into mass timber products contribute less carbon into the atmosphere. “Timber can address one of the greatest challenges of the next decade, the need to respond to inevitable densification of our cities and deliver habitable spaces of high environmental quality without losing the inherent connection between humans and nature” - Jose Tomas Franco, Timber trends to watch for 2020 - Archdaily.

Ballarat is marketing themselves as the creative hub and for the same reason can be architecturally adventurous along with being socially conscious. What is the role of material architecture in an age of urbanization and Densification for Ballarat’s heritage heavy cityscapes? St Andrew’s kirk at Ballarat have fulfilled their intended purposes for many decades with changing functions and passage of time where some of the building materials were not demolished due to 94

structural problems but rather their purpose shifts. Similarly,

41. ibid.

the proposed material architecture for medium density agile housing need to be flexible with changing lifestyle of the people and also sustainable to reduce energy usage. For this reason, the proposed structural hypothesis for agile housing will use Glulam and cross laminated timber, two types of MTC, which allows for faster construction, lighter weight and

42. University of Cambridge,(2014). Reducing Material Demand in Construction. Retrieved from: https://www. uselessgroup.org/files/ construction_prospectus_ viewing.pdfJune-2017.pdf

prefabrication. CLT works like a flat-packed furniture where the panels are delivered to construction site and put together in place. It is a good insulator which can keep down heating and cooling costs along with storing carbon creating the potential of bringing urban forests into the city instead of concrete jungleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as demands increase for inner-city dwellings41. Moreover, most energy is used in the building industry for producing bulk materials such as steel, cement, plastic, aluminium which are not renewable energy sources42. Thus, in order to reduce material demand, the new development proposes using mass timber for structural systems, walls and ceilings where timber can be used in bulk that would save emissions from other materials, speed up delivery and can also be reused after deconstruction. In this way, through the choice of mindful materials like CLT and wood, Ballarat can achieve a holistic vision for sustainability and creativity by integrating the heritage urban jungle with the concept of wood. 95

SANANAZ AHMED

OR SPATIAL STUDIES

7.5

layout adaptability to occupants.

7.5

12.0

Simplex or Duplex apartment. The unit can easily convert to a 2 bed simplex by increasing in depth from 10.5m to 12m. The area of a 2bed simplex apartment is 90sqm and can also be adapted into a double height duplex or 80 sqm simplex.

OOR SPATIAL STUDIES 7.5

OR SPATIAL STUDIES

10.5

7.5

Strategies to be use 1) Clear span within 2) Communal circula core 3) Divisible Rooms 4) Support structure 5) Floor levels are fi 6) Fixed Staircase 7) Floor panels to b to allow for outdoo and double height 8) The floor is not fix made up of panels f move and choose SECOND to FLOOR SPATIAL STUDIES the unit. 7.5

SECOND FLOOR SPATIAL STUDIES

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VER

Staircase core fixed Staircase Core

FIRST FLOOR SPATIAL STUDIES

Support system.

ystem.

The dwelling can co staircase cores whic PRODUCED BY AN AU fixed along with bath The support system consst of prefabrica concrete columns, b insitu cocrete ceiling saircase and the sid are the fixed compo structure. The clear dwelling allow the re to re-arrange and ch PRODUCED AN AUTODES internalBY layouts as p changes or size of t FF= 1B Simplex SF= 1B Simplex TF = 1B Simplex

Simplex apartments on the first floor between 75-80 sqm.Spacious and THIRD FLOOR SPATIAL STUDIES accessible rooms which can be used 7.5 over a lifetime and particularly for elderly occupation. This is accessed from a deck through a ramp or lift from groud floor.

7.5

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

7.5

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

AGILE HOUSING I

dwellings and differe needs change. Agilityfor could be cr layouts its suppo a bigger house to simplex, duplex The structural appro can adapt their suit lifes to homes give thetopower of

Floor panels to be moved to allow

Floor panels can for outdoor space and double be moved to create height spaces. double height

7.5 12.0

FIRST FLOOR SPATIAL STUDIES 10.5

from 10.5m to 12m. The area of a 2bed simplex apartment is 90sqm and can also be adapted into a double height duplex or 80 sqm simplex.

Simplex apartments on the first floor between 75-80 sqm.Spacious and accessible rooms which can be used over a lifetime and particularly for elderly occupation. This is accessed from a deck through a ramp or lift from groud floor.

STUDENT VERSION

Staircase Core

Prefabcolumns concrete columns Glulam

Floor panels to be moved to allow for outdoor space and double height spaces.

Prefab concrete columns

Figure 65: CLT connections, bathroom pods and structural hypothesis diagrams.

Supportsystem system. Support

fix Th co co in sa ar st dw to in ch

S 1) 2) co 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) to an 8) m to th

Habrakenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theory of support and infill consists of columns, beams and removable floor panels. This structure can accommodate different size of dwellings and internal layouts for its support structure where the occupants can adapt the internal walls to the changing lifestyle. The staircase core, columns and beams are fixed along with the external load bearing walls, however the internal walls are non load bearing which can be removed, reused or rearranged. Structural strategies are: 1) Clear span within each dwelling unit (7.5m width established through spatial planning studies) 2) Divisible rooms for adaptability 3) Floor levels, columns, beams and external walls fixed. 4) Fixed staircase core 5) Floor panels can be removed for double height. 6) Modular bathroom and kitchen pods 7) Service zone combined with staircase 8) Prefabrication

Agility in housing means adaptability over time for dwellings to be rearranged, divided or grouped as needs change. This is created by an adaptable mass timber structural model for accommodation where the external walls along with core is fixed whereas the internal walls have the ability to be removed, rearranged or reused according to the lifestyle changes. 97

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

07 FINAL PROPOSAL

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

ON LY

E TR

100

Figure 66: Isometric view of existing buildings including the church and sunday school along with proposed medium density agile housing blocks.

O WS A D

R ST

101

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 67 (facing page): Ground floor plan of focus buildings. 102

LEGEND 1. Sturt Street Entrance 2. Bookshop 3. Eatery 4. Residential entrance threshold 5. Garden Apartments/ Granny flats 6. Communal staircase 7. Seating Landscape 8. Seating Church - Storytelling 9. Church Street square (public space) 10. Seating furniture 11. Art Cafe 12. Ceramic studio 13. Communal Cook & Eat 14. Private Staircase 15. Communal Courtyard 16. Sunday school gardens 17. Entrance Canopy 18. To Dawson Street 19. Existing Church building 20. Existing Sunday school building

17 16 06

09 14

08 11

06 17

04 03

02 10

STURT STREET 103

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 68 (facing page): Proposed Block 01, ground floor plan 104

LEGEND 1. Entrance threshold residence 2. Private Staircase 3. Group outdoor dining 4. Live-Cook-Eat 5. Sleep room 6. Bathroom 7. Garden facing courtyard 8. Communal Staircase 9. Art Cafe 10. Ceramic studio 11. Communal Cook & Eat 12. Church Street Seating 13. Courtyard/ play area

07 05

06 11

01 12

07 05

09 04 07

105

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 69 (facing page): Proposed Block 01, first floor plan 106

LEGEND 1. Shared Veranda/Deck 2. Private Staircase 3. Kitchen 4. Living 5. Bedroom 6. Bathroom 7. Balcony 8. Communal staircase 9. Shared Cook-Eat corridor 10. Slack Space 11. Garden Below 12. Communal Courtyard

SHARED LIVING

11 07

INDEPENDENT FLAT - 2 BED

07 FAMILY HOME 04

07 03

107

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 70 (facing page): Proposed Block 01, second floor plan 108

LEGEND 1. Veranda seen below 2. Private Staircase 3. Kitchen 4. Living 5. Bedroom 6. Bathroom 7. Balcony 8. Communal staircase 9. Shared lounge 10. Slack Space 11. Work from home

SHARED LIVING

07 05

INDEPENDENT FLAT - 2 BED

05 05

FAMILY HOME

07 05

109

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 71 (facing page): Proposed Block 01, roof plan 110

LEGEND 1. Veranda/Deck 2. Granny flat gardens 3. Ramp to Deck 4. Private roof garden 5. Solar panels 6. Gabled roof 7. Communal courtyard 8. Public Church street

01 06

SHARED LIVING

02 05

INDEPENDENT FLAT - 2 BED

02 05

06 FAMILY HOME 02

111

AGILE HOUSING I

Figure 72: Illustrative Site plan 112

SANANAZ AHMED

113

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

LEGEND 1. Eatery 2. Bookshop 3. Art Cafe 4. Pottery Workshop 5. Communal Cook & Eat 6. Garden Apartments 7. Communal staircase 8. Family Home 9. Veranda/Deck 10. Ceramic Studio 11. Textile studio 12. Woodworking studio 13. Exhibition/Collab 14. Independent Flats 15. Sleep rooms 16. Shared Cook-Eat 17. Shared Lounge 18. Slack space

Block 01: Second floor plan

09 12

Block 01: First floor plan

Figure 73: Comparison of Block 01 and Block 02 adaptive plans. 114

Block 01: Ground floor plan

Block 02: Second floor plan

09 08

Block 02: First floor plan

06 08

Block 02: Ground floor plan

06 07

115

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 74: Church Street Elevation

The agile housing prototype is a revival of the historic sixpack street living or walk up block apartments. In the postwar period the footprint of the detached house was converted into two-three storey apartment buildings with six flats per level of monotonous design along with a six-window facade to the street to accommodate 8-12 families instead of one. This proposed agile housing prototype is an antidote to the walkups which created a stigma for apartment living as it was termed “the worst disaster ever” by Architectural historian Miles Lewis. In contrast, the old barrack type building is replaced with a more human scale form where the building mass is made more familiar by breaking into smaller elements that convey a sense of ‘home’ through form and scale43. The Australian home is famous for its front and back yards creating a hierarchy of spaces between the road, footpath, front fence and garden edges. Similarly, the proposed multi housing

116

development has a shared walkway deck on the first floor instead of footpaths, balconies reinterpret the front yards whereas communal courtyards replace the gardens. In addition, the traditional housing typologies is used in new ways to create a series of diverse clusters with varying density

43. Madigan, D 2017, Innovation in Social Housing 90 Day Project: Design Principles Report, University of South Australia, South Australia.

within the block connected through staircases which has slack spaces shared across two or three dwellings. Another feature is the gabled roof form in each dwelling which creates identity and negates the institutional effect of group housing. Finally, the church street elevation has varying volumes that create spatial variety in the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facade and more enjoyable spaces for the residences and visitors to occupy. The ground floor is activated through shops, retail and work studioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where these agile buildings interact with the city and community creating spaces for people to meet.

117

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

The courtyard elevation respects the height of the church where the gabled roof does not dominate the ridge lines of the church and the line of sight to these heritage buildings is considered from varying points in the development. Access to the communal courtyard, veranda, outdoor dining and staircases will create desirable places for residents to meet and have conversations. Unlike the walk up street apartments of the 1930â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, these buildings are designed with tactics to enhance the outdoor relationship with quality landscaped spaces to improve well-being and social cohesion through mindful design. As a result, the varying hierarchy of public and semi-private spaces connect the dwellings physically, visually and socially to increase the sense of community in a multi-residential housing.

118

Figure 75: Courtyard Elevation

119

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 76: Isometric Section

09 06

06 07

FA M

ILY

07 02

LEGEND 1. Art Cafe 2. Residential entrance 3. Ceramic studio 4. Communal Cook & Eat 5. Living 6. Bedroom 7. Slack space (Staircase) 8. Private gardens 9. Private Staircase 10. Communal staircase 11. Shared veranda/deck 12. Communal Courtyard 120

IN LIV DEPE ING ND : F ENT LA TS

03 06

02 04

SH LIV ARED ING

High windows for north lighting and stack effect for ventilation is provided in each unit. The operable high windows can release hot air and fresh air comes in from west window. This creates continuous air flow within the dwelling because of dual aspect apartments.

06 02

121

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

The Family Home There is a demand for intergenerational homes for inner city living where a family can live near opportunities of work, study and healthcare. The Australians like to own bigger houses for the family leading to urban sprawl because of unaffordable prices and lack of housing diversity in the city. The family home proposed at St Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kirk is a 4 bedroom home of 220sqm (excluding the staircase) for multigenerational living. The ground floor has an elderly apartment with accessible living,kitchen, bedroom with ensuite and private gardens. The proximity to the healthcare district allows for easy in-house health consultations where the resident can continue ageing at home without the need for downsizing or moving to an institutionalized age care facility. This embraces the concept of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policy of ageing-in-place and positive ageing where residents are able to enjoy independent living in the same community leading to mental wellbeing. The first floor is accessed through a secure private staircase and has the master bedroom, living, dining and separate cooking area with courtyard views. This is 80 sqm is size where the couple enjoys their privacy from the rest of the family whereas the second floor has 2 bedrooms along with study which can be used by the kids or young adults who continue to live with the family. There is an increase in percentage of young emerging Figure 77(facing page): Multigenerational family home exploded 3d view 122

adults living with parents and the family home can be adapted to suite intergenerational living with respect for privacy.

08 04 10

05 04

06 08

LEGEND 1. Entrance/foyer 2. Living 3. Elderly Bedroom 4. Bathroom 5. Kitchen 6. Master Bedroom 7. Bedroom 03 8. Bedroom 04 9. Kids study/play 10. Balcony 11. Slack space 12. Outdoor family dining

03 04 02

12 01

MISE BLIC PU IC

TE IVA

AL UN D MM YAR CO URT CO

TE IVA

IAL TIT RS NE E INT ZO 123

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 78: Kids study and play on second floor

124

125

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 79: Elderly garden unit on ground floor

126

127

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Independent Living - Flats The family home can be easily adapted into 3 independent flats with separate access to the apartments by converting the private staircase into a communal staircase for the residents of this block. This idea of dividing up into separate units allows the owner of the unit to stay in the same house once they have downsized or their kids have left the home. Thus, a large unit can be split into 3 self contained units with 3 separate entrances where the garden apartment is 60sqm and the flats on the upper floor are 80sqm with 2bed units. The main advantage is to allow for homes to grow or shrink depending on lifestyle changes where the occupant can also earn an income if they were to stay in the elderly apartment and give the upper floors for rent. Another scenario is to convert the retail unit on the ground floor for workspace/ office/studio where people from the creative industry are able to live and work in the same space while caring for an elderly parent. In order to achieve this concept of agility where the units can be adapted from a bigger house to a smaller one, the access strategy has to be considered at the design process. The slack space created with the extension of the staircase landing provides spaces for hobbies or socialise with neighbors to increase levels of social inclusion whereas the private garden above this slack space acts as an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;inner Figure 80: Exploded axonometric view of independent living flats

128

sanctumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; where residents can avoid contact with others and enjoy the view of the heritage buildings.

07 04

06 08

07 04

04 08

LEGEND 1. Entrance 2. Living 3. Elderly Bedroom 4. Bathroom 5. Kitchen 6. Master Bedroom 7. Bedroom 02 8. Balcony 9. Slack space 10. Shared Outdoor dining 11. Veranda

03 04

AL UN D MM YAR CO URT CO

MISE VATE I PR

L ITIA ST ER ONE T IN Z

MISE BLIC PU

129

AGILE HOUSING I

Figure 81: 2 bed independent living units

130

SANANAZ AHMED

131

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 82: Private roof terrace, inner sanctum and refuge spaces.

132

133

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Shared Living In this block, the units are divided horizontally and vertically to adapt from 3 independent apartments to 5 smaller units for shared living in a group household where individuals are culturally diverse. Most of the occupants are targeted to be students or single professionals living collectively where the sleep room and bathroom are separate but cooking and dining activities are shared by the group household. These activities are an extension of the corridor with view to the veranda and communal courtyard providing smaller manageable spaces for shared activities instead of one large space. The ground floor accommodates a communal cook & eat instead of work/ retail unit which is managed by the community and improves the sense of belonging. As a result, this block can house 5-9 persons because of maximum divisibility where the owner can downsize into the garden apartment and give the upper units of shared living for rent. In this way, each block can adapt from 1 family home - 3 independent flats - 5 units for shared living where maximum density ca be achieved through higher divisibility. The shared kitchen, dining and lounge areas are personalized to make it feel less institutionalized when compared to a hostel/lodge by providing shorter corridor length but wider spaces to turn the corridor into activity spaces for shared living. When these spaces are managed Figure 83: Exploded axonometric view for shared living block 134

by smaller group of people it will lead to better maintenance where the concept of shared living can be truly enjoyed.

04 01 09

06 08

10 01

04 01 08

04 01

LEGEND 1. Entrance 2. Living 3. Elderly Bedroom 4. Bathroom 5. Kitchen 6. Shared Corridor Cook & Dine 7. Veranda 8. Balcony 9. Private roof garden 10. Shared Corridor Lounge & Read 11. Communal Cook & Eat

03 04

AL UN D MM YAR CO URT CO

05 01 11

MISE VATE I R P IAL TIT RS NE E INT ZO IC

135

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 84: Cook & eat spaces in corridor: shared living.

136

137

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Agile Interface 44. Dovey 2011, Public. private interfaces in the inner city: Types, Adaptations,Assemblages . Retrieved from : http:// soac.fbe.unsw.edu. au/2011/papers/

Interfaces are connections, relations and flows that bring

45. ibid.

product of small scale adaptations emerging from creative

people to places. According to Deleuze & Guattari, productive self- organised wholes emerge from dynamic iterations between people and things, subjects and objects which is resonated with assemblage theory44.Agle interfaces is a

clustering and urban character of the space where various agents - people, families, shops, studios, students- interface with their community. Creative industries are attracted to density, heritage, central locations, cheap rents and most importantly adaptability of interfaces(Evans 2009; Bell & Jayne 2004; Brown & Meczynskivan 2009; van Heur 2009). Interface adaptations in urban design generate new connections that are formed between productions, exchange and consumption creating urban intensification. Some of these adaptations proposed for the public space is through ground floor activation, access, setback, transparency and identity45. The pedestrian setback is replicated from the surrounding context Figure 85: Entrance from Sturt Street to the new proposed public space. Figure 86: Sunday school and church views from the proposed public space. 138

where the entry to shops is setback behind a mediating pedestrian space. A continuous negotiating of public and semi-private spaces before crossing a fully private space is visible throughout the development. The relationship between courtyard, thresholds, ramps and veranda also is designed with twofold conceptions to separate physical access from visual connections creating interstitial spaces for sociability.

139

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 87: Revitalizing the heritage public space

140

141

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Figure 88: Shared communal courtyard & veranda creating strong sense of community.

142

143

AGILE HOUSING I

SANANAZ AHMED

Future Directions: Agile housing & densification The main aim of the thesis was to create adaptable and diverse housing types at a medium density that would allow homes to adapt easily to the changing lifestyle of individuals. Through iterative exercises of selective research, precedent studies, problem solving and design process, possible solutions were identified for agile housing prototype. Inner city regional living in Ballarat does not have the best mix of housing density or diversity close to jobs, school and healthcare. Moreover, the same size houses are repeated over smaller blocks instead of creating subdivisions with a range of block sizes. How can awareness be created about the unsustainable reality of the australian dream of a qaurter acre block model? The agile housing model sheds light on the idea of divisibility and adaptability where the former has an affect on density and the latter on intensification. It is projected that with increasing demand for housing and density in the future, the agile housing model can be divided to accommodate more people for collective living in shared group households to reduce social isolation, housing affordability and include an ageing population. The proposed agile housing prototype is a mixed model for independent, shared or multigenerational living creating a unique diversity and inclusion of all age groups. The design outcome is a changing housing model where the private family home for multigenerational living is shifting towards a shared mindset of living with time and 144

lifestyle changes. As a result, the final outcome is a new approach to adaptable housing for inner city living in Ballarat where households can downsize or upsize embracing the uncertainty of the future and provide greater flexibility compared to conventional apartment living.The research by design stage was an analysis of adaptability with diverse household typologies, understanding the history of detached dwellings at Ballarat and analyzing future of mass timber for densification in regional cities. The design process tested the spatial configurations of the historic dwelling and superimposed the lifetime home concepts to adapt to a ballarat model for community living. Thus, living in a community has a better sense of belonging, security, low costs due to sharing of resources and greater fulfillment for positive ageing. In this way, St Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; kirk at Ballarat becomes more accessible, visible and alive where the once disused heritage buildings becomes a creative force for establishing a strong sense of community. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those of us who are concerned with buildings tend to forget too easily that all the life and soul of a place, all of our experiences there, depend not simply on the physical environment, but on the pattern of events which we experience thereâ&#x20AC;?- Christopher Alexander, A Pattern Language

Figure 89(next page): Image showing the materiality of church, sunday school and new buildings. An amalgamation of stone, brick and wood:the future material.

145

AGILE HOUSING I

146

SANANAZ AHMED

147

AGILE HOUSING I

•

SANANAZ AHMED

Beach, B. (2016) Generation Stuck.

•

Retrieved from : https://ilcuk.org.uk/wp-

Architects. (2015) ArchDaily.Retrieved

content/uploads/2018/10/Generation-Stuck.

from :https://www.archdaily.com/769804/

pdf •

State Government of Victoria (2010)

woodview-mews-geraghty-taylor-architects •

Architects.(2015)Archello. Retrieved from :

of change. Retrieved from :https://www.

https://archello.com/project/woodview-mews •

YARD: Co-Housing Development. Retrieved

generation-of-change-Overview-report.pdf

from : https://archipreneur.com/urban-

Ballarat Strategy (2015). A Greener, More

bigyard-co-housing-development-zanderroth-

from :https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/

architekten/ •

sites/default/files/2019-04/Ballarat%20 Strategy%202040.pdf

•

andrews uniting church. •

Newton, C., Gilzean, I., Backhouse, S.,

World Economic Forum.(2019) Making

Alves, T., Whitzman, C. and Pert, A. (2015) Building Transformation Through

Retrieved from : http://www3.weforum.org/

Housing Expos: A multi-pronged strategy

docs/WEF_Making_Affordable_Housing_A_

to help address the wicked problem of

Reality_In_Cities_report.pdf

affordable housing, State of Australian Cities

C. Newton, A. Aibinu, S. Backhouse, R.

Conference 2015, Goldcoast, AUS. •

Whitzman.(2016) Agile housing for an Ageing paper/agile-housing-for-an-ageing-australia/

Victorian Heritage Database Report(2018): St andrews uniting church, Appraisal of heritage

Australia.Retrieved from : http://anzasca.net/

•

Victorian Heritage Database Report(2005): St

Affordable Housing a Reality in Cities.

Crawford, T. Kvan, E. Ozanne, A. Pert and C.

•

Zanderroth architekten(2017)Urban BIG

file/0011/102413/Victorias-regional-centres-a-

Vibrant and Connected Ballarat Retrieved

•

Woodview Mews / Geraghty Taylor

Victoria’s regional centres – a generation planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_

•

Woodview Mews / Geraghty Taylor

issues •

Wilfrid Laurier University Press (2009)

Commonwealth of Australia. (2015) Housing

Rites of Way : The Politics and Poetics

Decisions of Older Australians.Retrieved from

of Public Space. Retrieved from :http://

:https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/

ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/unimelb/detail.

housing-decisions-older-australians

action?docID=685712

The Gerontologist Vol. 52, No. 3, 357–366

•

Parkinson, S., James, A. and Liu, E. (2018)

(2011) The Meaning of “Aging in Place”

Navigating a changing private rental sector:

to Older People. Retrieved from : https://

opportunities and challenges for low-income

academic.oup.com/gerontologist/

renters, AHURI Final Report No. 302,

article/52/3/357/580905

Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited, Melbourne.

148

•

City of Ballarat (2015) Ballarat Strategy Our

•

and present of walk-up flats.Retrieved from:

ballarat.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-04/

https://www.aicomos.com/ wp-content/

Ballarat%20Strategy%202040.pdf

uploads/2009_UnlovedModern_Pickett_

Jane Jacobs (1961) The Uses of Sidewalks:

Charles_SixPack_Paper.pdf •

Apartment. Retrieved from:https://

Jan Gehl (2010) Cities for People, the human

assemblepapers.com. au/2019/07/16

dimension.

sixpack- living-type-streetapartment/

Ballarat (2014). Australian Terrace Houses.

•

The tacit semantics of ‘Loud Fences’: tracing

com/ terraced-houses-in/victoria/ ballarat/

the connections between activism, heritage

Boyd (1987), Australia’s Home: Its Origins,

and new histories, International Journal of Heritage Studies, 24:8, 861-873 •

Watch for 2020 Retrieved from: https://www.

Housing for Freedom of the Body: The

archdaily.com/930422/timber trends-7-to-

Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/

watch-for-2020 Jacobs, J. M. (1993). The City Unbound: Qualitative Approaches to the City. Urban

Rowe (2006).Ballarat Heritage Precincts

Studies, p.15 •

Sevtsuk, A., Onur, E., Farre, N. & Reza,

vic.gov.au/attachment/18224

A. (2013). Capturing Urban Intensity.

Culture Victoria.Phillip Goad, Homes built

Proceedings of the 18th International

for Post-war living. Retrieved from: https://

Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural

cv.vic.gov.au/ stories/built-environment/

Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA 2013)

what-house-is-that/phillipgoad- homes-built-

(pp. 551-560).Singapore.

for-postwar- living/

•

jbcpr.2013.13011 Study. Retrieved from: http://images heritage.

•

ArchDaily (2020).Timber Trends: 7 To

K. W. Seo, S. Kim (2013). Interpretable Next Generation of Flexible Homes.

•

Jacqueline Z. Wilson & Frank Golding (2018)

Retrieved from: http://www. australianterrace.

Press, 1987

•

Perković,J.Six-pack Living: Type Street

American Cities.

Builders and Occupiers.Melbourne University •

Pickett,C. (2006).The ‘six-pack’: the past

Vision for 2040.Retrieved from :https://www.

Safety from The Death and Life of Great •

•

ArchDaily(2019). Is Cross-Laminated

Sennett, R. The public realm. The Blackwell

Timber(CLT) the Concrete of the Future?

City Reader, 2010

Retrieved from: https://www.archdaily.

Parkinson, S., Rowley, S., Stone, W.,

com/922980/is-crosslaminated-timber-clt-

Amity, K., Spinney, A. and Reynolds, M. (2019) Young Australians and the housing

theconcrete- of-the-future •

Madigan, D 2017, Innovation in Social

aspirations gap, AHURI Final report 318,

Housing 90 Day Project: Design Principles

Australian Housing and Urban Research

Report, University of South Australia

Institute Limited.

•

Dovey 2011, Public. private interfaces in the inner city: Types, Adaptations,Assemblages .Retreived from : http:// soac.fbe.unsw.edu. au/2011/papers/ 149

AGILE HOUSING I

150

SANANAZ AHMED