Future Homes Competition

This is a complex project based on the perceived need for a series of apartment building prototypes that can be bought off the shelf and built with minimal red tape, across the middle ring suburbs of Melbourne. Historically these suburbs were settled with a series of pattern books of 12 federation type cottages. Now mostly over 60 years and old and under catering for the growing density within the city, the Vic. Gov. Architect wants to update the “pattern book” with a series of apartment buildings each developable over 2 or 3 lots.

MWA is one of 4 co-winners of this open national competition and is now working with the Government Architect of Victoria to develop their winning designs into one or several of the patterns. As part of the competition MWA has developed a diagram that makes the existing landscape primary and in terms of construction is looking at low embodied carbon materials.

Key Principals and Strategies.

• The apartment building has been designed to consolidate and minimise its footprint so as to maximise the surrounding deep soil, landscape and open space. To this end, the driveway and carpark are contained within and under the building footprint.
• The compact form is then articulated by the common, open-air, gallery access.
• All apartments typically have living areas opening northwards onto balconies
• All balconies overlook or look towards the street
• The consolidated form also enables maximum separation from neighbours, especially to the rear.
• The rear yard is maximised to foster the long term potential of an “indigenous forest” and landscape corridor, when consolidated with neighbouring yards, to promote tree cover and bird life.