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DESIGN STUDIO GAMMA: Living Neighbourhood, Living House

Conceptual collage

The Brief

This project is a proposal for a medium-density housing block located in the heart of carlton. The brief was to take three existing housing lots and densify them to increase the number of dwellings per lot, as well as develop the third lot to create a flexible, inter-generational housing design. The third lot is designed so that it may house a variety of family types over three generations: the first generation housing a typical nuclear family with grandparents, the second generation housing two different families and the third generation housing two families and a business space.

Key concepts

This design centers itself around comfort - creating a solace where residents can be at ease and enjoy themselves - thus, the name 'solace house' The project responds to this through 5 key factors: density, intensity, ecology, spatial adaptability and place. The need to densify the dwellings was met with extra measures to ensure privacy and comfort remained, even in the small spaces. The living house is adaptable - spaces can be repurposed as needed with varying needs of different families across generations, with a capacity to bring work into the home. Intensity is achieved by laneway activation, with entries and views arranged to bring life to a previously dingy laneway. Ecology is considered through thermal comfort, using passive design strategies to create a comfortable environment. The entire design is tied back to the surrounding context through a visually cohesive design that connects to the local brick-terrace typology.