Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2022 i Architecture Australia

The history of residential development in Australia gives the lie to an oft-touted refrain in contemporary political discourse that the answer to our housing crisis rests not with government but with markets. From tiny weatherboard coalminers’ cottages to the last remaining dockworker residences in The Rocks in Sydney and relics of the federal government’s postwar reconstruction agenda,1 Australia’s housing landscape bears testament to the fact that housing affordability has almost always been driven by government intervention. This is a lesson from history that today’s governments must learn. Currently, more than 155,000 people around Australia are on social housing waiting lists – with some wait times extending more than a decade. The number of people who are homeless is 116,000, and that number is expected to grow to more than 220,000…

Built on the land of the Dharug, Gundungurra, Wanaruah, Wiradjuri, Darkinjung and Tharawal peoples The client’s brief for this new residential project high in the Blue Mountains was unique: a sustainable house that lets him travel to the stars, while also being accessible and adaptable for life with a disability. An astronomer and engineer, Basil Borun had investigated the option of a project home but soon realized that any kind of customization would increase the cost significantly, making an architect-designed house much more desirable. After a detailed selection process, he finally chose Peter Stutchbury and his team to undertake the work. The result is as far from a project home as could be. Glimpses of the house’s parabolic vaulted roof can be caught between the trees on the approach. Located…

Someday, hopefully soon, the world will probably have to work exclusively with the buildings it has already got. Through alteration, the use and amenity of a building can change. Without gutting a building, we might focus on the fundamental elements that define how an average domestic room can be used – the shape, the location of the door and the window, the services and the materiality (the shelter). We anticipate this important project for architecture through the nature and role of the small change. Architects are late to this project. In domestic buildings, this experiment has been going on since before the notion of architecture existed. Some favourites are the enclosed porch, the converted shed or the repurposed roof space. Inevitably, what is often delightful about these spaces is that…

Having been built en masse across the world since the 1950s, apartment buildings have become the global solution to dense urban living. But many of these buildings no longer meet current environmental, economic and social standards.1 They are wasteful of energy and have high operational costs, and their outmoded designs and compact spaces fail to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse resident demographic. Unless renewed, older apartment buildings can be expected to decline in economic value and become eyesores that frustrate the aspirations of residents and neighbourhoods. While many government initiatives focus on upgrading requirements to improve the environmental performance of these buildings and promote technical retrofits to meet current standards, changing residents’ needs receive considerably less attention. This is surprising, given we know that the resident profile of…

Built on the land of the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation In the last year, home prices in Australia have grown at their quickest rate since 1989 – almost eleven times faster than wages.1 Fuelled by upsizers, downsizers and “changeover” buyers, the pandemic property boom, which flickered to life amid an uneven COVID-19 recession expected to compound women’s lifetime economic disadvantage, has worsened the crisis of affordability for those already locked out of the housing market.2 This crisis is often framed as a form of generational conflict. But as property windfalls are passed down, access to homeownership is at risk of becoming “hereditary.”3 It is older single women who are left most vulnerable. Longer life expectancy, increased divorce rates, the burden of caregiving, and lower savings and superannuation –…

“Designing for dignity” is about creating environments that enable people from all walks of life, whether or not they need assistance, to feel respected. It moves beyond what is known as “universal design principles” to recognize the complexity of human needs. Architectural approaches, as it turns out, can not only support but enhance human capabilities and improve quality of life. I have both a professional and a personal interest in this theme. In 2013, I worked with my parents to design a bathroom renovation to suit the needs of my mother, who was living with a terminal neurodegenerative disease and progressively losing her strength and mobility. As she was spending up to two hours a day with a carer (often my father) in the bathroom, the design of this space…

Gilby House Architect Gilby and Brewin Architecture Location Built on the land of the muwinina people of the South-East Nation Hobart, Tasmania Year of completion 2017 Photography Anna Gilby and Ross Brewin Designing for complex human needs, including physical, cognitive and neurodevelopmental conditions, is a practice that has developed significantly in the past decade. While it is common for us, as architects, to employ empathy to enhance the physical accessibility of built outcomes, the design of spaces that minimize challenges for neurodivergence, and that focus on wellbeing and enablement, is still a relatively young field. This article highlights several residential case studies in which a clear empathic presence has guided the design response. The projects are diverse in their geographic location, decade of construction and formal outcomes, but they share…

Awards for addiction are uncommon. It’s fortunate that architecture is addictive because it’s not always easy. The Gold Medal is a bonus for my addiction. I thank the Australian Institute of Architects, and in particular the award jury, for this honour, which I share with my mentors and collaborators, including my wife, Judith. It’s possible to contribute to the profession in various ways: through design, teaching, advocacy and research. I’ve had the privilege of contributing in all of these. Outstanding contributions can be made by staff as well as the principals of architectural offices. While partners often survive downturns, employees are frequently retrenched, as I was on several occasions. Redundancies are setbacks but also opportunities. Like A. S. Hook, after whom this oration is named, I’ve spent most of my…

In 2021, after decades of vigorous representation by the disability community and advocates, the Australian National Construction Code was revised to include mandatory accessibility standards for new domestic construction. The specifications were modest and practical, requiring new homes to comply with the Livable Housing Design Guidelines (Silver Level), which focus on the key structural and spatial elements that are critical to access, safety and the future adaptability of the house for a diversity of users, with or without a disability.1 While initially hailed as a significant gain for more inclusive Australian housing, the potential efficacy of the standards was blocked by the unwillingness of three Australian states to enact the standards as legislation.2 The reluctance to uptake this NCC standard sheds light on two core barriers to resolving housing disadvantage…

In 1996, Sara Chesterman was 24, an architecture student and engaged in contemporary dance when she had an accident resulting in quadriplegia – paralysis from the collarbone down, partial paralysis of her arms and complete paralysis of her fingers. She continued dancing and performing, completed her fine arts degree in painting and drawing (COFA, now UNSW Art and Design) and taught interior architecture for six years (UNSW). In the process of living her life and raising her son, born in 2009, she has worked to rethink the design of many everyday objects and the spaces of her home. She spoke with Maryam Gusheh and Catherine Murphy about the evolution of these spaces. A collaborative design – a shared home The alterations to my home have always been collaborative. The architectural…