Best social housing community design for Global Awards shortlisted
LOS ANGELES: The shortlist for the best social housing community design has been declared.
Over 250 programmes have been considered by the awards secretariat. One of the finalists in this category is shown above.
This innovative project was delivered through an academic and practitioner collaboration involving NMBW Architecture Studio and Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA). It was awarded an Australian Research Council Linkage grant to reconsider the design of accessible, affordable housing and to create a spacious apartment block in northern Melbourne.
“Working within planning constraints, this project provides a new typology for medium-density housing that can be replicated to numerous settings to provide excellent improvements for people across all neighbourhoods,” said James Henry, General Manager, Housing Choices Australia.
Within walking distance of a railway station, primary school and shops, St Albans Housing sought to develop a flexible design for its occupants, some of whom are mobility-compromised. Housing Choices Australia’s quota of 50 percent older adults could have set the tone for the building, but the seven apartments were deliberately designed not to feel like an aged-care village.
Originally conceived as a clever reconfiguration of the “six-pack,” the building’s formal qualities are characterized by galvanized cladding and distinctive roof pitches. St Albans Housing offers its residents dignity, beauty and accessibility, which in turn impact the whole community in a low-key but extraordinary way.
The Global Award winner will be announced in November in London. (Globals)