Housing Futures

Michael Roper, Byron Meyer & Tom Linschoten
Secondary leaders: Michael McCormack, Nick James &  Shannon Peach

Studio Description

Exploring innovative futures for multi-residential design, delivery and occupation, this studio will ask how architects and developers can work together on new solutions responding to key challenges facing Australian cities.

Bringing together industry expertise from award-winning design practice Architecture architecture and leading developer Milieu, the studio will have a central focus on housing affordability, as well as related aspects of social, economic and environmental resilience.

Alternative models such as micro-housing and cold-shells that challenge current market norms will be explored in the field of mid-rise construction. Balancing financial and social aspiration, propositions will be tested against new planning paradigms and rigorous feasibility analysis (though non-viability may present a springboard to advocate for systemic change). Offering architecture students a rare opportunity to gain knowledge of property development and test how this can inform design, the studio will position students as both architects and city-makers, actively participating in shaping housing futures.

Studio Outcomes

We aim to set students on a pathway to becoming capable practitioners and informed provocateurs in the field of mid-rise housing.

Students will:

• Learn about the socio-economic dimensions of housing affordability and its interface with development
• Develop an understanding of the spatial, social, developmental and construction opportunities of alternate housing models
• Learn how to target a brief based on social data and site conditions
• Progress their proposition into resolved spaces for collective dwelling and connection, considered across the full range of scales
• Learn about the full life-cycle of housing from procurement to occupation and resale
• Undertaking a realistic feasibility analysis
• Develop interiors and materials tailored to specific users
• Benchmark their work against a real 'business-as-usual' case-study, illuminating how design and development innovation elevate outcomes
• Be supported by experienced, attentive tutors, supplemented with guest lectures and critique by leading practitioners

Studio Leaders

Architecture architecture

Founded in 2012, Architecture architecture is a design-focused practice with award-winning work in both housing and education. We strive to create positive social environments, encouraging participation, exploration and inclusion.

Byron Meyer – Studio Leader

The primary teaching lead for this studio, Byron is an Associate at Architecture architecture and has nearly 20 years' experience in architectural practice and research, in both Melbourne and Berlin. He previously worked at Monash Urban Lab, undertaking professional research in housing of various typologies, with diverse inter-disciplinary industry and academic partners. He has taught design studios at both bachelor and masters level, and made substantial contributions to the Robin Boyd Foundation through writing and research on contemporary and modernist architecture.

Michael Roper:

Founding director of Architecture architecture, Michael has over 23 years’ experience in the design of award-winning projects. Michael has taught architectural design both in Melbourne and abroad and was the founding Program Manager at the ANCB Metropolitan Laboratory in Berlin. He currently chairs the University of Melbourne’s Architecture Advisory Board, serves on the AIA Victoria Awards Committee, and was a founding member of Nightingale Housing. He has written for architectural journals, and served on several juries for the Victorian architecture awards program.

Nick James

Founding director of Architecture architecture with over 23 years’ experience in the design of award-winning projects, Nick holds degrees in Construction Management and Architecture. Nick has taught architectural design in the Masters’ program at the University of Melbourne, served as a director of the Nightingale Village development, and served as a jury member in the Victorian architecture awards program. Prior to establishing Architecture architecture Nick spent several years working with multi award-winning practices in both Melbourne and Vancouver delivering high quality residential, commercial, social housing, retail and urban design projects.

Milieu

Founded in 2010, Milieu is a Melbourne-based property development practice committed to creating thoughtful, design-led places that enrich everyday life. Working across development, construction, hospitality and culture, Milieu collaborates with leading architects, designers and communities to deliver award-winning residential and mixed-use projects that contribute positively to Melbourne's urban fabric.

Tom Linschoten – Studio Leader

Tom Linschoten is a Design Manager at Milieu Property, where he works at the intersection of architecture, development and construction to deliver complex multi-residential and mixed-use projects. With a background in architectural practice, he collaborates closely with architects, consultants and builders to translate design ambition into built outcomes while balancing commercial, technical and procurement considerations. Tom is passionate about bridging the gap between architectural education and professional practice, helping students understand how thoughtful design can be realised through the development process and create better housing outcomes for Australian cities.

Michael McCormack

Michael McCormack is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Milieu, which he established in 2010 with the ambition of creating exceptional built environments driven by progressive urban design and exemplary architecture. Under Michael's leadership, Milieu has delivered a diverse portfolio of award-winning residential and mixed-use developments, including some of Melbourne's most significant city-shaping projects. Michael is passionate about the role of development in enabling high-quality architecture and fostering collaborative relationships that deliver better outcomes for cities, communities and future generations.

Shannon Peach

Shannon Peach is a Director at Milieu, joining the business in 2014 to help lead its development practice. Drawing on more than 15 years' experience across property development, construction, finance and the public sector, Shannon brings a multidisciplinary perspective to the delivery of complex urban projects. Committed to continual learning, collaboration and education, Shannon is passionate about the role of thoughtful development in supporting architectural excellence and creating more sustainable, liveable cities.

Readings & References

Books:

• Housing+: On Thresholds, Transitions, and Transparencies, Ulrike Wietzorrek (ed.), Birkhäuser
• typologie+: Innovative Housing, Peter Ebner / Eva Herrmann / Roman Röllbacher / Markus Kuntscher / Ulrike Wietzorrek (eds.), Birkhäuser
• Floor Plan Manual Housing, Oliver Heckmann / Friederike Schneider (eds.), Birkhäuser
• Flexible Housing, Jeremy Till, Tatjana Schneider
• The Urban Housing Handbook, Eric Firley, Victor Deupi
• Model apartments : experimental domestic cells, Gustau Gili Galfetti
• Supports: An Alternative to Mass Housing, N. John Habraken
• Self Made City: Berlin:Urban Design & Living Spaces Created in Self -initiative, Kristien Ring

Reports:

• Liveable Compact Cities Project, Monash Urban Lab
• Housing Atlas for Australia documents important and instructive housing case studies designed and realised in Australia, Monash Urban Lab
• More homes, better cities: Letting more people live where they want; Grattan Institute - Brendan Coates, Joey Moloney, Matthew Bowes
• Articles/ Magazines:
• Density Done Well + Future Ready, Architect Victoria, Edition 1, 2026
• Long life, loose fit, low energy  - Sir Alexander John Gordon

Podcasts:

• https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/half-a-house/

Films:

• Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades, Paris 13e) - 2021
• High-Rise – 2015
• Rear Window – 1954
• The Florida Project – 2017

Off Campus Activities:
TBC

Schedule:
Thursday 9am - 12pm
(1 hour break) 
Thursday 1pm - 4pm

Contact Handbook