Studio 08

Housing?

Sean Godsell and Hayley Franklin | Housing Focus

Studio Description

The percentage of homeless people sleeping rough in Melbourne has increased by 200% since 2011. As far as it exists government housing is underpinned by private property developers. More recent fashionable development models, no less commercial, operate under the guise of 'concern for the community'. In this century, homelessness is, in part, a 'top down' phenomenon that results in marginalised members of society being forced onto the streets. Safe housing for displaced women and their families currently comes with a price tag and a wait list, rooming houses often provide a more violent alternative to a bench or a doorway and people suffering from substance abuse and mental illness are seen in increasing numbers on our city streets.

Studio Outcome

Is there a new social housing model that helps makes sense of this dystopia? Can that model exist in and contribute to the life of the city? To interrogate these questions each student is required to produce a detailed design response to a brief for a 3000 sq m 100 bed refuge for displaced people. The site is the old Metro Nightclub (formerly the Palace Theatre) at the top end of Bourke Street.

Studio Leaders

Sean Godsell is a Melbourne based architect and principal of Sean Godsell Architects. Hayley Franklin is a senior associate at Sean Godsell Architects.

Readings & References

• Cicero, On Living and Dying Well.
• Plato, The Republic
• Dick, P K. (1968). Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
• Orwell, G. (1949). 1984
• Rossi, A.(1966). The Architecture of the City
• Bacon, E. (1967). The Design of Cities
• City of Melbourne: https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/health-support-services/social-support/pages/about-homelessness.aspx
• Victorian Government: https://dhhs.vic.gov.au/victorias-homelessness-and-rough-sleeping-action-plan
• Council to homeless persons: https://chp.org.au/
• Friends of public housing: http://savepublichousing.blogspot.com/?m=1

Travel Emergency Housing Accommodation | Week 3

Schedule Thursdays 15:15-21:15 in MSD Room 236

Contact Handbook Key Dates