E/07

InFill Housing

Lisa Garner

Studio Description

Amidst the backdrop of Melbourne's accelerating growth, Studio 07 - Infill Housing explores responses to the impending challenges of housing supply and environmental strain. Drawing from the urban discourse of the "Missing middle," this studio will explore the potential within the geographic context that encapsulates over 55% of Melbourne's area—the aging and carbon-intensive Middle-ring suburbs.

By challenging local planning norms and emphasizing density targets over height and setback restrictions, the studio explores a series of liberated urban typologies, driven by landscape considerations, community outcomes and the strengthening of public realm.

In the studio’s third iteration, the shift will focus from the typical residential neighbourhood block to prototypical suburban main road. These roads, often 4-6 lane highways extending outward from activity centres, are typically plagued by traffic congestion and acoustic pollution. Despite these challenges, such sites are often the most affordable, reflected in current development patterns in suburbs throughout Melbourne.

While acknowledging the limitations of existing planning policies that concentrate density along arterial roads—where the amenity for future residents may be compromised—this studio embraces this polemic as a design challenge. It will explore strategies to mitigate the drawbacks of living adjacent to main roads, balancing privacy and noise reduction with the creation of active, inviting street frontages that enhance the public realm.

Students will work on a selected street and precinct in Merri-Bek City Council, with the goal of transforming aging housing stock into a liveable and sustainable community through incremental densification.

The studio will feature guest lectures and regular design feedback from industry experts from organisations such as Property Collectives, Nightingale Housing, and local planners from Merri-Bek Council.

Studio Outcomes

The studio is aimed at students looking to hone their multi-residential design skills to tackle real-world challenges and reflect on the future of Melbourne's housing landscape.

Deliverables and learning outcomes will focus on two scales: building/typology and neighbourhood/street.

At the building scale, students will explore themes such as design efficiency, economy, resourcefulness, and innovative construction methods, drawing on both local and global examples. Amidst the current challenges faced by the construction industry, we will examine how and why the rising costs of inflation, materials, and labour are creating new challenges for the design industry

At the neighbourhood scale, students will navigate the challenge of designing with a frontage to a main road, balancing the need for a 'public' face with the creation of privacy buffer to protect private amenity. This task will also prompt broader questions on how streetscapes, landscapes, and the public realm can be reimagined to better cater to human and environmental needs as density increases.

The final outputs will be adaptable mid-rise apartment typologies that meet a specific brief and demonstrate new strategies and innovations at both the building and neighbourhood scales.

Students will work in group of two or three, with a number assignments to be done individually, as well as several activities involving the entire class.

Throughout the semester the communication and representation of this work will focus on rigorous drawings as well imagery. Physical models will form a part of the design process as well as final representation. Final outputs will consist of 2D drawings, physical models (group and individual) as well visualizations.

Studio Leader

Lisa Garner co-founded the architecture practice LIAN following a successful entry to the Victorian Government’s ‘Future Homes’ competition in 2020. Since then, she has been involved in the delivery of social housing in Melbourne’s western suburbs and a new apartment development for Nightingale Housing. Lisa’s interests in improving the liveability and amenity of multi-residential housing in Melbourne combines her experience of architectural practice and research across Melbourne and Berlin, where she has worked on award-winning projects across all scales of residential development. LIAN continues to engage with the thematic of housing through projects spanning from architecture, planning and research.

Readings & References

Research Articles / Papers

Books

  • Stretton, H., McKay, I., Mant, J., & Boyd, R. (1971). Living & Partly Living: Housing in Australia.

ABPL90439 Design Studio E is an Early start subject. An in-person Studio Presentation Day event will be held in the Laby Theatre (L08), David Caro Building from 1pm-2pm on Tuesday 16th July followed by one-hour Q&A Session with Studio Leaders and Subject Coordinators in the MSD building. The Studio Ballot will be held online at the beginning of O-week, opening from 3pm Tuesday 16th July and closing at 3pm Wednesday 17th July. The outcome of Studio Allocation will be announced on Canvas before the end of Friday 19th July. There will be subject preparatory online work to be completed during this period before the semester commencement.

Schedule:
Thursday 12:00pm-3:00pm in MSD 138
&
Thursday 3:15pm-6:15pm in MSD 138

Contact Handbook

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