Thesis Studio 07
Opportunistic Urbanism

Home Studio

Studio leaders: Andy Fergus and Alexis Kalagas

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Housing in Melbourne is in a state of rapid transformation. Affordability pressures, combined with changing lifestyle preferences, have driven a shift towards apartment living. This has corresponded with the rise of the private rental sector as the fastest growing segment of the housing market—the site where demographic, technological, and employment trends converge.

In the context of a planned mixed-use redevelopment of the Collingwood Town Hall precinct, this studio explores the history of apartment design internationally, including the evolving relationship between finance, regulation, and physical form.

With a focus on the spatial opportunities of a range of rental typologies, students design a housing project, embedded within a collaborative precinct plan. Working in close partnership with the City of Yarra and the local Abbotsford community, the studio considers how architects can influence the creation of vibrant and diverse neighbourhoods.

Image: Kraftwerk1 Zwicky Süd Cooperative Housing Zürich, Switzerland

Architecture 2020_winter