Phoebe Goh

The Australian Dream started out as an innocent desire for privately owned open spaces but has transformed over time, generating misanthropic suburbia in Thomastown and highlighting the Australian identity of individualism over community.

This project seeks to explore the balance between affordable housing and fostering social bonds in the community, ensuring accessibility and encouraging connectivity between individuals, communities and the wider suburbia.

The response to that is an intimate apartment block of 13 units with shared spaces, aggregated across a plot while responding to the rhythm and proportions of the existing suburban grid. Landscaping is also integrated with the apartment blocks to break up the monotony of site while further creating privacy for residents and opportunities for interaction.