If the future is dense, and design is costly, how might Melbourne make well-designed communities more accessible? How might we ensure that quality of life increases for our residents? Can we reduce the fragmentation of our communities, building spaces that drive resilience rather than isolation? As urban space becomes more dense, how might we best embrace a zero-carbon future? Good design will meet the challenges of densification, great design will do so in a way that is accessible to the broad community.  

We have yet to find a robust, systems-thinking approach to address the multidimensional nature of urbanisation and sustainability. The complexity of decision-making in this evolving context is best met by systems that are highly adaptable. We need a nimble, repeatable design system that deeply adapts to thelocal place. Our design is based on adaptive systems thinking. Our cubed modules organise an atomic structure, forming a system that adapts to reflect the unique parameters of place embedded in the build site. This is supported by an internal and compositional logic that scales from site amalgamations to larger scale urban plans. Most importantly, the larger the scale of the development, the greener and denser are the outputs of this design system.  

Through this systems-thinking approach, we have found ways to reduce the resource cost (time, materials, environmental footprint) of delivering good design to the end-user (the occupant) and of incorporating stakeholders' needs in a way that, rather than compromising it, propels and emboldens good design.

Awards: 

Future Homes Competition 2020 Victorian Government - Competition Winner

Photography by Spiral Architects Lab