scholarly journals Medium Density - Adaptable Amenity: A flexible housing system to facilitate change and maximise production efficiencies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Tom Robertson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
Housing System ◽  
Medium Density ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Housing Typology ◽  
Production Efficiencies

<p>Medium-density Group Housing (“MDH”) has been defined as “a number of horizontally attached (or directly related) dwellings which are normally of one or two stories and rarely exceed three stories above the ground” (Judd 8).   In the context of the New Zealand built environment, this housing typology is widely perceived as being a ‘cheaper’ form of construction, providing a lower standard housing environment. This perception has arisen for a number of reasons. Specifically, MDH is often regarded as lacking appropriate ‘fit’ with the existing urban character and is seen as giving rise to a number of problems associated with close visual and acoustic living proximities, inadequate privacy and daylight, insufficient outdoor private and public spaces and lack of design flexibility. These issues have resulted in MDH being viewed as an urban housing typology that, while accepted as being necessary to meet space and budget constraints, is very much ‘second best’, problematic and not as being particularly desirable.   With shortages of suitable land and existing housing, intensification is a growing issue for policy planners and developers, and a growing focus of residential development. This research investigation looks at how design and construction of MDH could be enhanced through use of prefabrication in order to provide an inspirational and affordable housing alternative that promotes efficient land use, positive health outcomes and social wellbeing and which can generally enhance the lifestyles of occupants. In this context MDH may offer a possible part solution to what is viewed by many as a current crisis in New Zealand housing. Modular and panelised technologies offer possible solutions to the challenge of providing housing that is efficiently produced, provides flexibility and adaptability in terms of spatial configurations and functionality, offering high levels of customisation and personalisation.   These solutions are explored in this thesis through research of theory, literature and precedent studies which inform a design framework. This framework is developed under the following subject areas, namely;  • density and amenity; • environmental fit; • flexibility and adaptability and • production efficiencies  and are used as a basis for design and project evaluation.</p>

scholarly journals Medium Density - Adaptable Amenity: A flexible housing system to facilitate change and maximise production efficiencies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Tom Robertson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
Housing System ◽  
Medium Density ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Housing Typology ◽  
Production Efficiencies

<p>Medium-density Group Housing (“MDH”) has been defined as “a number of horizontally attached (or directly related) dwellings which are normally of one or two stories and rarely exceed three stories above the ground” (Judd 8).   In the context of the New Zealand built environment, this housing typology is widely perceived as being a ‘cheaper’ form of construction, providing a lower standard housing environment. This perception has arisen for a number of reasons. Specifically, MDH is often regarded as lacking appropriate ‘fit’ with the existing urban character and is seen as giving rise to a number of problems associated with close visual and acoustic living proximities, inadequate privacy and daylight, insufficient outdoor private and public spaces and lack of design flexibility. These issues have resulted in MDH being viewed as an urban housing typology that, while accepted as being necessary to meet space and budget constraints, is very much ‘second best’, problematic and not as being particularly desirable.   With shortages of suitable land and existing housing, intensification is a growing issue for policy planners and developers, and a growing focus of residential development. This research investigation looks at how design and construction of MDH could be enhanced through use of prefabrication in order to provide an inspirational and affordable housing alternative that promotes efficient land use, positive health outcomes and social wellbeing and which can generally enhance the lifestyles of occupants. In this context MDH may offer a possible part solution to what is viewed by many as a current crisis in New Zealand housing. Modular and panelised technologies offer possible solutions to the challenge of providing housing that is efficiently produced, provides flexibility and adaptability in terms of spatial configurations and functionality, offering high levels of customisation and personalisation.   These solutions are explored in this thesis through research of theory, literature and precedent studies which inform a design framework. This framework is developed under the following subject areas, namely;  • density and amenity; • environmental fit; • flexibility and adaptability and • production efficiencies  and are used as a basis for design and project evaluation.</p>

scholarly journals Get Wavy: Introducing irregularity into modular timber housing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brittany Irvine
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
City Council ◽  
Modular System ◽  
Medium Density ◽  
Specific Test ◽  
Design Language ◽  
Construction Methods ◽  
Housing Complex

<p>The construction industry accounts for 23% of global CO₂ emissions each year¹. Coupled with contemporary pressures of urbanisation, there is demand for increased density construction². To improve the relationship the industry has with the environment it must reconsider its construction methods and material choices. Engineered timber is a sustainable and structural solution for these issues.  Commonly when building with engineered timber, traditional construction methodologies are applied. The material is simply used as a replacement for steel and concrete and does not explore the tectonic opportunities available. This results in the same monolithic multi-story buildings.  This research portfolio offers a new approach to flexible modular housing using cross-laminated timber (CLT). It is researched through an adaptable urban housing complex. It explores the tectonics of CLT and develops a diverse design language that offsets how the material has been traditionally used.  The design research was conducted through a series of design-led experiments comprised of four key phases; the problem, the exploration, the parts and the test. The problem researched key issues around CLT. This highlighted current deficiencies in the design of timber medium-density housing in New Zealand. The research explores the specific tectonics of CLT as an engineered timber product. Developing a series of components that can be assembled on various urban sites. This process translated into a singular site-specific test in Te Aro, Wellington.  The implications of this research are to provide an alternative approach to urban medium-density housing using engineered timber technology. The result of this process is the design of a modular system of interlocking dwellings that can be optimized to site and that optimise the visual and spatial opportunities of engineered timber. Offsetting the current design language of medium-density timber buildings and proposing visual and spatial improvements to inner-city living in New Zealand.  ¹ (Huang, Krigsvoll, Johansen, Liu, & Zhang, 2018) ² (Wellington City Council, 2015.)</p>

scholarly journals Get Wavy: Introducing irregularity into modular timber housing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brittany Irvine
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
City Council ◽  
Modular System ◽  
Medium Density ◽  
Specific Test ◽  
Design Language ◽  
Construction Methods ◽  
Housing Complex

<p>The construction industry accounts for 23% of global CO₂ emissions each year¹. Coupled with contemporary pressures of urbanisation, there is demand for increased density construction². To improve the relationship the industry has with the environment it must reconsider its construction methods and material choices. Engineered timber is a sustainable and structural solution for these issues.  Commonly when building with engineered timber, traditional construction methodologies are applied. The material is simply used as a replacement for steel and concrete and does not explore the tectonic opportunities available. This results in the same monolithic multi-story buildings.  This research portfolio offers a new approach to flexible modular housing using cross-laminated timber (CLT). It is researched through an adaptable urban housing complex. It explores the tectonics of CLT and develops a diverse design language that offsets how the material has been traditionally used.  The design research was conducted through a series of design-led experiments comprised of four key phases; the problem, the exploration, the parts and the test. The problem researched key issues around CLT. This highlighted current deficiencies in the design of timber medium-density housing in New Zealand. The research explores the specific tectonics of CLT as an engineered timber product. Developing a series of components that can be assembled on various urban sites. This process translated into a singular site-specific test in Te Aro, Wellington.  The implications of this research are to provide an alternative approach to urban medium-density housing using engineered timber technology. The result of this process is the design of a modular system of interlocking dwellings that can be optimized to site and that optimise the visual and spatial opportunities of engineered timber. Offsetting the current design language of medium-density timber buildings and proposing visual and spatial improvements to inner-city living in New Zealand.  ¹ (Huang, Krigsvoll, Johansen, Liu, & Zhang, 2018) ² (Wellington City Council, 2015.)</p>

scholarly journals Half a Good House: Flexible Housing For Wellington Home Buyers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Joshua Dubbeld
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
Medium Density ◽  
Design Studies ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Sustainable Housing ◽  
Suburban Sprawl ◽  
Viable Solution ◽  
Final Design ◽  
Future Growth

<p>Increasing population and changing family demographics are driving the need for new and more sustainable housing solutions. Medium-density housing is recognised as a sustainable approach to accommodate future growth within urban centres, challenging suburban sprawl and creating efficient, affordable dwelling. This thesis explores a process to generate a more progressive approach to medium density housing, favouring individual personalisation over inflexible environments that package the occupier.  Through the review of precedents, successful principles were used in a series of design studies that examined the potential for gridded spaces to satisfy flexibility and variation, opportunities for community interaction and integration beyond the site. The design resolution was reached through applying those principles on a residential site in Wellington New Zealand. The final design proposes a new approach to housing through the ‘half a good house’ mantra where the bounds of the home are defined volumetrically (the first half), but the internal spaces and walls are free for the occupier to continually adapt depending on their unique and changing needs.  The general principles of the design can be applied to other Wellington sites and contexts. They can also be applied in other cities with similar urban housing problems in New Zealand and Australia. If successful, the principles could be developed into a viable solution to the varying and changing needs in future housing.</p>

scholarly journals Institutions and Social Change: implementing co-operative housing and environmentally sustainable development at Christie Walk

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-131
Author(s):  
Susan McClean ◽  
Jenny Onyx
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Medium Density ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
City Development ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable

How can institutions contribute to the building of civil society in the twenty- first century? It is clear that the old laissez-faire approach and the more recent neo-conservative reliance on the market have failed to deliver housing for many people. On the other hand the state-based welfare housing model espoused by the Australian Labor Party over the twentieth century has also been beset by problems. Social alienation, and the crisis in affordable housing make the case that individualist approaches to urban living are not working. More communal solutions are needed - solutions attuned to a complex view of civil society outlined by Michael Edwards' tripartite definition. At the same time the onset of global warming now prompts Australians to create more environmentally sustainable ways of living. Addressing the theme of responsibility, this paper focuses on citizenship in its broader environmental, social and active forms. It analyses interviews and documentary evidence concerning the planning and development of Christie Walk, an innovative, medium density eco-city development in Adelaide. The investigation reveals the effects of some Australian institutions on residents' efforts to live socially and environmentally sustainable lives in an urban environment. The paper offers transdisciplinary research and analysis, linking the fields of history, urban housing, community development and environmental theory.

scholarly journals Re-socialising Aotearoa New Zealand Housing

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 47-75
Author(s):  
Mark Southcombe
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Home Ownership ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Sustainable Housing ◽  
Common Space ◽  
Cooperative Housing ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand

Urban housing in Aotearoa New Zealand is predominantly unit-titled, individualised dwellings whether the housing is owner-occupied or a rental investment. As housing increases in density, the provision and management of common space becomes necessary. In Aotearoa New Zealand, when this occurs, the extent of privately owned housing space is typically privileged, and shared common space minimised. In contrast, cooperative housing integrates housing, economic factors, and social contexts to create long-term socially and economically sustainable housing. Since the 19th century, cooperative housing has provided evidence of internationally awarded and recognised, self-help, community-generated housing that includes shared components. Cooperative housing offers a third way of achieving affordable housing security, one that lies between home ownership and renting. Legislatively mandated and protected cooperative housing is needed in Aotearoa New Zealand to augment our existing housing production systems and types, and to help address the need for enduring, affordable, and socially sustainable housing.

scholarly journals Half a Good House: Flexible Housing For Wellington Home Buyers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Joshua Dubbeld
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
Medium Density ◽  
Design Studies ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Sustainable Housing ◽  
Suburban Sprawl ◽  
Viable Solution ◽  
Final Design ◽  
Future Growth

<p>Increasing population and changing family demographics are driving the need for new and more sustainable housing solutions. Medium-density housing is recognised as a sustainable approach to accommodate future growth within urban centres, challenging suburban sprawl and creating efficient, affordable dwelling. This thesis explores a process to generate a more progressive approach to medium density housing, favouring individual personalisation over inflexible environments that package the occupier.  Through the review of precedents, successful principles were used in a series of design studies that examined the potential for gridded spaces to satisfy flexibility and variation, opportunities for community interaction and integration beyond the site. The design resolution was reached through applying those principles on a residential site in Wellington New Zealand. The final design proposes a new approach to housing through the ‘half a good house’ mantra where the bounds of the home are defined volumetrically (the first half), but the internal spaces and walls are free for the occupier to continually adapt depending on their unique and changing needs.  The general principles of the design can be applied to other Wellington sites and contexts. They can also be applied in other cities with similar urban housing problems in New Zealand and Australia. If successful, the principles could be developed into a viable solution to the varying and changing needs in future housing.</p>

Contributions to urban Indigenous self-determination: the story of Neeginan and Kaupapa Māori

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Darwin Horning ◽  
Beth Baumbrough
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
School System ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Government School ◽  
Kaupapa Māori

Abstract This paper considers two different Indigenous-led initiatives, the Neeginan initiative (Winnipeg, Canada) and the Kaupapa Māori movement (New Zealand), within the context of urban Indigenous self-determination, examining the role, or contributions of, each towards the realisation of Indigenous self-determination. Neeginan originates from, and focuses on, building a sense of community, through education programs, social assistance and affordable housing, with local Indigenous knowledge providing the foundational guiding principles. This is compared to the Kaupapa Māori movement's role in the revival of traditional cultural and language practices in education, which has resulted in the development of an overwhelmingly successful parallel non-government school system based on Māori culture, language and philosophy.

scholarly journals Downsizing property among the older generation

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Mclaughlan
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Capital Gains ◽  
Capital Gains Tax ◽  
Tax System ◽  
Phase Out

New Zealand experiences widespread intergenerational housing inequalities. Millennials are far less likely than previous cohorts to access affordable housing and to own property. Large dwellings which are often more suited to young and expanding families are arguably underutilised by the older generation. Retirees are living longer and often stay in homes that they have lived in for most of their lives. This is exacerbated by distortions in our tax system which leave owner-occupied housing free from a capital gains tax. One way to phase out this generational discrepancy is motivating older generations to move to smaller homes towards the end of their life cycle. This would free up larger properties for first home buyers and ensure that retirees live in more suitable dwellings.

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