Tara Durkin

A Reimagined Default

The predictable solution to multi-unit housing has been the ‘typical’ vertical typologies, maximising the number of units on the smallest area of land, revolving around the logic of increasing capital. The limitations of dense multiple-level living, create divides in community life with a lack of accessibility, reinforcing a level of hierarchy and exclusivity. This may be due to the lack of access to the ground plane and for Brunswick West this may not be the most appropriate solution.

The ‘one type’ typology sacrifices a level of flexibility required for cohabitation and the ever-changing lives of the occupants, with the compartmentalisation of activities, lacking ambiguity and dictating an ordered way of living.

This project is dedicated to actively rejecting this “one” type of housing response and the associated profit drivers, in exchange for an active ground plane to promote equity in living. There are considerations at a human scale and their experiences, to form a space around their lives and yield a sense of character individualised to each occupant.