Mia Moshinsky

Framing Hawthorn repositions social housing as a deliberative and adaptable Co-Housing framework shaped by modular assembly, resident agency and shared living.

Social housing in Melbourne is often delivered through rigid, standardised models that prioritise cost over resident agency

and adaptability. This project proposes a modular housing system that supports spatial flexibility, accommodates diverse living arrangements, and centers participation in the design process.

Set in Hawthorn, the project is structured by a 3.6 m grid and a 200 × 200 mm CLT and Glulam post-and-beam system. Dwellings are constructed within three standard footprints — 3.6 × 10.8 m, 7.2 × 10.8 m and 10.8 × 10.8 m. With no internal load-bearing walls, dwellings are designed to be reconfigurable, extendable, and responsive to changing needs.

Future residents are invited to participate in a deliberative planning process. Through conversations and facilitated input, they share their spatial needs, routines, and preferences for shared living, informing the configuration of their home, to suit their induvial needs.

Each building is provided with a communal terrace, containing washing machines and an outdoor kitchen. In dense social housing, communal spaces are essential for fostering connection, mutual support, and a sense of belonging. These communal zones are embedded into each building cluster and remain deliberately undetermined and open for a variety of uses — shaped by those who inhabit them.

In addition, environmental performance, efficient construction, and long-term maintainability is achieved through grouped wet areas, repeated construction modules, and exposed structural materials. The architectural system is consistent and scalable, while the spatial outcomes are varied and resident-led.