What Makes Social Housing Architecture Successful?
That’s the question Catherine Ranger from MGS Architects asked when analysing a cross-section of contemporary social housing projects in Melbourne and regional Victoria in the story “Social Housing Architecture” for the Australian Institute of Architects magazine. Well-designed social housing exemplars in the story, included Housing Choices’ Dandenong project with Kennedy Nolan, as well as our development in St Albans with NMBW Architecture Studio in collaboration with Monash Studio Lab. Ranger argues the success of each project does not rest on aesthetics alone:
“These projects stand out not because of their function, but because of their integrity. Their aesthetics are secondary to a robust, nuanced, contextualised design process. Naturally, they bring with them the flair of the many hands that crafted them, but this is secondary to concerns of sustainability, wellbeing and humanity.”