<
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/article/2024/jul/20/putting-design-first-six-social-housing-projects-from-around-the-world>
"The social housing of last century often calls to mind towering blocks of
flats, poorly maintained with dark, pokey and cold units. But alongside a rise
in community living, the 21st century has brought quality construction,
sustainability, and quality of life to the forefront of social housing design.
Australia’s commitment to and funding for social housing stock is limited. But
by 2037, Australia is estimated to have 1.1 million people seeking social
housing. Professor of architecture and head of the University of NSW’s school
of the built environment, Philip Oldfield, says that for an investment in
social housing to match cosmopolitan cities like Paris or Barcelona, more
housing of quality needs to be built.
“Architects are trained in this … so when they’re given the opportunity to do
it well, Australian architects will create as good a housing as anywhere else
in the world,” he says.
“At the moment, the system, with few exceptions, doesn’t give them that
creative opportunity to deliver … the kind of world class social housing we
would love to see.”
While Australian not-for-profits are building design-led affordable housing for
low to middle income earners, government-funded social housing for those on
waitlists is lacking. Oldfield says organisations like Nightingale Housing are
pioneers in built-to-rent housing, with 20% of apartments assigned to community
housing providers for those most in need. But examples like Sydney’s Sirius
building, previously owned by the state government, show that Australia needs
more purpose-built social housing to cater to demand and match international
standards."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
