Postcode 3000

This studio adopts a current Victorian government housing policy as the project brief: converting underused commercial buildings in Melbourne CBD to residential use. Over the semester, students have explored contemporary housing models and living arrangements, as well as the material, spatial and tectonic challenges in the re-use of commercial building fabric. The studio’s title references a previous government policy from the 1990s—‘Postcode 3000’ sought to revitalise the then dead city-centre through converting commercial space to dwellings, as well as improving public space. What does Postcode 3000 look like today?

Students were allocated a mid-century commercial building which they have converted to residential use. Each project has a focus on a particular contemporary housing model and living arrangements: communes, divorced families, live-work arrangements etc. Collectively the studio has produced various alternatives to the outdated single-family dwelling which continues to dominate the market. Students developed careful responses to real-world issues: the housing crisis, contemporary demographics and living arrangements; the need to repair and re-use existing buildings; shifting urban conditions of the CBD; local government and state policy. The studio has explored how we can make bold shifts in the way that we live and build within existing frameworks and resources.

Studio Leaders: Nina Tory-Henderson