Adaptation

Adaptation is a studio designed to critically engage with Melbourne’s housing crisis, incorporating a comprehensive understanding of architectural solutions and policy frameworks. The initiative is underpinned by principles of sustainability, affordability, and community resilience.

Students will conduct a detailed theoretical examination of the collective strategies of relevant stakeholders in the government’s push to deliver 800,000 homes over the next decade. This will include the comprehensive analysis of a real-world site in Kensington to assess geographic, regulatory, and community impacts and a review of both local and international high-density housing precedents.

Key challenges addressed include designing for flexible and multi-generational living to adapt to changing resident needs, strategies for tenant retention in build-to-rent models to foster resilient communities, and reducing the embodied carbon of buildings amid supply chain complexities.

Students will explore innovative design/construction techniques and sustainable materials to meet these challenges

Students will develop a clear set of design guidelines that respond to the identified challenges and constraints as part of a return brief before proposing a site-specific solution through the design of a multi-residential development for 200 apartments. With input from industry professionals, students will be critically examining the collaborative roles of architects and developers in realising housing projects and gaining the skills required for meaningful contributions to urban development.

Studio Leader: Thomas Proctor