Kimberley Krew

The project demonstrates how public spaces can be incorporated into the coastal residential fabric following the elimination of private garages and driveways, with natural landscape surfaces growing back in their place. This projected future view illustrates a communal boardwalk as a new program of access to housing and/or accommodation amongst the flooding. It also shows how rooftop renewable energy solar panels and community battery storage systems can be incorporated as part of a new residential fabric.

Linking to the broader studio project of a new Great Ocean Walk, the project generates a public boardwalk and walkway fronting the residential fabric, forming a new buffer zone between the residential housing and Apollo Bay beach. The informal pedestrian coastal feel and character of the neighborhood is maintained. Revegetation of this walk helps to mitigate coastal erosion, while allowing the natural ecologies and native coastal flora to take the space back where the Great Ocean Road once was.

A series of methodical progressions of architectural adaptations over time. Taking into account the increasing intensity of flooding in the future due to climate change and the rise of storms, storm surges and sea levels. Taking this opportunity to live with flooding and create meaningful architectural spaces for economic benefit, to increase housing density and tourist attraction, and enhance the overall sense of community. Experimenting with how these new generated spaces can be used for the benefit of existing homeowners, and/or for the broader community.

The project works with a number of established housing typologies, and experiments with a variety of adaptations to not only withstand, but coexist harmoniously with flood and storm water. The typology illustrated incorporates methods to increase absorption abilities of the block, eliminating driveways to incorporate permeable surfaces, as well as adapting the structural and material systems for wet and dry proofing. The adaptations also create a more intriguing and enhanced architectural experience in these accommodation and housing units, while increasing housing density and attracting tourists for economical and community benefit.

A view within the new communal pedestrianized residential block, looking towards the public consolidated parking gateways into the site. Showing the new user experience of parking at the top of the site (charging your electric car with the communal stored energy) and walking on pathways through the permeable and flooded landscape to get to your house or accommodation. The carports are integral to the microgrid, generating solar energy during summer months to supply electricity to housing and electric car charging stations. The excess energy produced is stored in community batteries strategically distributed around the block to be used during winter months, or in the event of a power outage.

The residential block site is located north of Apollo Bay's commercial zone, and deals with overlays such as land subject to inundation (following Milford creek), erosion management, and design and development. Due to coastal erosion, high wave activity, increasing storm surges and rising sea levels, the predicted flood extent will increase over time with climate change. The project demonstrates strategies to coexist with these challenges methodically over time, and how the site will transform not only at an architectural scale, but at a neighborhood scale with these increased flood risks.