Mac Arthur Place North.
You will be experimenting with the densification and intensification of a residential neighbourhood at the MacArthur Place Precinct in Carlton, a heritage listed inner urban suburb of Melbourne.
Your client is a collective of visionary three property owners in this precinct (2, 4, 6-10 MacArthur Place North). They would like to co develop their neighbouring properties into a denser, diverse, vibrant, ecologically visionary and integrated “living neighbourhood.” One additional dwelling unit (see diagram on p.40) is to be added to each of the three property lots, turning the originally single household house into an adaptable dual-occupancy residence, a “living house.” As an adaptable spatial configuration, each of the dual-occupancy residence should be designed to accommodate a changing mode of domesticity: from multigenerational, to live+work, to dual occupancy.
Your clients are acutely aware of the challenges climate change will bring in the future and as such they have asked you to plan for a future in which people have witnessed the impacts of sea level rise and daily temperature increases, as well as droughts and instances of heavy precipitation. A future in which the COVID-19 pandemic led to global rethinking of how we should live in terms of population density and green space access.
Design briefs:
1. To densify each of the three properties through a creation of one additional dwelling unit within each lot; each property is to be developed into an adaptable and environmentally sustainable dual occupancy residence that can accommodate the following equally important scenarios of domestic living across three decades:
First decade: The residence will need to accommodate a multigenerational living (one core family and live-in grandparents or live-in adult children), allowing for a balance mix of interaction, independence, and privacy.
Second decade: The residence will need to accommodate Live+Work arrangement.
​
Third decade: The residence will fully operate as a dual-occupancy with two independent dwelling units.
​
2. To intensify the neighbourhood through:
Creation of productive private and communal outdoor green spaces with ecological enhancement strategies (such as green roof, amalgamated productive garden, rainwater garden, rainwater collecting system, mitigation of UHI effect and loss of pervious surface)
Creation of shared amenities for the residents (such as storage space; shared bicycle park, laundry facility, roof terrace);
Activation of the three properties’ interfaces with the adjacent laneway (Nicholls Ln) and the surrounding footpath and streets (Canning St and MacArthur Place North).
Creation of a contemporary design configuration of a compact urban dwelling while demonstrating an awareness of, and meaningful engagement with, the architectural characteristic of the heritage listed suburb of Carlton.
