HERE

70% of new Australian homes are built by volume builders. If we are to effect change in the way we live, we need to start with volume housing. HERE investigates how we can plausibly implement change to housing to deliver a living situation that is more connected to country. The plausibility of the project lies in its pragmatism. Only 10% of the estate needs to shift in order for something big to happen.

The test site is an estate in Braybrook, in Melbourne’s West. A set of rules are applied to the existing housing estate in order to shuffle current value systems. An audit is performed to reconcile the homogenous housing and to allow for new ways of occupying. There is more built form in volume housing than is required. This project takes the unnecessary pieces and reassigns them to provide opportunities for communal living and a connection to the land down by the river.

HERE is the start of an ongoing discussion about how we begin to effect change where it is most needed.