Housing for Diversity competition submission

Antarctica + Diego Ramirez performed 2 alternate investigations of housing density in this competition. The two approaches taken were consolidation (blocks) and atomisation (towers). Developing these approaches simultaneously assisted in the clarification of each, and lead to the submission of both proposals.

The towers project aims at a fine-grained and complex urbanism which enriches the living experience of the housing. The buildings are set obliquely to the street (toward north) and set apart as miniature towers, creating an atomised relationship to the street and a series of gaps which open the site to Newcastle Street.

Central to the site is a sunken courtyard carved into the ground and open to its boundaries through the high permeability of the building arrangement. This space is like a natural valley in section, providing varied levels and aspect across it.

The dwellings are vigorously offset and split from each other providing a high level of frontage- a majority of dwellings have corner openings providing aspect to two sides. The facades are treated in a similarly variegated way – simple variations in openings provide a more complex reading of the collection of housing.

A clear position is taken toward parking, in a city dominated by the car, and in a site adjacent to so large a proposed car park. The communal courtyard remains a car free zone, while one drop-space is allocated on Zempilas Road.

The atomised and complex urbanism is carried through to a diverse range of housing types and a flexibility of their use. The building comprises one bed, two bed, studio and bedsit types, with variations on these through plan shape. Variability of use is achieved, for example, through independent access to loft bedrooms on the upper floors, creating the possibility for a number of different functions with one dwelling.