Two's Company: Putting the Community Spirit Back Into Housing
A pair of homes in Auckland put new meaning into 'architecture for the people'
Community housing often gets bad press for being badly designed, cheap and tacky, and a blot on the urban planning landscape. This pair of modest, small-sized, eco-friendly homes by Strachan Group Architects sit on a shared site west of Auckland and herald a new era in the social housing milieu. Designed by a team of architecture students under the guidance of Dave Strachan, a former builder and now award-winning architect, the homes tick all the boxes for ‘green’ design but go one step further in that they embrace the idea of village living.
“I’m a bit of an idealist and I haven’t lost the Utopian dream of ‘architecture for the people’ that was instilled in me in my university days,” says Strachan. “These two houses, built for a community trust [a not for profit organisation that specialise in supported care for low-income families], are not only examples of design that functions well, but help to foster a sense of neighbourliness. They are positioned so that, from the living room, the occupants of one home can see the comings and goings of the other, rather than having a complete focus on privacy.”
“I’m a bit of an idealist and I haven’t lost the Utopian dream of ‘architecture for the people’ that was instilled in me in my university days,” says Strachan. “These two houses, built for a community trust [a not for profit organisation that specialise in supported care for low-income families], are not only examples of design that functions well, but help to foster a sense of neighbourliness. They are positioned so that, from the living room, the occupants of one home can see the comings and goings of the other, rather than having a complete focus on privacy.”
The SIP roof (Structurally Insulated Panel) provided two functions for the price of one in that it already contained the insulation material required to make the home warm and cosy sandwiched between sheets of metal. The home also has SIP exterior walls where article board replaces the metal. “As far as we know, it is the first time in Auckland that a home has used these type of walls,” says Strachan. The railings that surround the front deck echo a cultural element in that they are reminiscent of the battens used around a Maori pa.
A substantial overhang shields the living room from the harsh summer sun and also provides a covered place for occupants to sit out on the deck. The board-and-batten ply cladding is quintessentially Kiwi. The homes were prefabricated offsite and then transported to site. “Then we connected the dwellings to the piles and the services. A neighbour couldn’t believe that they went up in two to three weeks,” says Strachan.
Sunlight floods the entrance hall, which creates a sense of arrival. It is a transparent link between the more solid forms of the living area and bedrooms and allows views of the surrounding hills to flood into the home, which makes it feel more at one with the elements.
There was room for a bit of fun in the design too, with a bright orange front door providing a welcome shot of colour. The bigger house is accessed via a boardwalk that leads to this entrance hall, a glassed pavilion that links the living area to the bedroom zone. It also served the purpose of completely separating the cooking and ablution amenities, which is so important in some cultures.
The T artwork is in keeping with the contemporary simplicity of the decor and is by Donna North.
The T artwork is in keeping with the contemporary simplicity of the decor and is by Donna North.
Low-formaldehyde pine plywood wall linings bring warmth and texture to the interiors. “New Zealand pine is sustainable because we just keep growing the stuff,” says Strachan.
The architects ensured the houses had plenty of passive ventilation by using fixed sash vent windows to control fresh air supply without jeopardising security.
The architects ensured the houses had plenty of passive ventilation by using fixed sash vent windows to control fresh air supply without jeopardising security.
Including an area for study in each home was imperative. “It’s pretty simple really – if there’s nowhere to study, kids won’t study,” says Strachan. The divider with Perspex screening features cubbyholes that can be accessed from both sides. “It was made by one student with a CNC router and slots together like a jigsaw puzzle.”
Internal louvres above the doors allow good airflow and the architects also included trickle vents in the design for this purpose. Although both houses have a relatively small footprint, they are so well planned with little wasted space (for example, their are no corridors) and high ceilings, which lends to the feeling of spaciousness.
The floors are concrete to create a thermal mass that traps heat and slowly releases it into the home in the cool of the evening.
The floors are concrete to create a thermal mass that traps heat and slowly releases it into the home in the cool of the evening.
Built-in furniture such as this banquette seat, the desk and the cabinetry provide the essentials of day-to-day living but also act as space savers within the small footprint of the houses.
Even though there are four-bedrooms in the bigger home, there is only one bathroom – a planning issue that could have caused chaos in the mornings. The architects circumvented daily delays by locating the hand basin separate from the main part of the bathroom. The loo is alongside – another clever tactic.
Although keeping a tight rein on the purse strings meant materials used were mainly utilitarian with little ornamentation, the students who helped to build this house added decorative details to cabinetry in the bathroom by creating a cut-out design detail in the timber using a CNC router.
Although keeping a tight rein on the purse strings meant materials used were mainly utilitarian with little ornamentation, the students who helped to build this house added decorative details to cabinetry in the bathroom by creating a cut-out design detail in the timber using a CNC router.
The two-bedroom was positioned in a neighbourly fashion overlooking its bigger relative. “It’s a deliberate move away from an insular attitude and embraces the idea that we should all be looking out for each other,” says Strachan. The tenants report that they are enjoying the sense of community. They have installed a garden box to grow vegetables, recycle the kitchen water and are looking into ways to reduce food waste either by worm farming or making compost.”
Keeping the spaces light-filled was a core element to the plan. By incorporating a high stud, using Scandi-style pale timbers and the translucency of Perspex for screening, this was achieved.
Location: Henderson, West Auckland, New Zealand
Size: 4-bedroom home is 104 square metres; 2-bedroom home is 65 square metres
That’s interesting: The architects looked to cool-store technology (usually used in warehouses where bulk frozen foods are housed) when searching for a roofing material that would deliver a budget-friendly option that also offered superb insulation. They used structural insulated panels (SIPs) where a thick layer of insulation is sandwiched between steel panels.
With views over the bush-clad hills of the Waitakere Ranges, the homes were designed and built by a team of third and fourth-year architecture students (called Studio 19). They were constructed for $1400 per square metre (in 2014). “I’ve tried to prove to ourselves and to others that architects can work at both ends of the economic scale. The principles are the same but you do need to be much smarter and more careful with a smaller budget,” says lead architect Dave Strachan.