Abstract:
In recent years, Auckland has been experiencing rapid economic and population growth, with a major effect on land availability and affordability for housing. The local Council has a big challenge to re-evaluate its properties to accommodate more people. This situation has provided an opportunity to investigate and explore appropriate international models for 'affordable' high-density housing. With the constraint of land availability and the rising housing market, the typical kiwi dream of a detached house is now out of reach for many people. Higher density housing will be the main driver of future Auckland urban development. Indeed, it is a cost-effective way of accommodating a lot of people & offers the potential to provide more amenities for them. However, ‘High level of compactness’ is different compared to ‘High-density living’. Multi-unit housing has to be intelligent enough to accommodate all the needs and comfort level, and sustainable enough to create mixed-use, highly livable, economically vibrant, communities. Plus, a big proportion of it, especially near the inner city, needs to be ‘affordable”. This thesis aims to develop a proposal for a Council-owned site in Freemans Bay, Auckland. It will analyse four major architectural aspects in response to the current housing crisis, which includes ‘Affordability, Quality, Community and Density’. Analyzing and integrating those perspectives will constitute ‘an alternative housing strategy for Auckland’. This thesis will show that affordability and quality living environment can be combined and collaborate simultaneously. The key to achieving this goal is through introducing new affordability approach, quality unit-planning principles, co-housing scheme, and optimal quality density. By challenging the traditional apartment living, ‘High-density affordable quality community’ housing’ is a response to current Auckland housing crisis.
