Abstract:
High Density Living and the Human Experience. The increase in Auckland's density expands the demands for social and recreational opportunities. With Auckland's unitary plan limiting the boundary for new developable land, open land is fast becoming a limited resource. The only way to expand the city is to go up. High-risers and high-density living are inevitable for many people in the future. Research Question: How can high-density cities improve the human experience and the overall quality of life in city living? This thesis focuses on understanding the qualities people look for in their living environments, using a range of housing typologies as case studies to develop a framework of good design practice. This thesis seeks to understand density and the implications of it on the human condition using the theories of environmental psychology, biophilia, place-making and community, and urban vitality. Four main design themes are developed with theoretical backing to achieve the design criteria set out to develop an Auckland centric high-density living design framework. The four themes are namely; creating social connections, creating a sense of community, connecting people to nature, and mending the urban fabric. The site is located over the motorway corridors between Auckland CBD, Grafton, Newton, and Eden Terrace. A total of over 280 000m² of underutilised land was measured between this patch of motorway corridors. The notion was to utilize this land and mend the urban fabric by building over and between the motorway corridors, to reconnect surrounding districts with a network of commercial, retail, residential, and cultural activities in the region. This would significantly improve the walkability of the CBD to neighbouring districts and utilizes land that is otherwise considered 'unusable'. The design programme forms an urban intervention of event driven architecture and high-density residential development, with a green belt flowing through the site to improve walkable circulation, attract public activity, and allow direct contact with nature.