MAKE Property

Public Housing Renewal

Reimagining public housing through tenure-blind design that creates inclusive communities and celebrates local character

As part of a progressive consortium with MAKE Property, Kerstin Thompson Architects, Fieldwork, and Site Office, BKK Architects developed an innovative approach to redeveloping four inner-Melbourne public housing sites. This ambitious project aimed to destigmatise public housing through design excellence, creating mixed communities where social and private housing seamlessly integrates within vibrant, connected neighbourhoods.

Our scheme was developed as a well-resolved bid response to Homes Victoria, providing a vision for the replacement of ageing public housing stock would not only deliver increased social housing capacity, it would shape enduring social infrastructure and create enhanced community connections, redefining the relationship between public housing and its surrounding neighbourhoods.

Client: MAKE Property
Location: Northcote, VIC
Country: Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung
With: Kerstin Thompson Architects, Fieldwork Projects, Site Office
Year: 2018 – 2019

Big Picture Thinking

Our approach began with intensive collaborative workshops with architects Kerstin Thompson Architects and Fieldwork, and landscape architects Site Office, with each practice bringing unique perspectives to site planning and design. Rather than pursuing a uniform design language across all sites, we deliberately cultivated diversity by having each architect design specific buildings within each precinct. This strategy ensured architectural variety while maintaining cohesive master planning principles.

Each site demanded unique urban design responses and massing approaches based on its specific context, with a deliberate focus on redefining any social housing stigmas, shaping a welcoming sense of place, and stitching each site into the local neighbourhood. In Northcote, we reconceptualised the site's relationship with Merri Creek, transforming perceived safety issues into opportunities for meaningful connection with nature. The Preston sites called for careful integration with their suburban fabric, while Preston East demanded a grittier response that acknowledged its industrial heritage.

A key innovation was our approach to mixing public and private housing. Rather than concealing the presence of social housing, we created precincts where different tenure types could coexist while fostering natural interactions through thoughtfully designed shared spaces and connections.

Collaboration and Humility

The project exemplified a new model of architectural collaboration, with three architecture practices working together in a non-competitive environment to achieve shared goals. Regular workshops led by Fieldwork established overall site planning principles, while each firm contributed their expertise to specific buildings, creating a rich tapestry of architectural responses. This partnership approach enabled us to achieve diversity and cohesion across the sites, while the involvement of landscape architects from the earliest stages ensured that the public realm would play a crucial role in connecting communities and embedding the developments within their broader contexts.

Playfulness and Innovation

Each site’s architecture grew from careful analysis of local context and character, building upon a core principle of shaping a denser version of community living which we articulated as a network of towers and ground plain that capture the local neighbourhood character and define a strong sense of place identity. In Northcote, we developed a sophisticated approach to thresholds, creating individual addresses that provide sheltered transitions from street to home while breaking down building mass to echo the rhythm of traditional townhouses. Our design response on the Preston site explored the concept of ‘a city within a building,’ using loggias and carefully crafted cutouts to create permeable ground planes, and scaling up residential typologies to create buildings that feel both familiar and forward-looking. We paid particular attention to building entries, ensuring each block had its own distinct address while deliberately making it difficult to distinguish between public and private housing—a key principle in our tenure-blind approach.

Transformative Places, Holistic Benefits

The project aimed to redefine how public housing sits within the broader community fabric. By reconnecting sites to their surroundings through new physical and visual links, the developments actively work to dissolve historical stigmas and create new possibilities for community engagement.

The design brings valued elements of suburban living—landscape, street trees, and connection to nature—into higher-density configurations. This approach demonstrates how public housing can increase capacity and improve residents’ quality of life while contributing positively to neighborhood character.

Through careful attention to ground plane activation, community facilities, and shared spaces, these developments create opportunities for natural interaction between residents of different tenure types, fostering inclusive communities that celebrate rather than conceal their diversity.

For

MAKE Property

With

Kerstin Thompson Architects

Fieldwork Projects

Site Office

Sector

Multi-Residential

Status

Completed

Year

2018 – 2019

Location

Northcote, VIC

Country

Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung

Public Housing Renewal

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