Afford-Liveability
by Margie
Afford-Livability
Edmiston Jones has a long-standing commitment to Affordable Housing and we are proud to be currently working on over 60 affordable housing units in our region. EJ’s core philosophies, co-design and human centred design, resonate with these projects and are keys to our design process. With my team, Emanuele and Keiya, we have developed some design principles to progress the social values, liveability and longevity of a project. Here are our thoughts!
Community
Emanuele talks about the central courtyard as space that can be used in affordable housing as a model that promotes connections and increase passive security and surveillance, especially in situation with families with children. This concept was discussed previously in Stuart’s blog, The Piazza Puzzle.
Family Focussed
Affordable housing should be designed with families in mind as parents of young children can struggle to make social connections. Apartment life for families means living at close quarters, but often feeling isolated too. “Happiness is coming, above all, from the sense of community and belonging.” World Values Survey (1981-2014)
Flexibility
Dual keys units can provide a flexible solution in affordable housing to allow occupants from a broad demographic that encourages social interaction. Co-housing is a popular concept and is influencing current thinking about home, work, community and how we live our daily lives. It is an opportunity in response to social housing issues, including increased living costs, mental health and urban sprawl.
Liveability
Keiya highlights the Livable Housing Design Guideline (LHDG) as a means to ensure “quality” affordable housing. LHDG have 7 core design elements framing principles to ensure that houses benefit families with young children, people who sustain a temporary injury, ageing baby boomers as well as people with disability.
EJ looks forward to continuing to work with our clients, council and the community to provide more livable, flexible and affordable housing in our region.
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