Thousands of people are moving to Queensland every week, and there isn’t enough housing to accommodate them all. While medium density housing could be a solution, communities living in suburban areas have been vehemently opposed to new developments – and for good reason too.

An upcoming ‘Designing Better Suburbs’ panel event next week will debate the topic of ‘The Missing Middle’ – a category of housing that sits between detached houses and apartments – and discuss how good design and planning can help resolve the resistance to medium density housing in suburban areas, and also lead to suburban precinct renewal.

Presented by Suburban Futures and the Queensland Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, the event brings together sector leaders with diverse expertise to discuss the opportunities and challenges of missing middle development.

Spatial and social planner Dr Laurel Johnson (Griffith University) will be joined by three leading medium-density architects working across the private and public sector: Anna O’Gorman (Anna O'Gorman Architects), Amy Degenhart (DegenhartSHEDD) and Llewellyn Griggs (Refresh* Studio for Architecture). The event will be moderated by Guy Gibson, director of Suburban Futures and former general manager of Lendlease’s Communities business.

Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that the population of Queensland is growing fast, and at a rate far above the Australian average.

For everyday Australians, housing availability is low and prices are high. Earlier this year, a coalition of local councils, industry groups and community services published an open letter calling for a National Housing Summit to address the ‘perfect storm’ of housing crisis conditions.

What is ‘The Missing Middle’?

“The missing middle is the form of housing between the detached house on a suburban block and apartments. Brisbane tends to have either end of the spectrum,” Suburban Futures director Ross Elliott explained.

“The community gets up in arms about these types of buildings,” Elliott said. “But we need to think ambitiously about building homes for the future.”

Dr Johnson, a senior lecturer at The Yunus Centre, an innovation centre in the Griffith University Business School, sees three key factors driving community resistance to missing middle development.

“One: increased traffic. Two: car parking. The third obstacle is the design. The fact is that the missing middle buildings are often not in character with the existing suburban street, neighbourhood precinct or even the entire suburb.”

This could change, however, with public education campaigns and an increased focus on good design playing an integral role in planning and development.

“The resistance is real, and I have empathy for it,” Dr Johnson noted. “We should be looking at design-led solutions to persuade people of the value of the missing middle.”

Possible solutions

The Designing Better Suburbs panel will workshop possible solutions to this key debate.

The event is of relevance to developers, planners, engineers, architects, landscape architects, local government officers and state government officers.

Event details

Date: Wednesday 20 July 2022

Time: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm AEST

Location: Brooklyn Standard, Eagle Lane, Brisbane City, QLD 4000

Tickets are $55 plus booking fee. Book here.

Architecture News & Editorial Desk

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