The Victorian Government has named the winners of its Future Homes competition, with four innovative apartment designs taking out the prize.
Designs from architectural practices including LIAN, Spiral Architects Lab, McGregor Westlake Architecture, and Design Strategy Architecture in collaboration with IncluDesign were all declared winners.
A partnership between the Office of the Victorian Government Architect and DELWP’s planning department, the competition is designed to create exemplar apartment plans along with a streamlined planning process to deliver more density in the suburbs.
Announced by Victorian Minister for Planning Richard Wynne, the competition sought designs that could be easily replicated across Melbourne. Wynne says the winners are benchmark designs for not only Victoria, but for the world.
“We are planning for a better Victoria by designing world-leading apartments that are more energy efficient and spacious, and have plenty of green space.”
“These new designs will set new benchmarks in sustainability and liveability – helping create a new generation of apartment living that’s better, smarter and healthier for the whole community.”
The winners delivered designs with high-quality open plan living spaces, useable communal spaces to encourage interaction between neighbours, and designs that could be adapted to suit the needs of a changing population.
An esteemed jury was tasked with choosing the best designs. The jury evaluated a number of key design criteria, focussing on design excellence, the ease at which a design can be replicated across a range of neighbourhoods and how innovation can be used to meet planning objectives, as well as various other features. Jury Chair Jill Garner AM says the competition will only benefit future development throughout the state.
“We are delighted to collaborate with DELWP to promote Victoria’s vision to become globally renowned for valuable contemporary apartment designs, showcasing how we can live more sustainably and build a valuable future legacy for our cities. It is so exciting that a key aim of the competition is to deliver a suite of exemplary designs that can be adaptable and replicable to many sites across Victoria.”
The winning designers and architects will work with the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning and the Office of the Victorian Government Architect to refine their entries into design models.
The government is also working with the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing to incorporate the designs into future social housing developments.
For more information on Future Homes and to see the winning designs visit vic.gov.au/future-homes.
