An expression of interest has launched as part of a national design competition seeking innovative ideas to develop a Canberra House Pattern Book of missing middle housing designs.
The Canberra House Pattern Book aims to deliver designs that reflect the character and environment of the city, while making it simpler and cheaper to get them built.
An expression of interest (EOI) process launched by the Australian Capital Territory government is now inviting architects, building designers and postgraduate architecture students across Australia to submit missing middle housing designs as part of a national design competition to develop a Canberra House Pattern Book.
The competition is welcoming concepts for dual occupancies, tri-occupancies, townhouses and terrace housing based on the ACT Missing Middle Housing Design Guide, with the hope that these designs will herald in the next generation of homes for Canberrans while expanding and boosting the city’s diverse, liveable and sustainable offerings.
The Canberra House Pattern Book is set to present a collection of pre-qualified, sustainable and affordable housing designs permissible for streamlined approval, with ambitions of “making it faster and easier to deliver more homes that were designed for Canberra,” a media communique from the ACT government notes.
Minister for Planning and Sustainable Development Chris Steel said, “Much of Canberra was built on pattern housing. In the post-war years as our city grew rapidly, pre-designed homes were used as an efficient way to build the housing our city needed.
“With the government focused on housing supply, we’re taking that old Canberra idea and making it new.”
ACT Government Architect Catherine Townsend described the opportunity as “an important initiative to expand housing choice and support thoughtful, sensitive neighbourhood and precinct development.”
“The competition seeks innovative, cost-efficient design solutions that respond to the evolving needs of families while reflecting the unique character and environmental context of Canberra, the bush capital,” she said.
The competition’s winning professional entrants will have their submissions realised into housing patterns that could eventually be used for construction.
Steel added, “The Canberra House Pattern Book will deliver designs that suit the character and environment of our suburbs, and will make it simpler and cheaper to get them built.”
A monetary prize is also offered to two Master of Architecture student winners.
Expressions of interest can be made online until 4 December.
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill’s design of the “luxury” waterfront transformation was selected following an international competition.
The survey invites responses from anyone working in, or connected to, architecture, regardless of whether they use artificial intelligence.
