Living Neighbourhood +
The Living House

Objective :

Design a living space to increase the density of the precinct, intensify the urbanity of the neighbourhood, and enhance the precinct's ecological integrity.

Category | Architecture

Subject | Design Studio Gamma

Period | Semester 1, 2024 (12 weeks)

Preliminary Study

Urban Morphology Study of Site

Conducting an urban morphological study in Carlton, Melbourne, is crucial when designing a neighborhood block to ensure seamless integration with the area's historical and architectural character. Carlton is known for its rich Victorian-era heritage, with terrace houses, laneways, and arcades that define its streetscape. Understanding these elements helps maintain architectural harmony while allowing for modern interventions. The study also considers pedestrian and car traffic patterns, ensuring walkability and efficient vehicular access. Additionally, Carlton’s established green spaces, such as Princes Park and local tree-lined streets, must be respected and incorporated into the design to enhance livability and environmental sustainability.

Terrace houses in Carlton often feel closed off due to their characteristic use of partition walls, which create a continuous, narrow frontage along the street. While the entrance, often featuring ornate iron lacework and a small verandah, provides a sense of invitation, the interior can feel enclosed due to the limited number of windows on the east and west walls. These homes are typically built in rows, meaning side walls are shared with neighboring properties, restricting natural light and cross-ventilation. As a result, while the front façade engages with the street, the internal spaces can feel more constrained and less inviting, relying on rear courtyards or skylights to bring in additional light and openness.

In designing a neighborhood block in Carlton, the strategic placement of viewports is essential for enhancing openness and connectivity within the dense urban fabric. Given the enclosed nature of terrace houses, well-planned viewports—such as sightlines from laneways, pocket parks, and openings between buildings—can break visual monotony and improve spatial quality. These viewports allow for glimpses of surrounding greenery, heritage architecture, and key urban landmarks, reinforcing a sense of place and orientation. Additionally, they enhance pedestrian experiences by creating visual relief, reducing the feeling of enclosure, and promoting interaction with the surrounding environment. Thoughtful positioning of view corridors can also improve passive surveillance, fostering a safer and more inviting streetscape.

One way to make the space feel more inviting is by extending the pedestrian pathway to create a more balanced streetscape. Currently, with the adjacent street measuring 11 meters wide while the pedestrian path is only 2.9 meters, the space prioritises vehicular movement over walkability. Expanding the pedestrian zone would enhance comfort, encourage foot traffic, and foster greater engagement with the neighborhood’s architectural and social character. A wider footpath could accommodate outdoor seating, greenery, and gathering spaces, softening the built environment and making it feel more open and welcoming.

Initial Concepts

Precedent Analysis

Screenshot 2025-03-25 at 9.36.31 pm 2.png

Screenshot 2025-03-25 at 9.36.38 pm 2.png

General Feedback

The spacing between each terrace house is too narrow, creating a sense of overcrowding and making the overall space feel more constrained. Additionally, the placement of greenery appears somewhat forced; integrating it into a more cohesive communal garden could help distribute greenery more evenly across the site, enhancing both aesthetics and usability.