[+] Planning by Pattern Book: The Industry Remains Cautious

A desperate need for affordable housing, the lengthy approval process for developments in the state, rising construction costs, inner-city densification, highly politicised local governments, architectural design … … If there’s two sides to every argument, there are at least a half a dozen to the debate over NSW government plans to introduce a so-called “pattern book” of building templates. The Government Architect’s office will launch a design competition early this year, challenging Australian and international architects, as well as architecture schools, to create designs for low and mid-rise residential developments. Winning designs will become part of the Pattern Book, with a handful of templates for each housing type, such as terraces, semi-detached houses, manor homes and apartment buildings of up to six storeys. But Sydney-based urban planners, architects and developers remain cautious in their views of the strategy. Some even sceptical. “I don’t think design templates are going to add much value to the scale of what’s being proposed,” Willowtree Planning director Andrew Cowan says. “I just see this as another layer of regulation in the already over-regulated planning space.” The Government says the endorsed designs will be made specifically for Sydney and New South Wales’ climate, allow for natural light and look to include community spaces. ▲ The so-called "Pattern Book" will provide templates for projects up to six storeys. “What we’re proposing to do is to create a library with maybe 40, 60 or more standard layouts so there is a palette of designs to drag into the approved DA,” NSW building commissioner David Chandler said. Following that library will not be compulsory; builders and their architects can still design developments outside the templates but those will go through the regular approval process. Government architect Abbie Galvin intends to make community consultation part of the process. Studio Johnston has been asked to design a manor house—a single residential building of no more than two levels and containing three or four homes, all on one lot of land. Views on medium density must change Director Conrad Johnston tells The Urban Developer the city has reached a point where people need to change their attitudes towards medium-density housing. “We’ve reached a critical point now, I think, where there’s a realisation the people behind these buildings are not the devil,” Johnston says. “They’re kind of necessary and so the attitude is changing slightly towards them. “But, in some of the great cities of the world the housing is more, I don't know, demure,” the architect says. ▲ Developer Tim Foote, urban planner Andrew Cowan and architect Conrad Johnston. “A street is more defined by consistency rather than every building, trying to put its hand up and say, “Look at me”. Tim Foote agrees. He is the founder and chief executive of North Shore developer Prosker Property. But his training is in architecture. “On one hand, what the Minns Government is trying to do—to increase density within a good transport-oriented development policy and to streamline the approval process—not surprisingly, I am a big supporter of that,” he says. Urban fabric versus planning process “I think there has to be a balance. The benefits of that sort of pattern-book approach will make the approval process simpler. “But there’s a negative to that approach as well, in that the product you create may lose its sensitivity to the particular circumstances of where it’s being delivered. “You have to ensure you’re providing a product that doesn’t just get people into houses in the short term but also adds to the urban fabric of the city in the long term.” ▲ The Pattern Book templates will also cover manor houses. (Design by BuildFast Property) On a per-person basis, NSW finishes fewer new builds than Victoria or Queensland. And last year it also recorded fewer overall completions than Victoria—despite a bigger population. In announcing the Pattern Book strategy late last year, the Government acknowledged the state’s housing supply shortfall was the main reason for Sydney’s apartment rental increase of 24 per cent in the 12 months to September. House rents lifted by 11 per cent. “Despite being in the top 30 cities in the world by gross domestic product, Sydney ranks 859th in the world when it comes to density,” Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said at the time. Density is part of housing plan “Increasing density in well-located and well-connected parts of Sydney is a key part of the NSW Government’s housing plan,” he said. “This gives developers certainty and will make sure more homes are delivered.” But Willowtree’s Cowan says the Minister’s sentiment fails to take account of what he calls “highly politicised local government areas”. “I think in theory, it can work,” he says, “but I also think there’s so much interpretation in between the lines as well. And what is interpreted to be one thing by one local authority can be considered something very different by another. ▲ NSW Premier Chris Minns said the announcement would address delays in residential development approvals. “Yes, in theory it can work, I think, but in practice there’s inevitable complications.” All three are openly critical of local government’s role in the NSW planning process. “These are state design guidelines, basically, but you can imagine some councils are going to be quite unwilling to adopt them for anything suitable in a particular area, which could cause problems,” Cowan says. Johnston wants municipalities to be more active in masterplanning areas for medium-density development. A more forward-looking local government “With any sort of densification there will be the issue of site amalgamation,” he says. “To do six or eight-storey buildings you need to combine three to four single residential sites but that becomes expensive so that actually six storeys are not enough to justify the developer’s cost on them. “Densification can be good and it can be bad. “So you’ve just got to do the work to make it good and that will result in Sydney growing in a good way. But councils have got to be more forward-looking and less obstructive with their views on these buildings.” You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

[+] Planning by Pattern Book: The Industry Remains Cautious

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