STANDARDS FOR COMMUNITY SOCIAL HOUSING STANDARDS FOR COMMUNITY Community is made in space that challenges, and places where a collective identity can be cultivated. Looking at Sirius and the events which led to its construction, the community which had moved in already possessed a neighbourhood mentality and an understanding of mutual and collective living from the streets of Millers Point. The building, designed well within NSW Housing Commission standards and other constraints of the time, had social motivations. This resulted in the deliberate distribution of shared space throughout the building which the residents were able to appropriate and translate their own sense of home into. A place which was a comparatively denser residential situation. Looking at the project objectives that Sirius is based on leads one to question what provisions for community space in social housing exist today. 0123ÿ123ÿ567892 ÿ 6 6 1 962ÿ3 0092 ÿ 79 2 8ÿ 70 9 ÿ 893 2 910ÿ87 0 2 ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ!"#ÿ$% ÿ& ' ÿ' ( $ ÿ) ÿ ÿ & *% &ÿ + *% ÿ ÿ & $ ÿ 'ÿ ) ÿ % ÿ' ( $ ,ÿ ÿ * ÿ % 'ÿ- ÿ& 'ÿ . ' ÿ ÿ! & $ ÿ/ . ÿ0% ' ÿ1!/02ÿ 'ÿ ÿ3 ( & $ ÿ4 .ÿ 5 &%$ ÿ * - ÿ ÿ ÿ' ( $ ,ÿ 867868ÿ 9:;<79=9>6? In Sirius, for instance, community space acts as a supplement to the individual living cell (in the case of an older persons’ or single unit and the Heritage Room), as well as oering an extension of this social network, deliberately and incidentally, in places like the Phillip room, the entrance courtyards, the lift lobby and even at a tenant’s letterbox. @ABCBÿEFGHIJKÿCELJEJÿ LBMNHLBOBPECÿLBQBIEÿ RSTUVCÿLBIBPEÿCAHWEÿ EXYJLZCÿCELJEJ[LBJZFÿ ZB\BKXGOBPECÿEAJEÿJHOÿ EXÿOHEH]JEBÿEABÿHOGJIEÿ XWÿWNENLBÿIAJP]BC^ 8ku>a<>_ÿvÿ89w;7<6k ku>a<>_ÿvÿ mJFgPZHP]ÿJPZÿCBINLHEFÿ 8 CELJEB]HBCÿCAXNKZÿeBÿ ?<_>8_9 HPEB]LJEBZÿHPEXÿEABÿ ZBCH]PÿJEÿJPÿBJLKFÿCEJ]Bÿ ==y>ÿ EXÿHPIKNZBÿeXEAÿGJCCH\Bÿ ? y JPZÿJIEH\BÿOBJCNLBC^ 9w;7<6kÿ cXÿWNENLBÿCELJEJÿdÿYAXKBÿeNHKZHP]ÿXGBLJEXLÿ SCCNOBÿWNKKÿCELJEJÿdÿGLBGJLBÿJKKÿZXINOBPECÿeNEÿIXPgLOÿHWÿKXZ]BOBPEÿHCÿLBMNHLBZ^ÿhBWBLÿEXÿEABÿ ZB\BKXGOBPEÿeLHBWÿWXLÿGLXiBIEÿCGBIHgIÿZHLBIEHXP^ mABLBÿZNJKÿnBFÿJGJLEOBPECÿJLBÿZB\BKXGBZoÿBJIAÿJGJLEOBPEÿCAXNKZÿeBÿWNKKFÿCBKWÿIXPEJHPBZÿJPZÿCELJEJÿ LBJZFoÿSpqÿIXOGKHJPEÿJPZÿEXÿJÿOHPHONOÿCHK\BLÿCEJPZJLZ^ÿ@FGHIJKÿIXOeHPJEHXPCÿHPIKNZBÿCENZHXrCENZHXÿ XLÿsÿeBZrCENZHXÿXLÿtÿeBZrsÿeBZ^ pB\BKXGÿJÿIXOGLBABPCH\BÿYJFgPZHP]ÿCELJEB]FÿEAJEÿHPIKNZBCÿCGJEHJKÿINBCoÿKH]AEHP]ÿJPZÿCH]PJ]B^ÿSKKXYÿ WXLÿeXEAÿCEJENEXLFÿJPZÿ]BPBLJKÿCH]PJ]B^ÿSKKXYÿWXLÿSxÿPXEHIBCÿEXÿeBÿOXNPEBZÿHPÿWXFBL^ÿhBWBLÿEXÿRSTUÿ UXOGXPBPEÿhBMNHLBOBPECÿWXLÿOJEBLHJKÿCGBIHgIJEHXPC^ÿ zPIXLGXLJEBÿGLHPIHGKBCÿXWÿULHOBÿ{LB\BPEHXPÿ@ALXN]Aÿ|P\HLXPOBPEJKÿpBCH]P^ÿSKKXYÿWXLÿGJCCH\Bÿ CNL\BHKKJPIBÿXWÿJKKÿCBINLBÿBPELHBCÿJPZÿIXOOXPÿ]JLZBPC^ÿ zPEBLIXOÿLBMNHLBZÿJEÿeNHKZHP]ÿBPELHBC^ÿ{LX\HZBÿCYHGBÿJIIBCCÿEXÿBPEBLÿJGJLEOBPEÿeNHKZHP]CÿJPZÿnBFÿ JPZÿKXInCÿWXLÿEXYPÿAXNCBC^ÿhBWBLÿZB\BKXGOBPEÿeLHBWÿWXLÿZBEJHKC^ 8}879aÿ <7w;8̀6 76?ly7686 CJWBÿJPZÿHP\HEHP]oÿYHEAÿ JZBMNJEBÿYHZEAÿWXLÿ yk97?ÿvÿ OX\HP]ÿEBPJPEÿWNLPHENLB^ wy7769>8>w9ÿ |PCNLBÿGLX\HCHXPÿXWÿWJ JZBÿOJHPEBPJPIBÿ XPBCÿJPZÿGLXIBZNLBCoÿJCÿYBKKÿJCÿJPFÿCBL\HIBÿJIIBCCÿEXÿKHWECÿ XLÿXEABLÿOJHPEBPJPIBÿ XPBC^ 8ww9?? y==y>ÿ yy=? 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With collective living, the loss of certain functions of the personal home makes the role of collective additional infrastructure increasingly important in cultivating urban community 4 During negotiations between residents and the SCRA, The Rocks Resident Action Group put forward the ‘People’s Plan’ (1975) 5 which outlined the demands of locals being removed from Millers Point housing. In the newspaper clipping below from 1973 6 , the loss of community amenity and facility is noted and appears to translate into the plan and the following project objectives outlined by Architect Tao Gofers. 8<>_9̀ÿ ab9``<>_? ;6̀6<8` 3;8ÿ̀j9kÿ 8l876=9>6? + NSW LAHC Design Standards, 2014 2. To take advantage of the unique opportunity to create a development that could provide a range of accommodation to suit the displaced residents of the Rocks area and also create a community project which is generally representative of all family and age groups in the city with facilities for maximum interaction appropriate to their needs. 8. To maximise the use of the sites unique amenity close to the city by providing communal and private outdoor spaces and provide communal spaces within the building. The ‘Good design for social housing’ document (developed by the Land and Housing Corporation and Government Architect) emphasises the relevance of good design to achieve goals such as, ‘a sense of belonging for our communities’ 7. It’s read in conjunction with the Multiresidential supplement which provides some detail in its guidelines, which are circumstantial 8 . The NSW DPIE A ‘ partment Design Guide’, also details some objectives relatied to community space 10. Common rooms should be welcoming and low maintenance to encourage positive social interaction. Objective 4F1Common circulation spaces provide opportunities for casual social interaction among residents and can assist with social recognition. Community gardens may be considered for large scale developments. The emphasis is on buildings which are low maintenance, incorporate passive crime prevention and work with universal design principles. The preceding LAHC Design standards provide further 9 clarication and specicity . Some requirements are as follows. Total common room space (excluding lobby and circulation) in Sirius amounts to 2.7m2 per tenant. 8 Common rooms may not reduce existing private residential space. (p. 26) Objective 3D1An adequate area of communal open space is provided to enhance residential amenity and to provide opportunities for landscaping. At a minimum of 25% of the site Objective 4F2 In larger developments, community rooms for activities such as owners corporation meetings or resident use should be provided and are ideally colocated with communal open space The following pages compare aspects of Sirius to today’s standards. Common rooms are to be sized at 1.5m2 per tenant, with a minimum main room size of 36m2 (p. 27) Sustaining community is pointed to as one of four key goals in ‘Good design for social housing’, critically however, no requirements establish the parameters 9