Mosaic (competition)

Many cities are currently facing the challenge of improving the health of its citizens through careful deliberation of urban growth. Despite the significance of residential architecture to the development of sustainable cities; ultimately aimed at improving livability; insufficient attention has been paid to the impact of architecture in times of increasing shortages of affordable housing. Viewing urban infill as a vehicle for growth and change, this project aims to show how architectural developments can help to create an integrated sense of community, diminish social and demographic exclusions and help gentrify our middle-class neighborhoods whilst focusing on housing affordability. When it comes to improving livability however, density is not always the issue. Some high density areas are delightfully livable, and some low-density areas are purely miserable. The question lies in the quality of the development, and whether it elegantly handles impacts like access, views and shading, vehicles, waste and storm water management, security and plain ugliness. When looking at the suburbs in questions (large lot, post-war period homes), affordability has been approached through diversity, and quality of design – similar to the impacts listed above. Replacing fragility in aging single-family neighbourhoods with a balance of unique housing offerings; mindfully designed to be sustainable in both environmental and lifecycle costs; not only provides additional density, but for a wider audience. This approach helps break down the toxic divisiveness we have in our culture by providing developments suitable for varying household incomes, family sizes, and mobility needs. Unique dwelling sizes; all with unique features and attributes; collectively woven to form an infill community. Furthermore, adapting this concept to a larger fabric of urban development, a Mosaic results; a coalescence of diverse infills.