Designing Beyond the Floor Plan

Auckland’s housing demographic consists of a wide range of family compositions and ethnicities. This has created a demand for flexible housing that satisfies a variation of configurations and sizes. Typological features of Raumplan and Plan Libre approaches have been considered for their ability to cater to the cultural, economic and geological requirements of Auckland. This thesis focuses on a contemporary prototype of high density family homes clustering on a shared title. 

Originally, only 3 homes sat on this site. This thesis has intensified the site with 10 homes with a strong community focus around a shared but intimate communal area. The 10 homes are a mixture of apartment and terrace style houses. The property heavily slopes from the eastern to western corner.

Raumplan has lent itself to Auckland’s topography well, as most sites are very steep. One of the main ideas behind Raumplan is to follow the landscape and terrain of the site. This means that split and half levels became a strong and prominent feature within the design. Employing split levels removes the extra cost and need for digging out properties and re-sculpting the land. It also lowers the cost of retaining walls. Engaging with Raumplan meant that the buildings could all open out onto the communal area at similar levels, creating a connected community space.  

Plan Libre has been explored throughout the site. It is used to activate fruitful communal areas and provide intimate spaces using a private roof terrace. Le Corbusiers’ desire to create vast airy spaces where one can work, live and play was a strong driver when designing the site. Intensifying houses on the property meant that each home's private ‘yard’ space would diminish. Therefore, there was a strong emphasis on stimulating the site at a communal level and activating the roof terrace at a private one.