VOI[D]ENSIFICATION

ADVANCED DESIGN 2, SEMESTER 2, 2013 FUTURE CHRISTCHURCH TING-HIN(DESMOND) LAM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROJECT DESCRIPTION RESEARCH CONCEPT

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

02 04 14 20 34

Green fields Ever since the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake struck, it has caused numerous amounts of damage to the buildings, people especially those in the city centre. A large portion of existing residents have left the city, with some going overseas and others settling in different parts of New Zealand. Our early research highlights the vast amount of residents migrating towards south west Christchurch. This is because the Christchurch City Council (CCC) has opened a large amount of green field sites for development in the Halswell region. Halswell is a satellite town located south west of Christchurch City. With a history dating back to the 1790s, it has become a very appealing residential town with its own unique industry and identity. It is within close proximity to both the Port Hills (15km) and inner city (8km) with an attractive semi-rural outlook and a village atmosphere. This has made Halswell a very appealing town for young families and working individuals to settle while maintaining easy access to the city centre. Families, students, young couples, and the elderly all seek a new beginning as many of their homes have been lost due to the earthquake. Their hope for a new journey begins in a home with a safe, clean, healthy environment in the fresh green field town of Halswell. Growth Growth projections shows Halswell is facing an extremely high population growth of up to three times its current population over the next 20 years. The result is an increase from 14,680 up to 40,825 residents by the year 2030, making Halswell the fastest growing area in Christchurch. Population growth generates the requirement for more facilities such as housing, shopping, recreation etc. in order to maintain a healthy standard of living for all residents. The extent and timing of household growth is dependent on the green field developments. Given the rapid growth in Halswell, there has been a severe lack of housing. Housing is a crucial element to any city. With housing, comes a home. Home is a refuge. It is an emotional harbour. In fact it is a human right. However, the swift and irrational solution implemented by the CCC has been to open up fringe land to build outer-suburbs, pushing the city even further outward. Subsequently, single detached houses are rapidly erected throughout the area, accompanied by new roads which encourages vehicular traffic. Consequently, is one of Halswells greatest assets the green fields, are slowly diminishing. Housing typology shortage Approximately 87% of the long term housing typologies in Halswell are composed of three bedrooms with two car garages. Single unit detached houses are the most dominant housing typology, followed by a tiny number of townhouses and apartments. Halswells demographics show a quarter of its individuals are currently living in a three bedroom home. Although these individuals can afford to do so, it highlights the missing choice of 1-2 bedroom accommodation for individuals and smaller family types who would prefer to live in smaller homes and possibly better suitability. This indicates a lack of housing choice for smaller household compositions because the housing typologies are not adapting to the evident change in demographics. The demographics in Halswell also shows young couples in the future are less likely to have children, resulting in smaller families. However, this has not prevented the continual construction of three bedroom houses which are primarily designed to suit the typical nuclear family.

Design This project focuses on densification of the town centre with an intent to design an alternative housing typology that suits smaller sized families. It is essential for the towns growing amount of residents but currently does not exist. By looking at the voids within the existing built fabric of the site, the project concept begins to emerge deep within the current neighbourhood. There is a strong focus on this site as its the closest residential region to the town centre. By densifying this region through housing, it will stimulate and effectively grow the town centre from the inside-out. As a result, the site is located within a current neighbourhood, opposite the existing supermarket and shops. The design process firstly investigates the spaces and voids evident in the chosen site. These voids are manipulated through reflecting their footprints and used to create building footprints and eventually extruded to become houses. The result is 15 new houses, each with a shared entrance where residents can enter and then disperse into their own units within the larger house. The internal program of these houses consist of only 1-2 bedroom units, which is aimed to suit smaller household compositions such as individuals and couples without children. Both 1 and 2 bedroom housing units are self-contained with their own kitchen and bathroom. The current plot sizes of 800m2 are subdivided for the new housing typology, causing 28/38 houses on the site to have their private garages removed. In order to provide them with car parking spaces, a large semi-underground (-1m) shared car park is designed. This large car park is shared by the existing residents who no longer own a private garage, as well as the new residents in the proposed housing typology. The car park extremely compact but functions very well by providing car protection and optimum circulation to and from the car park. The shared car park is connected to semi-private circulation spaces between 3-5 houses. In doing so, this increases social interaction between both the current and future residents in the region. Above the shared car park is the large public strip. The strip provides circulation space for human traffic only and is taken directly from Nicholls Road and integrated into the site. This is done by cutting a strip of the busy road with the same width dimensions (15m) and inserting it into the middle of the site. This allows public access as well as thoroughfare for residents. The proposed buildings are pushed towards the centre and intersect with the public strip, creating an integration between the buildings and the strip. The result is an 8-11.5m wide central circulation space between the new housing. The width varies as people move through the centre because the building footprints are not consistently 8m apart. This effect of moving through a series of choke points which contract and release is created through reflecting the voids. The large public strip is landscaped according to the original concept of mirroring building footprints, creating positive and negative spaces. Green spaces are created through footprint boundaries, whilst voids in the strip are created through footprint overlaps, allowing natural light into the shared car park space. Three large shared communal gardens are also located on the northern side of the new development for vegetation and agricultural purposes for the community. The new housing typologys forms have been developed from the surrounding neighbourhood characteristics such as roof pitches which are derived from adja-cent roof pitches. Height variations are sensitive to the existing houses which are predominately single storey. Effectively, a series of unique forms are derived from the existing voids. This allows the proposed buildings to exist subtly and comfort-ably within its context. By utilising the concept of residential infill, a new housing typol-ogy with greater function and is achieved. Infill residential development does not re-quire the subdivision of green field land, natural areas, or prime agricultural land. This assists in preserving Halswells characteristics of green fields and agriculture zones. The result is a densification of the neighbourhood through an exciting de-sign which encompasses the unique characteristics of Halswell and improves the quality of life for its current and future residents.

DESIGN PROCESS

DESIGN OUTCOME

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RESEARCH

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SITE LOCATION
HALSWELL Halswell is a town located south west of Christchurch City. With a history dating back to the 1790s, it has become a very appealing residential town with its own unique industry and identity. The town is growing rapidly with subdivisions and has an expected population growth from 14,680 up to 40,826 by the year 2030. Area: 41.8km2 Population: 14,680

TOWN CHARACTERISTICS

Halswell has unique characteristics and identity. Local small shops represent the key elements of the town, providing a sense of place and identity for the area. The suburban zones are generously surrounded by green fields and the result is large open spaces maintained for residents and visitors to enjoy.

AIRPORT

LOCAL
CHRISTCHURCH CBD 10km

8km

SUBURBAN

HALSWELL

4km

GREEN FIELDS
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TOWN FABRIC

TOWN CENTRE
Halswells town centre is a mixture of small shops, cultural and historical monuments and generous green fields. However, with an impending large population growth, these shops and plain green fields will not be a sufficient form of amenity. Furthermore, does not provide a pleasant environment for settlement. TOWN CENTRE JUNCTION

Halswell Road

MAIN ROADS

BUILT FABRIC

GREEN SPACES

600m
Halswell Road

Halswell Junction Road

RESIDENTIAL ZONE Directly opposite the town centre is a low density residental zone. Much like its neighbouring zones, it is low rise, and the built form hasnt adapted to the changes of the town centre.

ABANDONED HOUSE An old abandoned house and its plot surroundings still exists in the town centre. This has a negative impact on the towns image and serves no purpose.

LOCAL SHOPS A supermarket and a series of other smaller local shops exist as the towns amenity centre. Car parks also consume a large portion of the town centre.

Major roads Minor minor roads These two busy roads provides for the majority of the vehicle circulation. Halswell town residents can only go towards the city centre and Hornby via these two routes. Thus, traffic congestion can become a major problem on these roads during rush hour.

Building footprints

Parks and reserves Farm land

The building footprints consists mainly of residential houses and are the result of suburban sprawl. They are well connected by the road network, however this had made residents very reliant on car transportation.

Halswell is well populated with green lands. Ample amount of parks and reserves are provided for residents and visitors to enjoy. However, many of these spaces are overscaled and do not provide a welcoming and cosy environment, becoming large deserted spaces with no real purpose.

SPORTS CLUBS Halswells greatest attribute is the generous amount of parks and reserves available. This has allowed the town to develop into an activity and sports oriented community.

CHURCHES AND CEMETARY The churches and cemetary are some of the towns most historical buildings and monuments. They are also religiously significant.

AQUATIC CENTRE The only swimming facility in Halswell is only open during the summer (Nov. - Feb.). It provides a heated pool with 8 lanes and a toddlers pool.

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COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

GROWTH AND INTERNAL MIGRATION

Halswell is a sought after place to live in. Its close proximity to both the Port Hills and inner city, has an attractive semi-rural outlook and a village atmosphere. This has made Halswell a very attractive town for young families and working individuals to settle while maintaining easy access to the city centre.

We don't yet have

bus lanes out this

way, so buses cannot have priority and are in rush hour traffic.

very slow

transport network is something we dont really have at the moment.

A good active

Its hard to get around the supermarket...you know somebody; every aisle you go down you

always

know somebody.

Lots of

going on at the moment.

Most people use their busy times.

cars to get around and there are problems with congestion at

HALSWELL COMMUNITY

10 yearly percentage change (projected)

different from the city, its got its own feel, its own identity.
Its kind of

ugly new subdivisions

No town centre.

We really need to find ways of helping people be independent of

RESIDENT POPULATION GROWTH

27,000 25,000 23,000 21,000 19,000 17,000

CHRISTCHURCH HOUSEHOLDS (10-yearly)

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Change 2006-2016 Change 2016-2026 Change 2026-2036

space hogging vehicles

that consume oil and pump carbon dioxide into the air.

The buses

dont tend to run to where I need to go to work or recreation

15,000 13,000 11,000 9,000 7,000

Suburb of and those who use them don't pay any more for them than those of us who don't.

ugly carparks

transport was not too bad before the

The public

1996

2001

2006

2011

2016

2021

2026

2031

earthquakes took out the City centre.

without their cars.

can't imagine getting anywhere

Full of people who

The Christchurch City Council (CCC) has opened a large amount of green field sites for development in the Halswell region. The land is considerably more stable and is also close proximity to the city centre (8km).

Halswell will almost triple its population over the next 30 years. From todays 5,000 households, the suburb will increase to nearly 14,000 homes by the year 2041.

Christchurch households Halswell households The extent and timing of household growth is dependent on the greenfield developments. Comparison with Christchurch-wide household change shows how extraordinary the population increase will be in Halswell.

successful, enthusiastic individuals,

There are groups, networks and liasons hard at work in the local area.

not safe for children to bike or walk to school during

Its generally congested times.

dont have great shopping or community facilities and not many places to work.
We

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EXISTING HOUSING TYPOLOGIES

SINGLE UNIT DETACHED HOUSE Single unit detached houses are currently the biggest form of long-term accommodation for Halswell residents. Research shows they are predominantly 3 bedroom homes with 2 car garages. However, the apartments also have 3 bedrooms, highlighting the lack of 1-2 bedroom accommodation for smaller family types. 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms 2 car garage

MISSING HOUSING TYPOLOGIES

The current housing typology ranges from single unit homes, to mid-rise city infrastructures. However, there is a large group of missing middle housing typologies. This indicates a lack of housing choice for residents because the housing typologies are not adapting to the changing demographics.

ST JOHN OF GOD APARTMENTS (TEMPORARY) 1 bedroom 1 bathroom

ANTHONY WILDING RETIREMENT VILLAGE 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms 2 car garage

SINGLE UNIT DETACHED DUPLEX TRIPLEX & FOURPLEX BUNGALOW COURT TOWNHOUSE LIVE/WORK COURTYARD APARTMENT MID-RISE

TE REPO APARTMENTS 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms 2 car garage MISSING MIDDLE HOUSING TYPES

CRAYTHORNES PUBLIC HOUSE (TEMPORARY) 1 bedroom 1 bathroom no garage

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2km

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HOUSING TYPOLOGY SUMMARY

DEMOGRAPHICS

TYPES OF PEOPLE

HOUSEHOLD TENURE

NOW 6000 households 14,680 residents

2030 14,000 households 40,826 residents

FAMILY TYPE

HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION 5.4% Other 14.1% 7.2%

50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0

19% 42.7%

25.2%

37.7% 38.8% 60.4%

48.2%

There will be more couples without children in the future Households Residents

A quarter of the individuals in Halswell are living in a 3 bedroom house

Most households are owned, but a large amount of individuals and couples rent.

DEMAND

HOUSING TYPOLOGIES

RESIDENTIAL YEARS

CONCEPT

?
A new housing typology needs to be introduced in order to adapt to the changing demographics of the Halswell community. This typology should comprise of 1-2 bedroom housing, with an aim to fulfill the needs of individuals and smaller families as they are currently neglected.

? > 1 yr

-2 15
0y rs

Houses 74%

Temporary homes 6%

Retirement homes 7%

>3

10-14 yrs 5-9 yrs 1-4 yrs

Apartments 4%

Townhouses 9%

Short residential years shows that Halswell is a stepping stone for residents, and not a long-term home.

9yr

87% of housing typologies are 3 bedroom homes. The results in a lack of choice and suitability for individuals and smaller families.

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SITUATION AND RESULTS

PROPOSED SOLUTION

Research shows there is a lack of facilities for the current and future residents of Halswell. The 3 main options are highlighted and briefly analysed to distinguish the best possible solution to solve the problem.

Halswell currently lacks a town centre. By growing the town centre inside-out, a purpose and identity can be developed. This process takes a closer look at the current land-use and will provide a better solution for future development in the town centre.

OPTIONS

RESULTS

1. NO INCREASE

years

years

No increase in facilities will lead to an increased demand for residents to drive to their daily needs. Thus, increasing air pollution and traffic congestion.

SITUATION
ye s

PROBLEM

NEW HOUSING TYPOLOGY

Accommodate and provide for the needs of families in a new manner. Strong emphasis on sustainable organic growth with public and private gardens.

population

years

years

years

Halswell lacks facilities such as a town centre, retail, public meeting spaces, job opportunities and housing typology range.

2. SHARP INCREASE

years

years

A sharp increase of new facilities with too many changes might exceed the necessary amount for the population growth.

TRANSPORT HUB

Becomes the core for all transportation systems, offering frequent bus, shuttle and taxi services. Bike storage is also available.

HOU USI NG N CAF FE

facilities

facilities

VILLAGE VI LAGE GARD RDENSS VILLA SO IALISE SOCIALISE LIS G GRO ROW W
SH O OPPI NG G RET RE ET TAIL AIL A LS RELA AXATIO ON
COMME C COM MERCCIALL

HOR R TICU TICUL U LTUR UR

GREE N

facilities

drivers

facilities

3. STEADY INCREASE

years

years

A slow and steady increase of new facilities around the town will stimulate the neighbourhood and provide an even balance between the increasing population and available facilities.

SE ATIN A NG RECR RECREA CR ATION C T N

COMMERCIAL AREA

A new shopping mall to be developed, with improvements to the existing local shops. Promotes economic growth and increases job opportunities.

H HUB UB TAXI

SHUTTLE

TRANSPO PO P O RT
CYCLE CC
DESMOND LAM / VILLA YAN / ZARA HUANG

BUS BU US

LIVI VING G

nn

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APPROACH

SITE LOCATION

The proposed solution is to grow the town centre inside out, whilst densifying the core. In order to do this, a phase plan was implemented. The plan takes into account population growth, and associates ammenities in proportion with the increased population.

As proximity to the town centre increases, so should the housing and population density. However, this is not the case with Halswell. The residential zone opposite the town centre has an equal density to any other region of Halswell. In order to densify and create a town centre, this site plays an extremely crucial part of urban growth. 2020 2030 - 2040

2015

CLOSER TO TOWN CENTRE

FURTHER FROM TOWN CENTRE

WA
m in g c fa

S LE

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PARK/RESERVE ZONE

In fill

St e re g in

Sh op

In fill

St e re

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W LS HA

100m

200m

D OA LR EL

KR OA IDG T ES

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D OA R S LL

COMMERCIAL ZONE
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INFILL HOUSING

The concept of infill looks at building upon existing used land. Infill residential development does not require the subdivision of greenfield land, natural areas, or prime agricultural land. Thus, helps preserves Halswells characteristics of greenfields and agriculture zones. A series of primarily 1-2 bedrooms housing units are closely packed to maximise this space and also targets smaller household compositions such as individuals and couples.

DESIGN PROCESS

EXISTING The low density residential block lacks character and does not allow the opportunity for urban growth.

INFILL STAGE 1 A few voids between existing houses are infilled. This will stimiluate the continual development of a retail street front.

INFILL STAGE 2 This process continues, whilst turning existing houses into street front retail. The infill begins extending to the back of the site and creates accommodation opportunities.

INFILL STAGE 3 Street front retail is fully developed and infill residential spreads further into the back of the site, result is an increased density.

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CONCEPT DESIGN DRIVERS

Nicholls Road elevation

Diagramatic elevation

Diagramatic void elevation

There are large pockets of space (voids) between existing houses. There is potential for these voids to become the design driver. If these spaces were collected, how much space is formed and can it be used to form a new housing typology?

DESMOND LAM

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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Current footprints

Garages removed

85
The sites current buildings are single, detached housing with external garages.

m 0 0

By removing all the external garages, all the backyards can be joined together, forming a large open space.

Houses vs. garages

Voids highlighted

Its interesting to note the size of each plot of land (~800m2) and how little land the building footprints use (~200m2). Long driveways cut across these plots because garages are located behind the house.

All the voids between the houses are highlighed. This shows the maximum potential for the infill to occur.

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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Voids on the emphasised grid lines are reflected

Roof forms

By focusing only on the perpendicular grid lines of the site, it allows us to see only the voids that have the most potential to be reflected.

Roof shapes are influenced by the surrounding roof angles. Angles are taken from its neighbours, and translated upwards.

Voids extruded

Public strip

The voids are extruded at a sensible height of 3 storeys. This forms the first stage of the projects massing.

The space for human traffic is taken directly from Nicholls Road and integrated into the site. This is done by cutting a strip of the busy road with the same width dimensions (15m) and inserting it into the middle of the site. This allows public access as well as thoroughfare for residents.

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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Buildings intersect with public strip

Fence boundaries

Buildings are pushed towards the centre and intersect with the public strip, creating an integration between the buildings and the strip. The result is an 8-11.5m wide central circulation space between the new housing. The width varies as you move through the space, because the building footprints are not consistently 8m apart. This effect of moving through a series of choke points is created through reflecting the voids.

New fence boundaries are introduced which allows the public and private spaces to be determined within the site.

Height variations

The height of the houses are varied between 2 - 4 storeys. This visually enhances the housng typology.

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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Circulation

SHARED CAR PARK

28/38 houses on the site has had their private garages removed. In order to provide them with car parking spaces, a large semi-underground(-1m) shared car park is designed. This large car park is shared by the existing residents who no longer own a private garage, as well as the new residents in the proposed housing typology. The design is extremely compact but functions very well by providing car protection and optimum circulation to and from the car park. Existing private garages: 48 cars Proposed shared carpark: 75 cars Proposed shared carpark area: 2595m2

(15000)

Research on carpark dimension requirements shows with a width of exactly 15000, the car park design is optimised as it fits perfectly underneath the public strip.

Staircase

Pedestrian flow

Vehicle flow

Staircases, vehicle access and entrance features are implemented to allow all kinds of circulation through the site.

5500

173000

Public entrance to the new housing typology, located on the intersection between Halswell Road and Nicholls Road. 29

Public entrance to the new housing typology, located on Oakridge Street.

Access spaces within the site are shared between residents only. Access to the first floor and garage is through these shared spaces.

A shared underground garage is accessible from the shared spaces linked between 3-5 houses.
DESMOND LAM DESMOND LAM

5500

15000

4000

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LANDSCAPING

PROGRAM

The large public strip is landscaped according to the original concept of mirroring building footprints, creating positive and negative spaces. Voids in the strip are created through footprint overlaps, allowing natural light into the shared car park space. +
Negative space created by two positive overlapping spaces

Approximately 1/3 of each affected land plot will be used for the proposed infill development. Collectively, they will allow a new typology to arise from the space created. The result will be a significant increase in building and population density, without the need for suburban sprawl.

+ -

+ -

+ -

+ -

mirror line

Property division
Average plot size = 800m2
1/3 266m2 2/3 533m2 3/3 800m2

mirror line + + + + + + + + +

Division for new house

Existing house 2 170m

Back yard

Front yard

Result
Each house has a shared entrance, where residents can enter and then disperse into their own units within the larger house. Both 1 and 2 bedroom housing units are selfcontained with their own kitchen and bathroom. Current living zone: 1 - low density New proposed living zone: 3 - medium-high density 1 bedroom unit - 56m2 (28) 2 bedroom unit - 72m2 (29) Communal gardens Grass areas Section Existing Proposed additional Total Increase Households 38 57 95 150% People 116 128 244 110% total units (57)

Proposed building footprints Voids

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DESIGN OUTCOME

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SITE PLAN

1. OAKRIDGE ST. ENTRANCE

WA

S LE

ST

2 1

K OA RID GE ST

HA W LS

NIC

HO

D OA R S LL

EL D OA LR

50m

100m

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2. CENTRAL PUBLIC SPACE

SECTION AA

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