With land prices skyrocketing and housing affordability a distant memory, inner suburbs are becoming denser by the day. Unfortunately, this density often comes at the expense of quality of life, with pokey apartments and bare minimum balconies now the norm for inner-city living. Liam Wallis of Hip V. Hype set out to prove density and livability can go together. Experimenting with ideas of affordability without sacrificing livability, North Street House is the perfect home for Liam and his partner, Katya Crema. Liam designed two houses for the 300 square metre Brunswick site, a three-bedroom house for themselves and a smaller two-bedroom house which they sold to help finance their own home.
Building two houses on the one site created density and affordability for Liam, but it was important that this didn't sacrifice livability. Liam explains, "North Street has a similar internal area to the previous house that occupied the site." Similarly, "the roof deck is similar to the size of the backyard of the previous house", Liam adds. Starting from scratch and going dense also has environmental benefits, "a two-story form with a shared party wall has significantly less external surface area, leading to reduced temperature gain in summer and loss in winter".
Liam is a firm believer in the power of incidental interactions to break down boundaries and strengthen the community. Traditionally, a seat on the verandah has enabled this type of interaction. On the tight block at North Street, Liam creates this sense of connection to the community by eschewing blinds in the downstairs living area. Instead, a layering of materials and vegetation maintains a connection to the street, without sacrificing privacy.
Liam's focus on affordability without sacrificing livability is an essential ingredient in the recipe for dense and desirable cities. Attention to the human elements helped Liam design a house that feels like a home.