Advertisement

Room for improvement: Avoiding a micro-apartment ‘monoculture’

If development standards are driven by things, such as an influx of investment stock, there's a risk of 'cookie-cutter' apartments.

If development standards are driven by things, such as an influx of investment stock, there's a risk of 'cookie-cutter' apartments. Photo: Getty

As Australia’s population grows and we move from urban sprawl to higher-density living, the dangers of scrimping on space and compromising on liveability have become increasingly evident.

‘Dog boxes’ was the evocative term used to describe dwellings of 50 square metres or less – otherwise known as micro-apartments – when a debate about apartments flared up in 2016. That debate raged against the background of research by Melbourne City Council that found a majority of the city’s recently built apartments were of “poor” quality.

In response to the situation, the Victorian government in March 2017 released its Better Apartments Design Standards. While the government ultimately chose not to mandate a minimum apartment size – unlike in New South Wales where a studio apartment must be at least 35 square metres – questions around the liveability of micro-apartments remained.

That was reinforced in a review in 2017 by buyers’ agents Secret Agent which examined 3000 Melbourne apartments built in the last six years to test how well they stacked up against Victoria’s new set of design standards.

An “astonishingly small” nine out of 3000 (or 0.3 per cent) met the minimum requirements of the seven standards which pertain to room dimensions, windows, outdoor space, and storage requirements.

According to Secret Agent’s Ken Premtic, micro-apartments are not an attractive prospect for buyers.

Most banks will not provide finance for apartments smaller than 50 square metres, meaning that micro-apartments are almost exclusively purchased by investors looking to make money on high rental returns.

However, high turnover of tenants is common in micro-apartments, Mr Premtic says.

“A single person or a couple will stay there for 12 months, and they’ll find the space is too small for them,” he says.

“There will be a lot of in-and-out, which causes a lot of wear and tear to the property.”

perils of the micro apartments

Our growing population demands that we plan for a medium and high-density future. Photo: Getty

Despite such shortcomings, Planning Institute of Australia’s Victorian president Laura Murray says that our our growing population demands that we still plan for a medium and high-density future.

“Not everyone wants to live in the outer suburbs we have to consider a variety of different dwelling types,” Ms Murray says.

“It will take a while for people to become adjusted to higher-density living, but we are moving towards that.”

A ‘monoculture’ of micro-apartments

But design is paramount if that higher-density future is to be a success.

“If someone is producing a small apartment and it’s not well designed it creates a significant issue,” the immediate past president of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) Richard Kirk says.

The AIA has long advocated for the adoption of national standards for housing similar to “safeguard the quality and amenity of high-density housing”, Mr Kirk says.

“Size is a key aspect of affordability. It is important to have standards around design quality,” he says.

“You can do smaller apartments, but the smaller they are the higher the quality of design required to make them suitable housing.”

When development standards are driven by “temporary market conditions”, such as an influx of investment stock, we risk creating a glut of poorly built cookie-cutter apartments, Mr Kirk says.

“That’s not a successful outcome for our cities in the long term. We lose diversity and produce a monoculture of apartments,” he says.

Ideally, what a micro-apartment lacks in size, it should make up for in increased amenity and aspect, so that “what you forgo in having a larger living area is compensated by better views, better light, and a more sustainable apartment”, Mr Kirk says.

The Planning Institute’s Laura Murray says it’s crucial that apartments include, for example, basic amenities and are accessible to people with a disability.

“We’re still looking to ensure access to daylight, accessibility for persons of limited mobility, and providing design quality that meets the needs of everyone,” she says.

From micro to medium-density apartments, high-quality design that maintains liveability remains key.

“We’ve seen examples of micro-apartments in other cities around the world, and I don’t think you can have a good quality of life in some of those,” Ms Murray says.

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.