SHAPING AFFORDABLE HOUSING: An Architectural Investigation of Pre-World War II State Workers' Housing in Sydney

Abstract

Affordable housing is one of the most pressing societal issues in Australian cities today. Whilst initiatives in the policy and planning spheres are attempting to increase the delivery of new affordable housing, one intrinsic question remains largely unaddressed, ‘what shape should this housing take?’ In designing affordable housing for the future, it is instructive to look at the examples that have come before. To do that, this research draws together a largely untold story of the beginnings of affordable housing in Sydney, making the buildings themselves central to the telling. Set against a broader political, economic and social backdrop, the pre-World War II State workers’ housing of the Sydney Harbour Trust, Department of Public Works, Housing Board and Housing Improvement Board is explored in detail with the aid of archival sources, documenting and investigating its architectural shape and linking it to the context of its production. Valuable dormant knowledge is brought to light and inspiring architectural attributes are revealed for selective use by practitioners in the design of new affordable housing today.