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SubUrban Dream: Reinterpreting the suburban dream in Auckland's medium density housing

The suburban dream has defined the Kiwi lifestyle since early European settlement. However, New Zealand’s growing cities are making this form of living increasingly unobtainable.   The Auckland City Plan is aiming to create the world’s most liveable city. To achieve this, their Unitary Plan has proposed accommodating up to 70% of population growth within existing urban limits. A large proportion of new density is to be achieved through medium-density housing around existing suburban centres. However, current medium-density housing typologies fail to support the kiwi lifestyle. The combination of high growth and revision of Auckland’s new development strategy has created an opportunity to explore how medium-density housing can be reinvented to appeal to the kiwi lifestyle.  This thesis proposes an approach to suburban intensification which can achieve Auckland’s required density, as well as the ideals of New Zealand’s preferred suburban dream.  Initial explorations highlight three key ideals from the suburban dream; independence, expansiveness, and community. These ideals are compromised in current medium-density housing, and form key criteria for architectural critique throughout this research.  The work of Atelier Bow-Wow and their theory of behaviourology highlighted the need for a human dimension within architecture, and informed a methodology to drive individuality of dwellings throughout the design investigations. An iterative design methodology explored how the relationships between, and configuration of dwellings could efficiently utilise both ground and vertical conditions to strengthen the key suburban ideals. Further investigations explored how architectural elements could generate gradients of privacy, to reduce the distance required between dwellings. The expansive suburban yard was used to test how shared space could be articulated, and how its relationship to the dwelling can reinforce all suburban ideals. The final stage of the design extended the scope of the investigation to the surrounding context, highlighting significant findings and further opportunities for development.  Overall, the research suggests a methodology for designing medium-density housing which not only achieves ideals of the suburban dream, but demonstrates that medium-density housing can provide a lifestyle which addresses and exceeds suburban expectations.