DENSITY AND DIVERSITY DONE WELLTHE TINY HOUSE VILLAGE

A LOW-RISE SOLUTION TO MEDIUM-DENSITY GROWTH IN SOUTH-EAST QUEENSLAND

LOCATED IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBOURHOOD WITHIN 800M OF A TRANSPORT NODE AND SHOPS, THE DESIGN INCREASES DENSITY WITHOUT OVERWHELMING THE LANDSCAPE WITH BUILT FORM. OPEN SHARED SPACES PROVIDE COMMUNITY BENEFIT TO THE RESIDENTS.

IT IS AN AFFORDABLE SOLUTION DUE TO THE INTRINSIC LOW COST OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE TINY HOUSE AND THE SMALL LAND SIZE REQUIRED TO SITE THEM. IT IS DELIVERABLE BY ITS INCREMENTAL NATURE.

GATED COMMUNITIES

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NEIGHBOURHOOD-LEVEL

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STAGE 1 STAGE2

Maria is 58 and lives alone on a 740sqm block in suburban

Brisbane. Tired of maintaining a large site area, she is looking to

downsize her place of occupancy while freeing up her assets for

other interests. Maria would like to ‘age in place’ within her community and seeks a redevelopment option

that allows her to maintain her financial independence and privacy

while providing opportunities for shared living.

Maria finds a young couple who are looking to establish themselves in

the area, but have struggled to find a home they can afford. They discuss

the possibility of redeveloping Maria’s block to meet all of their needs. After some investigation, they decide the property could easily accommodate

three small detached dwellings as well as an arrangement of shared facilities. As Maria’s block is situated in a Low-

Medium Density Residential Zone, they choose to apply for a Material

Change of Use to support a Tiny House Village development scenario under the

Multiple Dwelling Code.

Unlike higher density Multiple Dwelling forms (i.e. apartments, townhouses),

the Tiny House Village promotes multiple low-rise dwellings up to site

cover of 25%. After some further planning, they decide to invite an elderly relative to join them and together they reconfigure the lot

to accommodate three community titles, with by-laws to govern the

management of shared facilities such as a communal laundry, workshop,

garden areas and parking.

Each new Tiny House costs just under $80,000 to supply, but

there are additional costs such as infrastructure charges, legal fees,

providing separate metering to utilities and the refurbishment of the existing building to accommodate one self-contained dwelling and

shared facilities. The young couple decide to minimize costs by connecting only to the local

water supply, as their Tiny House is largely self-sufficient.

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0 COMMUNITY FACILITIES SHARED SPACE

Housing Stock- Existing residences plus fixed Tiny House Units equate to affordable housing stock.

Community- 75% of site use is governed by Community by-laws; communal facilities and gardens, car parking and bike storage, external services, egress paths etc.

Plot Ratio- Building footprint yields a 25% Plot Ratio. - A Community Title Scheme establishes tenure for the redevelopment.

Setbacks- Existing setbacks are retained. Relaxations may be justified to support commercial uses.

Existing Block- Typical setbacks

THE TINY VILLAGE LOT$

55m2 55m2

29.5m2 29.5m2

Five years later, the adjacent lot has come up for sale. The residents of the Tiny House Village decide to expand their community and

purchase the block. Stage 2 sees the construction of three new households incorporating some larger dwellings suitable for small families. With so many new emerging companies

offering modular, prefabricated or transportable housing solutions,

they have no trouble finding quality affordable housing for their site.

As part of the Stage 2 redevelopment, the community decide to incorporate an office and coffee shop. They apply

for a Material Change of Use to include Office and Food and Drink outlets.

Twelve months after gaining approval, commercial activites are operating from

the site, with leases managed by the Body Corporate.

Maria considers raising her house to accommodate a tenant for additional

income. With the equity she has raised from the redevelopment of her site, she

completes the conversion under her title. Soon there is a mixture of building

types on the site- over ten years the density has grown incrementally

from 13.5 dwellings per hectare to 47 dwellings per hectare.

The incremental, flexible nature of the community means that over time they are able to adapt to changing circumstances. They experiment with different communal

facilities covered by their annual fee, including car share services, public transport

membership, child-care and aged care. The multitude of new facilities has grown

interest in the area, and soon investors are imagining a new, high-dense future to the

sleepy suburban block.

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55m2

30m2

55m2

29.5m2 29.5m251.8m2

51.8m2

49.5m2

DENSITY AND DIVERSITY DONE WELLTHE TINY HOUSE VILLAGE

A LOW-RISE SOLUTION TO MEDIUM-DENSITY GROWTH IN SOUTH-EAST QUEENSLAND

LOCATED IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBOURHOOD CLOSE TO TRANSPORT AND SHOPS, THE DESIGN INCREASES DENSITY WITHOUT OVERWHELMING THE LANDSCAPE WITH BUILT FORM BUT PROVIDES OPEN SHARED SPACES.

IT IS AN AFFORDABLE SOLUTION DUE TO THE INTRINSIC LOW COST OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE TINY HOUSES AND THE SMALL LAND SIZE REQUIRED TO SITE THEM. IT IS DELIVERABLE BY ITS INCREMENTAL NATURE.

RECOMMENDATIONS

THE TINY VILLAGE REACHES A DENSITY OF 47 DWELLINGS PER HECTARE BEFORE IT MIGHT BE SUPERSEDED BY A BUILDING MODEL THAT OFFERS EVEN GREATER DENSITY. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IT AND OTHER MEDIUM DENSITY HOUSING TYPES (SUCH AS SHOWN IN THE SITE PLAN ADJACENT) IS THAT THE FUNDING MODEL ENCOURAGES A GRADUAL, ORGANIC FORM OF PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT.

TO BEST SUPPORT A TINY HOUSE VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT SCENARIO UNDER A MULTIPLE DWELLING USE, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT A FIT FOR PURPOSE TINY HOUSE VILLAGE CODE BE DEVELOPED THAT SETS OUT THE ASSESSMENT BENCHMARKS FOR THE CONFIGURATION. EXAMPLE CRITERIA MIGHT INCLUDE; PLOT RATIO, SITE COVERAGE, SETBACKS, BUILDING HEIGHT, RESIDENTIAL AMENITY REQUIREMENTS, CAR PARKING, LANDSCAPING AND ACCESS.

THE TINY VILLAGE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATIVE CONSUMPTION AND FACILITATE COMMUNITY INTERACTION THAT IS BOTH DIVERSE AND ENGAGED. MOREOVER, IT PRODUCES THE ‘FINE GRAIN’ PATTERN OF DEVELOPMENT THAT IS IMPORTANT FOR CREATING DIVERSE, EXCITING URBAN CENTERS THAT ENABLE LIVELY COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY. THIS QUALITY IS REINFORCED BY THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROPOSAL. A TINY VILLAGE MAXIMIZES PERMEABLE LAND AND EMBRACES THE GROWING AVAILABILITY OF DECENTRALIZED UTILITIES AND SERVICES.

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