Good Design for Social Housing

Prior to this document being launched, Homes NSW (formerly the NSW Land and Housing Corporation) did not have a corporate statement articulating the value of design. This resulted in inconsistent approaches to feasibility studies, design procurement, design development, assessment and decision making around new social housing projects. The purpose of design was seen as a process of ‘designing out maintenance’ to reduce the financial burden of maintaining the social housing portfolio. This led to many homes having an institutional character that made them to be easily identifiable in our neighbourhoods and contributed to the stigma experienced by social housing tenants.

Homes NSW partnered with Government Architect NSW to form the Homes NSW Centre for Design. The Centre for Design’s express purpose was to drive good design outcomes in social housing through improved design governance. One of their first projects was the production of the Good Design for Social Housing. Good Design for Social Housing was developed through a collaborative effort involving co-design workshops and interviews with team members. It positioned ‘tenant wellbeing’ as the primary consideration of design. This has assisted in an internal step-change that focused the actions of stakeholders on how design could benefit those most in need.

Good Design for Social Housing has had a significant impact on the quality of the social housing delivered as well as Homes NSW’s own understanding of the value of design. In relation to the improved design quality of projects, tenants have communicated a greater sense of belonging and are proud of the places that they live. Numerous projects have also won awards including Phillip Street, St Marys and Bigge Street, Liverpool. Good Design for Social Housing is also regularly referred to by partners like Shelter NSW and Community Housing Providers as a benchmark for measuring good design and quality outcomes.

Good Design for Social Housing builds on and aligns with the NSW Government’s design policy ’Better Placed: an integrated design policy for the built environment of NSW’. There is also a companion document, the ‘LAHC Design Requirements’ which provide key requirements for social housing that are different from market housing. Together, these documents apply to all new Homes NSW developments and are driven by tenant wellbeing, design quality, environmental performance and operational effectiveness within cost parameters. They are for the use of Homes NSW staff, external consultants, project managers and development partners. Both documents are now legislative requirements referred to under the NSW State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 that apply to Homes NSW and the Aboriginal Housing Office developments. Good Design for Social Housing supports creating environments that support the physical, social, cultural, environmental, and economic wellbeing of the community. Please refer to the Good Design for Social Housing White Paper which is included in this submission. Good Design for Social Housing was also influential in directing new design work such as the Functional Design Brief for Domestic Violence and Crisis Accommodation which is a new core and cluster model being developed for families and individuals escaping violence.