ENVI Micro Urban Village project in Southport shows possible way forward in housing crisis

Nobody seems to be able to agree how to solve the affordable housing crisis, but a remarkable solution may be hiding on a quiet Southport street, writes Keith Woods.

LENNEBERG street in Southport is not the sort of place you would expect to find the solution to the most pressing problem on the Gold Coast.

Tucked away behind the bustle of traffic-clogged Queen St, at first glance, it seems little more than a quiet residential area, a well-located haven away from the nearby high rises of the CBD.

That, though, is part of the point.

Lenneberg street is home to one of the Gold Coast’s most innovative high density developments. And you might pass a hundred times without realising.

At the corner with Meron St is a 673 square metre site which until 2015 hosted one house. Now, in the same space, there are ten.

Alejandra Ramirez Vidal at one of the ENVI Micro Urban Village homes in Southport. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

Its designer, Surfers Paradise architect Amy Degenhart, has won many awards for the innovative scheme.

Amid wrangling between council and the state over the City Plan, centred on densities allowed in established suburbs, Ms Degenhart hopes the project might help point a constructive way forward.

“Higher density has a terrible name,” Ms Degenhart told the Bulletin. “I almost always find when you’re talking to mums and dads on the street, if you say higher density, the ‘higher’ immediately in their minds conjures a vision of height. That’s the first emotional roadblock that I believe we could address, as the two need not be linked.

“In fact, density is a cruel tool when seeking affordable outcomes, as it denies the smaller households that so many are demanding now, both to age in place and to start a home.

“There’s so many more options for density other than thinking immediately higher density means higher height.”

The Lenneberg St scheme, called ENVI Micro Urban Village, features some of the smallest freehold lots on the Gold Coast.

One takes up just 38 square metres – about the footprint of a double garage.

But the homes, aimed at downsizers and first home buyers, were quickly snapped up, and earned rave reviews from their new occupants.

“It’s two-bedrooms, two-bathrooms and I’ve added a mezzanine to it,” Alejandra Ramirez Vidal said.

“In everyone’s mind it’s small, but there’s so much storage in here.”

Architect Amy Degenhart pictured inside one of the ENVI Micro Urban Village homes while it was under construction. Picture: Jerad Williams.

Ms Degenhart, who is also President of the Queensland Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, said she hoped it showed that it was possible to build higher density projects that worked both for the people living in them, and existing residents.

“Research indicates that communities are reluctant to welcome increased densities in their neighbourhoods due primarily to legitimate concerns regarding traffic, car parking and design,” she said.

“... When a community changes in terms of density, height and housing character we do get an uncomfortable outcome if it’s not designed to fit.

“Gated communities, for instance, where there is no street presence, and sometimes multi-storey apartments where suddenly, there’s an issue with overlooking that destroys the sense of privacy that we all expect in our homes.

“If we could look at rolling up our sleeves at possibly investigating more density without height and without separating the communities from the street, and also trying to keep the actual form of the housing very similar, I think we’d then have the beginnings of a conversation.”

Anne Street Garden Villas in Southport.

It’s not just in private housing that Ms Degenhart sees possibilities for better, higher density developments.

She pointed to another Southport project, Anne Street Garden Villas, which was designed by Anna O’Gorman Architects.

“It’s a social housing project which fits into its community beautifully,” Ms Degenhart said.

“As a single complex but it still addresses the street and it still allows for smaller households.

“It’s based on a beautiful community space in the middle, with gardens, meaning it also creates a bit of a sanctuary inside.”

Both these projects are high density, but they’re not high rise, and they integrate well with their surroundings.

The key is the thought put into their design.

The state government is hosting a housing summit next month. Ms Degenhart hopes the kind of innovative approach demonstrated by these two projects will be on the table.

“Density is somewhat misunderstood,” she said.

“There’s a difficulty for communities to understand that density can look and be beautiful for their neighbourhood.

“... But I believe people should be open-minded.

“Although it can be somewhat uncomfortable to talk about, the greyfield areas, our existing suburbs, offer a wealth of opportunities for housing.

“We need to focus on good design outcomes, good community outcomes, good streetscape outcomes, and the opportunity that new housing offers to deliver positive change.”

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Originally published as ENVI Micro Urban Village project in Southport shows possible way forward in housing crisis