Braybrook to launch public housing shake-up for Victoria

Braybrook will become the first suburb to trial a new type of public housing that moves away from high rise towers.

An artist’s impression of the new social housing developments in Braybrook. Picture: Supplied

A new model for social housing that moves away from high rise towers to accommodate families in low rise apartments will on Tuesday be announced by the State Government.

Melbourne’s working class western suburb of Braybrook will become the first area where the new Victorian public housing scheme is rolled out to people on the social housing waiting list.

At least 12 new developments will be pioneered in the area before being rolled out to other parts of the state.

The architecturally designed homes will be a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments with access to green space and built environmentally sustainable.

The homes – designed as part of an architectural competition – were selected in part because of their ability to be built anywhere in the state and tweaked to fit different sizes and locations.

Housing Minister Richard Wynne said it was a game changer for social housing.

“These new designs will set new benchmarks in sustainability and liveability – helping create a new generation of apartment living that’s better, smarter, safer and healthier for the whole community,’’ he said.

The homes were selected in part because of their ability to be built anywhere in the state.

The Braybrook apartments, to be built on an empty lot facing a row of shops at 293-295 Ballarat Rd, will bring to life the vision of winners of the government’s Future Homes design competition.

Architects LIAN in association with Kerstin Thompson Architects have designed the new public housing apartments.

They were one of four designers and architects picked to work with the government and Office of the Victorian Government Architect to refine plans to be incorporated into the Victorian planning scheme.

It is hoped it will allow developers to get social housing projects up and running faster and at a lower cost while meeting high design standards and energy efficiency requirements.

The Government has promised the start of construction of more than 12,000 homes by June 2024 as part of it “Big Housing Build.’’

Mr Wynne said it would be the largest single investment in social and affordable housing in Australia’s history.

“Our unprecedented investment in safe, secure housing will change lives – not only putting a roof over people’s heads but creating thousands of jobs as we rebuild from the coronavirus pandemic,’’ he said.

“The Future Homes competition contributed such incredible new design concepts and this is an exciting first opportunity to bring these designs to life.’’

High rise Melbourne social housing towers were seen as state-of-the-art when they were built in the 1960s and 70s, replacing slums in inner-city areas and offering low-rent housing for those in need.

Most of the towers were only built to last 60 years but are now expected to be used for at least 85.