After 100 years, contest looks to future of state housing

New state housing in Tamaki, 1951.

One hundred years after the first competition to provide low-cost, quality housing for working families, Housing Minister Steve Maharey is launching a design competition for state houses of the future.

Back in 1905, the Liberal Government of Premier Richard Seddon chose the working-class suburb of Petone to build the first 25 state houses.

This time the brief is a 0.92ha site between Aurora Ave and Sheppard Ave in the up-and-coming Auckland suburb of Sandringham.

Mr Maharey said professionals and students were being asked to design up to 30 higher-density homes thinking about the latest building practices, technologies and urban design issues.

They also needed to take into account the diverse ethnic mix of Pacific Island, Middle Eastern and African people in Sandringham, the high number of households with one or two occupants, and a big demand for large family homes.

"Central to good design is that it enhances our lives. Designing homes for people on low incomes or with particular housing needs is no different," Mr Maharey said.

The design competition is purely hypothetical. Housing New Zealand has no plans to redevelop the site but may commission winners and entrants to develop designs for actual projects.

The competition runs from today until August 8 and entries will be assessed by a panel of local and international judges.

Prizes total $30,000 in three categories: urban design ($12,500), housing design ($12,500) and emerging designer ($5000).

A premier trophy will be award to an overall winner. The winners will be announced at the Urbanism Downunder conference in Wellington on August 18.

Milestones

1905: First state houses built in Petone.

1937: Labour Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage opens his Government's first state house in Miramar, Wellington.

1944: Dixon St high-rise flats opened in Wellington.

1955: Medium-density Star Flats (named for star-shaped floor layout) built in Dunedin.

2005: Design competition, Auckland.

Expert view

The trick is to imagine that morning when the first tenant moves into their new home that you have designed: Do they feel secure or anxious? Can they sit in the sun? Can they and their belongings and their cat fit comfortably? Will they be pleased enough to immediately ring a friend and invite them over? And will they still be satisfied one month, one year and one decade later?

Aaron Sills, architect, Sills van Bohemen Architecture