The Ground Plane - Expanding the Local

BACKGROUND Commissioned by MINI, MINI Living (brand pillars of the BMW Group) and Green Press to conduct research and produce original urban and architectural design – presented through a large format urban scale model and detailed architectural models for a public exhibition demonstrating conceptual and prototypical works engaging with laneways, detached homes and suburban allotments. The public exhibition from 13-17 November 2019 was curated by Tamsin O’Neill and Tom Bodycomb, in the Guildford Lane Gallery in Melbourne, partnered with the City of Melbourne. The research was featured alongside esteemed architectural practices. The project responded to the brief to design independent dwellings on a piece of land carved from a suburban Melbourne block CONTRIBUTION The exhibition focussed on laneways, which are common to the suburbs of most Australian cities. The research and design explored the suburban laneway as more than just an access point for properties, presenting the potential of underutilised land and corridors on and across many blocks to offer solutions to pressing issues of housing affordability and land regeneration, as well as unique opportunities for community building and sustainable mobility. The knowledge produced was in the domain of urban architecture and urban design focusing on shared living, community, and sustainability. The research has benefits for the profession (architecture, urban design, urban planning), city councils, developers as well as other stakeholders and inhabitants of suburbs. SIGNIFICANCE Prof. Rob Adams AM opened the proceedings, and acknowledged the contribution made by the project to the future of Australian suburbs. The work was also recognised by the BMW group as substantial in its contribution to inner urban living and integrated personal mobility.