Page 42 - Build 165

Medium-density housing
Moving to medium-density
As housing pressure mounts, new BRANZ research explores how New Zealand can better adapt to medium-density living.
BY NICK HELM, FREELANCE WRITER, TENPOINT COMMUNICATIONS
POPULATION GROWTH, demographic changes, lifestyle trends and a need for more affordable housing are all driving demand for a greater number of homes in New Zealand.
Housing demand to be met by MDH
Meeting this demand is a complex issue, but part of the problem can be addressed through widespread adoption of medium- density housing (MDH). In order to be successful, however, MDH requires public education and acceptance, updated plan- ning and urban intensi cation rules, stream- lined consenting processes and a building industry pro cient in higher-density design and construction techniques.
To help ensure these requirements can be met, BRANZ has a research programme to identify the barriers and technical challenges to MDH and provide practical solutions to overcome these problems.
With its second year almost complete, the programme has published several MDH
Apartments at the Viaduct, Auckland.
reports, including investigations into residents’ attitudes, supply and demand, consenting, maintenance and bodies corporate, and acoustic performance. From early in the work, it became apparent that terminology was perhaps MDH’s most confusing problem.
Common language
Unfortunately, there are several, often contradictory definitions of MDH in
common use in New Zealand and overseas. Many of these de nitions include arbitrary limits for site size, building height, number of units per site or dwellings per hectare. Some definitions mention the type of dwelling, while others focus on the density of dwellings over a speci c site size or land allocation.
To provide the industry with a simple description that enables everyone working
40 — April/May 2018 — Build 165
FEATURE SECTION