Radical Retrofit^W033

pre:fab submitted the ‘Radical Retrofit’ proposal to Te Kahui Whaihanga NZIA’s FG Wilson Fellowship for Public Housing—a one year research grant of $20,000—for which it was subsequently shortlisted. You can read the full proposal here, and a CV of those involved in the proposal here.

This proposal was the work of a diverse group of authors from the pre:fab field who gathered around two questions:
“Where is public housing absent today, where it might be possible to expand its location both physically and conceptually?”
And “How can we use this opportunity to connect architecture with the collective challenges of our era - spatial and social inequity, ageing populations, finite resources, and the climate crisis?”

pre:fab’s answer, ‘‘Radical Retrofit’, proposed retrofitting clusters of existing buildings in well-serviced neighbourhoods for collective living, and resource sharing, using novel ownership models, minimal construction and maximum re-use of onsite materials. This research proposed to stretch, test and supplement those ideas already present in public housing discourse, and aimed to reveal new ways of thinking and doing public housing.

The Radical Retrofit proposal values the existing building fabric of our cities, from a material perspective - considering embodied carbon, waste minimisation and the sustainability concept of ‘never demolish’ - and in the stories that the building fabric tells, our shared histories, and how these can be re-codified to tell new or previously hidden stories.

The submitters were particularly interested in how inner-city neighbourhoods with heritage overlays or other limits on development can be made denser with minimal intervention through co-housing approaches and better integrated multigenerational living.

Many of these historic neighbourhoods, like Ponsonby, Grey Lynn and Kingsland, appear to be off limits for new public housing supply, and yet they are some of the most desirable, and well serviced locations in Tāmaki Makaurau. Everyone deserves to live in such places.

We understand Radical Retrofit as an adaptable public housing solution suitable to many locations, funding models, and client communities, including a growing group of 25-40 year olds living just outside current eligibility criteria. This is a critical demographic often accompanied by older and younger dependents. We proposed that the needs of this diverse multigenerational community would be one focus of the research, expanding the definition of what and who public housing is for.

Our research proposal Radical Retrofit also includes design of supporting social services, like public programs for discovery and dialogue, conflict resolution and knowledge sharing frameworks for aspiring communities, resource libraries, navigational tools, commoning spaces, etc., all of which would be a necessary and central part of this concept. Our research proposal included these services and consultation with existing providers when and wherever possible.