Nightingale Housing five years on

There is a need in Australia for creative housing solutions that better respond to household diversity, address persistent problems of affordability and help to accelerate the pace of sustainable development toward a low-carbon future. In central Melbourne, the rapid construction of apartment buildings over the past decade in response to unprecedented population growth has delivered a glut of poorly designed apartments that predate minimum standards, at densities not seen even in cities such as Hong Kong and New York. “The system is broken,” says Jeremy McLeod, founding director of Breathe Architecture and the brains behind Nightingale Housing, which offers an alternative approach to apartment design and delivery that prioritizes sustainability, affordability, livability and transparency. Six years on from the birth of Nightingale and in a year marred by catastrophic bushfires and a global pandemic – both of which are symptomatic of a planet pushed to its limits by unsustainable material globalization – we are confronted with a rare opportunity to reassess and redirect building and consumption practices in Australia. It seems timely, then, to reflect on the opportunities and challenges that Nightingale has presented through its “learning by doing” approach, and to consider what lessons might be transferable to affect broader, systemic change.