Meeting Point: 2 Wingate Ct, Varsity Lakes

What to Bring: Hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, water
What to Wear: Comfortable walking shoes

Guide: Amy Degenhart, LFRAIA, Architect & Developer

Join Amy Degenhart for a guided walking tour through The Hinterland at Varsity Lakes, a precinct that showcases innovative approaches to gentle density and design-led housing solutions.

The humble backyard is a precious ‘little piece of earth’, as Robert Menzies once said in 1942, but it – along with the side and front yards - could also be one of the best solutions to our housing crisis by way of a simple strategy referred to as “Housing 1 TO 3”, i.e., hosting not just one but three homes on a single lot.

But if this idea makes you a bit nervous about the character and amenity of your neighbourhood, why not join Amy Degenhart, LFRAIA, for a Walking Tour of The Hinterland at Varsity Lakes to look at some examples we prepared earlier. In fact, much earlier, as the first Gallery Collection home dates all the way back to the first few years of this century. At nearly 25 years old (or young, as most are still looking fresh), these homes are virtually “Classics”, not just due to their turn-of-the century origin, but because of their rather unfortunate rarity as well.

The affordable and diverse housing typology that will be discussed is an early example of putting from one to five homes on a single detached dwelling lot in a low to medium density neighbourhood. This collection of homes is Amy’s inspiration for what could be one of the quickest and most achievable ways of creating affordable, well-located housing choice. Of the examples on display, there are a few of Amy’s favourites, including one that hides density in plain sight, surprising even the neighbours when she reveals that what looks like one home is in fact four.