Pattern Book Design Competition

Low-rise housing

Low-rise housing is 1–2 storey buildings that include dual occupancies (2 dwellings on the same lot), terraces, townhouses, and manor houses (low-rise apartment buildings).

Mid-rise housing

Mid-rise housing is 3–6 storey apartment buildings or mixed-use buildings with ground floor shops and apartments above.

Our households are changing, and we need to build more housing to meet these changing needs.

The NSW Government is focused on supporting the development of homes where people want to live. Building up, rather than out, not only saves money but it helps create housing supply – which promotes affordability.

We need more well-designed low- and mid-rise housing to fill the gap between detached homes and high-rise apartment buildings to suit people's changing lifestyle needs.

Building homes in well-located areas, close to transport hubs and town centres, can help reduce the cost of living by improving access to walkable amenities, cost-effective transport options, and a variety of housing and employment opportunities.

The NSW Housing Pattern Book is a comprehensive collection of customised building designs, design elements, and development principles that guide the creation of new housing.

The patterns can be adapted and changed to suit people’s different design tastes, family needs and budgets.

It serves as a valuable resource for developers, architects, building designers, planners, and community members, offering a common design language, construction methodology, and guidelines for creating high-quality, sustainable, and context-sensitive housing.

By providing consistency in design and outcomes, the Pattern Book significantly reduces the time and effort required for the design and planning stages of housing projects.

The designs included in the Pattern Book will be adaptable and customised for use across NSW. 

The NSW Housing Pattern Book streamlines development by offering adaptable pre-designed solutions, significantly reducing the time and effort required during the design and planning phases of housing projects.

Developers who use the endorsed pattern-book designs will have access to a fast-tracked planning pathway. This means builders can get on site faster, and people can move into new homes sooner.

The pattern book will also lead to more flexibility. Pattern book developments are often easier to maintain and adaptable to changing needs. This is because the design intent and building typologies are well-defined.

The pattern book can promote consistency in design, but developers can also customise patterns to meet a specific community context. This could include:

• adjustment of the room sizes and numbers to suit user needs
• considering environmental factors
• choice of materials and roof form to suit neighbourhood character.

The development of the Pattern Book will involve the community in the design process, to ensure housing designs meet the needs of NSW diverse communities.

It also offers sustainable, cost-effective design, encouraging:

• the use of energy-efficient materials and construction methodologies to minimise energy bills
• green/passive building techniques to naturally heat and cool homes
• water-conservation measures
• reduced wastage in construction. 

The NSW Housing Pattern Book will include both low- and mid-rise housing – known as the missing middle. There is a need for more low- and mid-rise housing to help create more diverse housing choice to suit people's changing lifestyle needs.

The contemporary home designs will be suitable for NSW’s climate, allow for natural light and aim to include community spaces for shared meals and neighbourhood activities.

The competition was conducted in two stages: an open expression of interest (EOI), followed by a detailed design submission for shortlisted finalists.

In Stage 1, EOI selection criteria was based on demonstrated capability, portfolio, methodology and entrant profile.

In Stage 2, shortlisted candidates were asked to submit detailed pattern designs in their chosen category. Stage 2 commenced on the 9 September 2024 and closed on 11 October 2024, when shortlisted teams submitted their final designs.

The low-rise housing pattern book will be available in mid-to-late 2025.

Five professional entries and one student entry have been selected from a pool of 21 shortlisted teams out of 212 submissions from Australia and across the globe. 

The jury chose the winning designs for their thoughtful consideration of diverse household types and changing community needs. They are also sustainable and use human-centered design. That is, the designs consider the needs of the future residents and their local communities.

The winning designs were picked for their consideration of diverse household types, accessibility, changing community needs, affordability and sustainability.

The designs are customised and flexible to suit people’s different design tastes and preference. They are adaptable to be used on a range of different sites across the suburbs and communities of NSW. 

The shortlisted finalists, 15 professional and 6 student finalists, were paid a fee to participate in the Stage 2 design competition.  

The competition winning architects (professional category only) will be eligible to build their design as a demonstration project in collaboration with NSW Government organisations. Competition winners will also work with GANSW to refine their designs to meet the required standards for inclusion in the NSW Housing Pattern Book. 

We received excellent and thoughtful submissions from all shortlisted finalists.

We are excited to share all 21 designs via an online exhibition once the favourite designs are announced in early 2025. 

The five-person jury was chaired by the NSW Government Architect, Abbie Galvin and comprises recognised design and housing experts. The design competition was endorsed by Australian Institute of Architects. 

The NSW Government will launch the finalised NSW Housing Pattern Book of pre-approved housing designs in mid to late 2025. Anyone who uses one of the designs will have access to a fast-tracked planning pathway.