IN-PERSON: Livable Cities – New York

Abstract

Designing ‘for community’ is of growing importance as societies face significant environmental and social challenges. This raises questions about how the built environment can play a role in improving people’s lives and wellbeing. As such this paper asks: what is the inherent social value of good building design? This presentation explores a unique Australian case study ‘U City’ (C. 2019), a 20 story, extreme mixed-use or hybrid building in inner-city Adelaide. The building hosts retirement living, short- and long-term disability accommodation, not-for-profit service delivery, commercial tenants, retail and food outlets, and conference facilities. We examine how design of U City, particularly its public and semi-public spaces, influence social connectedness and a sense of belonging among residents, workers and causal building users. Methods: Over this 3-year project on the social value of mixed-use, high-rise buildings, we are collating data about building performance and user behaviours. This presentation focuses on qualitative data collected about user behaviour and perceptions through focus groups, public space observations, and user audits of building spaces from the first 12 months of research. Results show that public spaces in the building are used in multiple ways to express community and foster belonging. This expression is dynamic, evolving and inclusive. However, we contest that this is as much about the support and championing of actors involved as it is about building design. We consider what value can be placed on incorporating dynamic, public spaces in high-rise building design; what elements of the U City planning and design allowed for the building of community and placemaking, and would building design alone have achieved this result?