Underused, windswept balconies will be discouraged on apartments more than 40 metres above ground level under new apartment design guidelines introduced by the Victorian government.
The amendments to the Better Apartments Design Standards focus on external amenity and also mandate that the facades of apartment buildings are built from attractive, durable materials. Developers will have to provide green open space for residents and deliver “attractive and engaging” street frontages that are safe and useable for pedestrians and cyclists.
Overall, the goal is to ensure that apartment buildings better respond to changing population trends and contribute to neighbourhood amenity.
“As Victoria continues to grow, these standards will be crucial to ensure that our suburbs, towns and urban areas have high density living that is designed well, with liveability and wellbeing at the heart of its design,” said planning minister Richard Wynne.
“People are spending more time in their homes and are using their apartments as places of work. Having green space and communal areas is vital to the physical and mental health and wellbeing of apartment residents.”
Under the new standard, developments with more than 10 dwellings will have to provide communal space and buildings with 40 or more dwellings should provide a minimum of 2.5 square metres of communal open space per dwelling, or at least 250 square metres for a building of 100 apartments or more. Developments should also provide “adequate private open space for the reasonable recreation and service needs of residents.” For one- and two-bedroom apartments, an eight-metre-square balcony would meet this requirement, while for a three-bedroom apartment, a 12-metre-square balcony would be provided.
The new standards will include provisions aimed at avoiding “underused, windswept balconies” on buildings taller than 40 metres, with architects given the option to provide the space inside. The government said this would give “more design flexibility so these homes can have more usable space inside the apartment, like winter gardens.” Eliminating these balconies will also mean that apartments below have better access to natural light.
Another change is that apartment buildings of more than five storeys will need to consider wind impacts to avoid wind tunnelling and to ensure comfortable wind conditions in public areas.
“So many Victorians live in apartments,” said Wynne. “So, we want apartments to be the best they can be.”
The government released a discussion paper and sought public feedback on the proposed changes back in 2019.
