The 13th Sydney Architecture Festival will be held November 11-17 under the direction of the newly appointed Creative Director, Dr Barnaby Bennett. This year's theme is 'Making. Housing. Affordable.'
At its core, the practice of architecture is a response to the human need for shelter. The Festival extends this position to the simple claim that everyone deserves a safe and comfortable place to live. The Festival will feature a series of engaging seminars, exhibitions, film screenings, tours and events speakers across a range of disciplines and will reflect on issues of design, economics, housing quality and housing affordability to answer the key question: What needs to change to make it affordable to have a home in Sydney?
In the past hundred years or so the challenge of housing has been intensified by the increasing complexity and density of urban life. Sydney Architecture Festival will present the case that while some factors of housing affordability are fraught with debate and disagreement, a space for constructive action exists.
"Sydney exemplifies urban problems of affordability: houses are too expensive, homelessness is rising, the construction industry is struggling to keep up with demand, and we are still largely building the wrong type of houses in the wrong places," Bennett commented. "The Festival will present contemporary research and development, practice-led innovation, policy activism, and shareable expertise in relation to community, design, policy and government. Is the answer more affordable housing? Or do we just need more housing to make it affordable? Is the current crisis caused by bad policy, bad land use, or poor design? Who does the current model serve? And what needs to change to make sure every person has a warm, safe home to live in?"
more: sydneyarchitecturefestival.org (103)