Living on the edge: Occupying the facade to enrich urban density

Living on the edge critiques oppressive aspects of urban living. It advocates façade occupation to enhance the experience of density and enrich the street edge to achieve a vibrant and metropolitan New Zealand. Sited in Te Aro, Wellington Central, the project proposes a citywide inversion of the typical high-rise building layout, relocating primary circulation to the street edge to dramatically reform the spatial relationships between dwelling, building and street. The project is an inhabitable facade system comprised of various combinations of the colannade, the gallery and the annexe. This can be applied to existing or integrated with new buildings and varied in response to specific street conditions. By creating multifunctional outdoor living integrated with circulation spaces, the design offers a vision for vertical communities with enhanced dwelling amenity to encourage more New Zealanders to embrace high density living.