Home Beyond the Dwelling

<p dir="ltr">Home is often portrayed as an idealised, positive, and exclusive relationship between house and the nuclear family. However, this neglects those who may be unable to achieve home ownership, or those who may perceive or value home differently, such as through cultural differences, contemporary ways of living, or from negative experiences and memories. Contemporary notions of ‘home’ suggest that home is not bounded by the house or dwelling; treating home as a verb rather than a noun can emphasise social relations, flexible boundaries, and an interchangeable nature.</p><p dir="ltr">By focusing on both individual and collective experiences, this design-led-research thesis follows a theoretical approach by investigating how notions of ‘home’ can inform the design of inclusive and community-centric architecture beyond the domestic scale. It proposes an alternative way of understanding and designing for home and community without aiming to replace, redefine, or undermine existing ideas of home – either with or without the dwelling.</p><p dir="ltr">The selected Papamoa East context consists of new residential developments with minimal acknowledgement of place, communal spaces, and variation or character. This prompted the application of a ‘homely neighbourhood’ concept, which explored a community central point, connections to place and context, and various forms of retreat and privacy through the development of a masterplan, public plaza, and library. An iterative design process followed a ‘scaling down’ approach through successive design phases to explore themes, spaces, and experiences of home in greater detail within a developing community-driven context. Together, the three design scales achieved integrated and layered notions of ‘home’ which promote a place for new memories and experiences, a sense of belonging, and a neighbourhood identity for the community.</p>