Angelo Korsanos
@akorsyd.bsky.social
330 followers 260 following 250 posts
Father to 2; Lesser Half to 1; Architect; Lecturer of Practice in Architecture; Student of Guitar; Casual Cyclist; Believer in Housing Equity, Urbanity, Music and Karma (do good, or suffer!) also: www.redshiftaa.com.au
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akorsyd.bsky.social
For those new [or old] to my work, trying to figure out whether to follow, here is a thread 🧵 of articles (with the associated questions answered); connecting the dots in a bigger picture for greater housing diversity and equity in Sydney, and the associated strategies surrounding scale & location.
akorsyd.bsky.social
The sinister playbook of the sociopath!
akorsyd.bsky.social
Economics 101 from a cartoonist!

A brilliant one nonetheless.

And yet…. we repeatedly apply these strategies to making housing more affordable! 🤯

NOT REAL SOLUTIONS!
cathywilcox.bsky.social
Pump it up.
My @smh @theage cartoon.
Two frames. Both show couple outside building with AUCTION sign looking at brochure. Frame 1: Person one says, “It’s perfect, but we’ll never be able to afford it.” Person two says, “But the govt’s first homebuyers’ assistance scheme means we only need a 5% deposit…” Frame 2: person one says, “The same 5% the price went up since the last time we said we’d never be able to afford it?”
akorsyd.bsky.social
Interesting analogy to our current housing predicament.

So what should be the new (more sustainable) rules of the game?
akorsyd.bsky.social
Not a fan of the ADU as a wholesale densification strategy in general. There have been a couple of different tranches/policies here in Sydney. Yes it has some merit, but for such an inept density it results in the significant removal of tree canopy (notably straddling the rear of residential lots).
akorsyd.bsky.social
Must admit, that I didn’t think this building would eventuate. Promising to see greater use of timber structure as a meaningful strategy towards mitigating carbon emissions. But we’ve got a long way to go towards broad application and anything close to zero in construction.
akorsyd.bsky.social
Just travelled to Milan. Impressive for a whole range of reasons but in relation to housing, the whole city seems to be made up of plans across time that are similar in cross section (no more than 2 rooms deep). I continue to be astonished that we can’t get close to this in Australia.
akorsyd.bsky.social
There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the effectiveness of the NSW Low to Mid-rise (LMR) planning reforms and NSW Housing Pattern Book.

These reforms have been touted as the ‘the most ambitious planning reform in decades’, but does the potential add up to the hype?

You be the judge!
Testing the capacity of the NSW LMR and Pattern Book Initiatives — Redshift AA - Architecture + Advocacy
The NSW Low to Mid-rise reforms (LMR) have been referred to as the most ambitious planning reforms in NSW in decades. But does the policy reflect the ambition? And, do the more recent and compliment...
www.redshiftaa.com.au
Reposted by Angelo Korsanos
lhsyd.bsky.social
Developers cant get their feasibility to stack up in parts if Sydney - if only there was a large entity who could exploit economies of scale, build innovative construction industries and deliver public housing to fill the gap…🤔
‘Focus on the north shore and east’: Developers deserting western suburbs
One developer used to build in Liverpool but its newest acquisitions are in Northbridge and Rose Bay.
www.smh.com.au
Reposted by Angelo Korsanos
mbowes.bsky.social
This does not mean there are not still bad housing policy ideas out there that should be challenged. But getting better housing policy is not as simple as overturning a particular ‘dominant view’ - if anything, it’s more about educating and compromising.
Reposted by Angelo Korsanos
holz-bau.bsky.social
unit diversity of the kalkbreite initiative cooperative in zuerich sure is wildly different than anything in the US

97 homes - and vast majority are not studios or 1-bedrooms. family-sized homes... cluster apartments. abundant flex space. even a hotel
floor plan of coop with diverse unit size, facilitated by single stair buildings unit mix of the kalkbreite coop
akorsyd.bsky.social
My understanding based on some informal tax advice was; in a retail context ‘yes’ full fees should be quoted, but in a B2B context; quote as ‘$ for service + GST’ is fine. Not sure where you might go to confirm that position. ATO website?
Reposted by Angelo Korsanos
nilo.bsky.social
I think basically if the federal government doesn’t fund analyses of it the answer is “yeah nobody does their job.”
mnolangray.bsky.social
We went through this with zoning, and now we're going through it with building code: trillion dollar industries depend on these things, yet a bunch of precocious bloggers can swoop in and expose these institutions as full of pseudoscience. Does nobody do their job? @aarmlovi.bsky.social
Reposted by Angelo Korsanos
grugstan.bsky.social
It was great chatting to @ginarush.bsky.social for today’s ABC Long Read. Our little ragtag crew at @greaterbrisbane.org have been trying to spin a new story about how our city could work. More than Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane’s been fixated on a suburban lifestyle that’s not sustainable anymore.
YIMBYs vs NIMBYs in the battle for your backyard
The Yes In My Backyard movement is lobbying for denser cities and more housing in places people want to work and live and YIMBYs want these homes built yesterday. But the NIMBYs haven't given up yet.
www.abc.net.au
akorsyd.bsky.social
Planners here in Australia also fail to understand (or implement) this fundamental principle.

Height and smaller side setbacks gives you consolidated landscape.

Conversely;

Restrict height (for the same FSR) and you get fat dark buildings on lots where there is little or no space for landscape.
maxdubler.com
America’s aversion to buildings taller than ~three stories and love of side setbacks significantly degrades our urban neighborhoods by forcing small apartment buildings to cover most of their lots, leaving little room left for green space.
A typical apartment neighborhood in Los Angeles, where there is high lot coverage and little green space. An apartment neighborhood in Berlin, where taller buildings leave more space for trees and courtyards.
akorsyd.bsky.social
Shocking arrangement.

Buildings absolutely too deep.

Courtyard - better described here as a light well - of little benefit beyond a token window to some shockingly dark apartment with no outlook, beyond the opposite - most likely - living room window of another terrible apartment.
akorsyd.bsky.social
With interest rates easing it seems we (or at least Brisbane) are reverting to our usual ways; ‘Sprawl or nothing’ (except TOD). And (in the case of Brisbane) the state government has eased its control over local council (Nimbyism).

When will we learn?
Sprawl or nothing: medium density advocates despair as Brisbane swings back to urban expansion
Queensland has tightly restricted the construction of townhouses and apartments for decades, and that’s the way it seems set to stay
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Angelo Korsanos
lucymayconstantini.bsky.social
This is bonkers. I moved to Vienna from the UK in January to a district that is entirely new-build. Within a 5 minute walk of my front door there are 4 supermarkets, a chemist, a doctor, 6 playgrounds, a park, a tram stop and at least 3 schools. Why is it so outlandish to expect the same in Britain?
akorsyd.bsky.social
@thenewcity.bsky.social you made it over!

Just need to start posting!