Inspired by this book by David Sim of Gehl architects, I find there is much missing from the development rules that currently exist here in Sidney.
In this book, he describes that in Germany, “Baugruppen”- Builders groups- exist. So my idea is to permit property owners of adjacent properties to form a society and, once formed, to be able to build differently than regular property owners.
This book describes the building of low – max 3-4 story- courtyard structures that are built using layers of different uses, with the courtyards being used for everything from very private areas to semi-public areas.
As our town grapples with a housing crisis and aims to lower emissions from transportation as well as from buildings, different types of architecture will be required to achieve these goals. I think the ideas in this volume are both attractive as well as pragmatic and could be applied using many of the tools that already exist in our regulatory tool boxes.
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HI, Eric. Is a building society the same as a co-op? What would prevent a development like you describe, if you look at the use and not the users?
Even if there were adjacent property owners participating in a co-op, and proposing a development that straddles property lines, would the zoning not prevent such a thing from happening because it violates setback requirements? Wouldn’t the combined properties have to be rezoned?