Why are Melbourne apartment complexes so expensive and soulless? What can we learn from Germany and the Netherlands, and from the few interesting projects around Melbourne to have cheaper, more liveable and less environmentally destructive buildings? Our wonderful guests exploring this topic are Katherine Sundermann, an Associate at MGS Architects and Assemble Papers, and Andy Fergus, an Urban Designer at the City of Melbourne. They mention 'deliberative development' models in which a group of intending owner-occupiers work with funders and architects to build it their way, rather than going through a property developer.

Here's a recent article from Katherine and Andy: Learning from Berlin: lessons for emerging collective housing.