Waterloo Endeavour Towers
Designing Australia's Public Housing
WATERLOO ENDEAVOUR TOWERS
SYDNEY NSW | 1976 NSW
Housing Commission
The design of Waterloo towers occurred during a time of public debate about the negative impacts of high rise living on public housing residents. To ease concerns, the Commission consulted with behavioural scientists, including the internationally renowned US anthropologist, Margaret Mead.
Using Mead’s work, the Commission aimed to reframe how people thought about high rise living from ‘isolating’ to ‘A Village Stood on End.’ As a result, Waterloo tower includes communal places where people can interact comfortably. On each level, the lift opens to a decorated and comfortable common space, while the corridors and entrance have large windows to admit daylight and allow air circulation. Lifts and short corridors eased circulation to facilitate socialisation, particularly for elderly residents.
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References
Frykholm, H. (2023) ‘A Village Stood on End: Anthropology and the Interior of the Modernist Tower’, Fabrications, vol.33, no. 2: 359-377.
Paterson, K., Hansel, B., Persian, A. and Virgin, K. (2020) Waterloo South Planning Proposal: Heritage Impact Statement, URBIS for NSW Land and Housing Corporation, Sydney
Zanardo, M., Sisson, A., Logan, C., and McLaughlan, R. (2024) ‘Wilful ignorance at Waterloo: public housing quality and political stigma in Sydney’s largest estate renewal’, Planning Perspectives, Vol. 39, no. 6: 1207-1239.