作为澳大利亚增长最快的城市，墨尔本人口正趋向900万[1]。为应对这一快速扩张，一场设计竞赛吸引了新一代建筑师和城市规划者提出创新方案[1]。这场竞赛奖金为15,000美元，面向新兴建筑师和城市设计师[1]。
获胜设计方案名为"一粒房屋种子"，应用于位于墨尔本西部巴兰火车站南侧的6公顷绿地项目[1]。该方案通过恢复本地草地、建造自然水池和共享开放空间等方式，重新定义了绿地住宅开发的可持续性[1]。这一竞赛反映了墨尔本快速扩张中迫切需要改变单调郊区开发模式的现实[1]。
目前，墨尔本面临严峻的城市环境挑战。根据2024年发布的研究，墨尔本增长郊区的城市热效应使温度升高超过10度[1]。与此同时，过去十年间，墨尔本外围郊区的地块销售面积大幅缩小，从2015年的中位数441平方米降至2025年的352平方米[1]。2025年新房中超过50%建在增长区域，尽管长期目标是已建成区占70%[1]。
竞赛参与者Andy Fergus表示："当你将草地转变为新社区时，没有什么是一成不变的，所以有机会做出真正改变宜居性质量的东西是相当关键的。"[1]
Melbourne, Australia's fastest-growing city, is racing toward a population of 9 million, prompting a design competition that has challenged a new generation of architects and urban planners to rethink suburban expansion.[1] The competition, which offered prize money of $15,000, attracted entries focused on addressing the challenges of rapid urban growth in the region.[1]
The winning design, titled "A Seed for Housing," reimagines sustainable greenfield development on a 6-hectare site near Bulla train station in Melbourne's west, approximately 78 kilometers from the city center.[1] The proposal restores native grassland, creates natural water features, and incorporates shared open spaces to fundamentally reconsider how new residential communities can be developed.[1] According to 2024 research, the urban heat effect in Melbourne's growth suburbs has pushed temperatures up by more than 10 degrees, underscoring the urgency of rethinking development patterns.[1] Over the past decade, block sizes in outer Melbourne suburbs have shrunk by more than 20 percent, declining from a median of 441 square meters in 2015 to 352 square meters in 2025.[1] Despite long-term targets to concentrate 70 percent of new housing in already-built areas, more than 50 percent of new homes in 2025 were built in growth zones.[1]
The competition reflects a broader recognition that transforming greenfield sites into new communities presents a critical opportunity to improve liveability.[1] As Andy Fergus observed, "When you're converting grassland into new communities, nothing is fixed, so the opportunity to do something that genuinely changes the quality of liveability is quite crucial."[1] The Melbourne Architecture Forum will convene from October 19 to 21.[1]