Supported Accommodation
Client: Manly Warringah Women's Resource Centre
Location: Sydney, NSW (Guringai Land)

Constructive Dialogue were approached by the service to support a shift from a shared living model towards an approach that supported independence and life-skills development in a cluster of separate dwellings. An existing building was refurbished to create separate units and additional units were added on a site alongside a counselling service. The design was developed through collaboration with counselling staff to create their vision of a supportive refuge. Key design elements included:
- reinforcing the site as a safe and contained space
- maintaining the appearance of standard townhouses from the street
- prioritising decks and kitchen/living rooms around an active garden
- providing each unit with rooms that maximised privacy
- developing flexible rooms to accommodate larger numbers of children
- meeting a tight budget

We also work in Collaboration with Samantha Donnelly on women’s accommodation services. Samantha is a Scholarly Teaching Fellow, University of Technology Sydney. She is a PhD candidate at the Monash University XYX Lab. Her research focuses on the importance of safe, affordable accommodation for women and children leaving domestic violence. As part of an emerging design guide for women’s refuge accommodation, this research explores the benefits of bespoke architectural design in an Australian context as well as tailored design for women over 45. As a lecturer in the school of Architecture at UTS, her teaching focuses on social impact and sustainable projects. See also https://archiparlour.org/safe-as-houses. We believe that Samantha Donnelly’s involvement in the project would be of great benefit, but have not included her fees in the tender.
See more about Sam here

Sam Donnelly’s design guide for refuge accommodation for women and children