You can watch the forty-second Parlour LAB here!
Parlour kicked off 2026 with a rich conversation about density, housing, and the systems that shape our cities. LAB 42 brought together urban researcher Rachel Gallagher (Griffith University) and urban geographer Nicole Cook (University of Wollongong) to unpack the relationships between land use, lot size, planning controls, resident experience, and housing typologies.
The discussion covered a lot of ground — from the supply-side mechanics of how planning shapes city morphology, to the demand-side question Nicole posed so pointedly: are we actually ready for densification?
Nicole raised four pressing challenges that any serious conversation about high-density housing needs to confront: consumer demand and apartment diversity (most apartments are still occupied by families with few alternatives); building construction quality (53% of NSW strata apartments surveyed have serious defects); climate adaptation (do high-rise buildings actually allow residents to cope with extreme heat, smoke, and storms?); and the promise — and pitfalls — of modern methods of construction.
Rachel brought a clear-eyed view of the supply side: planning controls and lot size directly shape the morphology of our cities and our capacity to densify. But when the conversation turned to who should be building, both researchers were unequivocal: when the market is struggling, the state needs to step in.
Chat participants were equally energised, raising questions about land banking, developer staging, TOD feasibility, the role of architects in planning assessment, and whether housing as a human right might be a better starting point than housing as an investment asset. One comment cut to the heart of it: "Older people have nowhere to downsize to and young people have nowhere to live."
Two key takeaways to carry forward:
"How can we centre low carbon design in everything we do?" — Nicole Cook
"The lack of affordable housing we are experiencing is a policy decision. The private market can't deliver it, so the government needs to step in and show the way." — Rachel Gallagher
Density is a team sport. Architects, designers, planners, developers, and governments all have a role, and we need to work together to advocate for better quality outcomes. LAB 42 was a timely reminder that the questions architects are best placed to answer about flexibility, liveability, climate resilience, and family-scale living are exactly the ones that need to be at the centre of this debate.
