From outlier to exemplar: an architect leads the way

Jeremy McLeod, architect and founder of Nightingale Housing.
Photography by Paul Bradshaw for Steel Profile issue 128.

I've been carefully watching the progress of Nightingale from the first public announcement of the model (which was actually The Commons, circa 2011).

I was intrigued because this was the first project/model that I was aware of, in Australia, that embodied the values and ambitions of some of the exemplar sustainable and affordable housing projects that I'd seen on my Churchill Fellowship study tour, back in 2003.

So I could see the power and potential in this audacious new idea - of “homes built for people, not profit” - from the start.

And I was so excited to see it gaining support, traction, overcoming obstacles, and then ti see the model popping up like mushrooms (not the poisonous kind!) around Australia, in various cities and towns.

Now, 15 years later, Nightingale has set yet another new benchmark for housing design, delivery and planning...

(See Jeremy’s post about Victoria's new Great Design Fast Track - for 2-8 storey townhouse and apartment developments that meet seven design principles – on LinkedIn here).

Why is this relevant today?

For me, the most interesting takeaway from Nightingale's long development cycle is the fact that it provides a timeline and roadmap for architects to dream big and deliver on their vision.

As well as creating homes for thousands of people, Nightingale is a great illustration of how one architect - and a team of thousands - was able to:

1. dream up a new idea that challenges the status quo by establishing a new home ownership model,

2. enrol support from inside and outside the profession,

3. generate demand for an unknown typology, including a waitlist and lottery for potential buyers,

4. secure funding and finance to bring the vision to life,

5. advocate, agitate and persuade every kind of conservative authority and bureaucracy - from approval authorities to banks - to realise the new model

6. provide proof of concept with a built prototype,

7. share the recipe so that other architects and Nightingale communities could replicate the method,

8. scale a single building to an entire village,

9. win awards for the realised projects AND for tenacity and persistence in the face of sometimes hostile opposition,

10. influence the creation of a new planning instrument that elevates good design (see the link above), and

11. demonstrate that architects DO have agency, and can use their unique expertise, perspectives and design-thinking skills to conceive and deliver radical change.

The timeline in this case was about 15 years from outlier to exemplar.

You can find out more about Nightingale - the model, the ballot process, and the growing list of projects - on their website here.

Nightingale 1 by Breathe Architects, in Brunswick, Victoria.
Photography by Peter Clarke.

Now I realise that 15 years is a long investment of time, energy, money, sweat and tears; perhaps more than some (most?) architects are willing to make.

But for those who are determined to make a difference - and to do architecture differently - the Nightingale story represents a significant and important paradigm shift.

Why?

Because now you have a roadmap, with a set of clear steps to follow, and you can learn from the experiences of the Nightingale collaborators, and collapse time as you design and deliver more great ideas, to solve some of society's most pressing challenges.

Nightingale shows how persistence and dedication to the birthing of a new idea - in the face of considerable criticism - can pay off…

So thanks for the leadership Jeremy McLeod!

Do you have a big dream - and a vision for a better world - that you'd like to realise?

Send me an email and share it with me if you're ready to speak it out loud.

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