Multivalent communal space
Shared space designed for many uses, meanings and values rather than leftover space.
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Masterplanning · Research-led proposal · Upper Hutt
Privacy and Connection - Evergreen Crescent
A proposal for enhancing the living environment for residents in higher-density housing, developed from Stephen's thesis research which focused on multivalent communal space.
The proposition
More homes can still mean a better living environment
This hypothetical Evergreen Crescent proposal explores how higher-density housing can provide not only more homes, but also more privacy, more open space, stronger connectedness and a more sustainable way of living.
The project grew out of Stephen Pattinson's postgraduate thesis research on multivalent communal space — communal space designed to carry multiple uses, meanings and values rather than being left as residual or single-purpose landscape. The research responded to a simple problem: intensification often reduces both private and public open space, yet well-designed shared space can help higher-density neighbourhoods become better places to live.
Evergreen Crescent translates that research into a site-specific masterplanning proposition. It shows how clustered housing, thoughtful edges and a network of shared landscapes can support both privacy and connection at the same time.
Same five hectares
A research comparison between conventional redevelopment and a more community-focused alternative.
140 homes + shared open space
Clustered housing with communal gardens, a community hub, recreation and richer shared landscapes.
Privacy + connection
A carefully graded relationship from home to patio to shared green to neighbourhood life.
The central comparison
Same five hectares — different outcomes
The proposal compares a conventional redevelopment model with a clustered neighbourhood structure shaped by common ground.
In Stephen's research, Evergreen Crescent was used as a hypothetical exercise to test what the five principles for multivalent communal space might mean in practice. On the same site, a conventional redevelopment could fit detached houses with smaller private yards but little or no shared open space. The alternative arrangement clusters housing to release larger shared landscapes and neighbourhood facilities.
The important point is not only density. It is the quality of the living environment created by the space between buildings.
The masterplan
A neighbourhood organised around shared space
The masterplan clusters housing around a series of communal landscapes and facilities rather than treating open space as a leftover.
The proposal includes common gardens, an orchard, a community-focused building with shops or café space, a pond, tennis courts, a playing field and a network of paths linking the housing clusters. Different housing types are arranged around these shared places so the neighbourhood has both variety and a strong communal structure.
This creates a more generous pattern of open space while also supporting walkability, casual encounter, children's play, food growing and shared stewardship.
From leftover space to common ground
Making the communal landscape more useful
Multivalent communal space is different from both car-dominated layout and passive landscaped space.
The research distinguishes between three broad conditions: car-dominated space, passive landscaped space and multivalent communal space. The first gives priority to vehicle movement and parking. The second may look green, but remains under-used and limited in meaning. The third is intentionally shaped for daily life — walking, play, meeting, sitting, gardening and informal social interaction.
This shift is fundamental to the Evergreen Crescent proposal.
The research framework
Five principles for multivalent communal space
The proposal arose from five inter-related principles developed through Stephen's thesis research.
The five principles are: walkable neighbourhoods, clustered housing, green open space, children and teenagers, and sense of community. Each principle strengthens the others. Together they provide a spatial framework for creating sustainable higher-density neighbourhoods. Easily accessible public transport is essential to walkable neighbourhoods. At Evergreen Crescent the close proximity of Heretaunga station, an electric rail service, means residents have less than a 5-minute walk to bus and train services.
Why it matters
Four benefits for residents
The research argues that clustered housing around multivalent communal space can offer clear benefits over closely spaced detached housing.
These benefits are central to the project title itself. Better edge design and transitional space can create more privacy; clustering can release more open space; shared spaces and facilities can build more connectedness and community; and a more walkable, greener neighbourhood can support more sustainable living.
Privacy and connection
A careful edge between home and common ground
Connected communal living does not require sacrificing privacy.
This view illustrates one of the most important design relationships in the whole proposal: living room → private patio → small lawn or planted edge → shared path → communal green. Instead of an abrupt boundary between private and public, the design uses layers and thresholds.
These transitional spaces give residents control, outlook and retreat while still keeping them visually and socially connected to the life of the neighbourhood.
Lived experience
What common ground could feel like
The project is not only a plan. It is a proposition about everyday life in a neighbourhood.
The following perspectives show different aspects of the intended living environment: a walkable communal green with natural surveillance and intergenerational activity; a neighbourhood heart where shared facilities meet water and landscape; and a productive communal garden where local food, wellbeing, learning and social connection overlap.
Evergreen Crescent is a hypothetical masterplanning proposal rather than a built project. Its purpose is to demonstrate how the design of communal space can make more efficient use of land while greatly enhancing the living environment for residents.
Masterplanning
Research translated into place
For PPL, masterplanning is about more than arranging buildings. It is about shaping the relationships between homes, movement, open space and community life so that neighbourhoods support both privacy and connection.
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