Rethinking Residential—Joseph Loh on the Future of Mixed-Use Living

Studio News / Media / Research 8 September 2025 Share

For Joseph (Joe) Loh, DesignInc’s new Principal for Residential and Mixed-Use sectors, housing is about much more than buildings. It’s about creating precincts where life happens: where living, working, recreation and community come together.

‘In cities like Sydney, people expect more from their homes,’ Joe explains. ‘The challenge, and the opportunity, lies in designing environments that strike the right balance between people, commercial activity, retail, public domain and sustainability.’

Design Origins

Joe’s perspective has been shaped by formative experiences across his career. Early work on the Sydney 2030 Plan introduced him to the strategic thinking that underpins urban design. Later, working as a leader at SJB and then BVN, he learned the importance of creativity, playfulness and breaking the rules when needed. The result is a design approach that is both pragmatic and imaginative; grounded in context but always open to innovation.

‘Like many young architects, I once thought architecture was about capital “A” Architecture,’ Joe said. ‘Le Corbusier, Norman Foster, Geoffrey Bawa. But the reality is, buildings and precincts are made by diverse teams. Today’s great designs are not built around single genius with a pen anymore.

‘Good projects come from collaboration, navigating competing ideas, and letting go of ego. To succeed, you need to be both an author and a collaborator. Someone who can set direction, but also listen, adapt, and work with others.’

University of Technology (UTS) Indigenous Residential College: a concept that unites residential living, arts and shared spaces in a dense urban setting. Credit: Nguluway DesignInc/Bates Smart.

Vision, Quality and Yield

Joe also believes the role of vision is often underestimated.

‘Spreadsheets can drive yield, but they don’t build communities. Our role is to imagine what a place can be; how people will live there, how it connects to its neighbourhood. Even something as simple as a rooftop garden can transform a development into a community.

‘As architects, we often treat space as the solution to everything: bigger rooms, more privacy. But you can live comfortably in small, well-designed spaces if they’re filled the right amount of amenity. It’s not just about the square metres, but it’s about quality – and people flock to quality.’

Looking ahead, Joe is clear-eyed about the need for innovation. ‘The real frontier is construction technology. We’re still building as we did hundreds of years ago. Prefabrication, modular systems, robotics – these methods need to be embraced at scale, especially for mid-rise housing. That’s where we can deliver quality, speed and affordability.’

Sydney Problems Require Sydney Solutions

When it comes to challenges, Joe sees Sydney’s housing crisis as both urgent and ripe with potential. ‘Housing is already broken. It’s failing across the board – not just for disadvantaged groups, but for professionals, singles, families and older people. Apartment living doesn’t cater well for families, and suburban housing often doesn’t adapt to changing needs. That gap is where design can make a difference.’

While there’s no single city he’d copy, Joe does take lessons from many.

‘Danish cities, for example, are brilliant in how they prioritise public space and integrate housing. But those solutions are uniquely Danish. Sydney has its own strengths, like how it responds to its topography and views, and has made great inroads in allowing development to follow major transport infrastructure.

‘What we lack is flexibility. In parts of Southeast Asia, housing, shops and schools sit side by side in a much more organic way. In Sydney, zoning rules make us slow to adapt, and that feeds into the housing crisis.’

So while Sydney is imperfect, so is everywhere else. The point is to create Sydney solutions to Sydney problems.