the missing middle design competition was held by the nsw government for designers to test its draft design guide for complying development in medium density housing.

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the competition entry critiqued the prevailing idea of side-by-side dual occupancy developments on typical suburban lots.  it called for flexibility to the rules on a site by site basis, to allow dwellings to be built to the front and rear of typical suitable lots such as corners and those with dual frontages onto a street and a park, river, canal etc.  this front and back model allows for more usable garden space and greater access to views, sunlight and ventilation.  to demonstrate this idea for the competition, a suitable site in earlwood, sydney was chosen to examine