‘Beautiful to look at and wonderful to live in’: new pattern designs could be next art deco or red brick classics

The New South Wales government’s pattern book designs aim to speed up the construction of mid-rise apartment blocks. Photograph: Silvester Fuller/NSW Government

Airy Scandinavian interiors, shaded balconies, light-filled courtyards – could these be Sydney’s next art deco apartment blocks or red brick walk-ups?

The New South Wales government has launched nine new mid-rise apartment building pattern book designs, which it hopes will support the construction of 112,000 homes in the “missing middle” over the next five years, through its controversial low and mid-rise (LMR) reforms.