Red cups line the sticky kitchen bench, people lie strewn across the couch while sounds of the bass spill into the backyard.
The typical house party nestled in a suburban home is a scene familiar to most Aussies – but the increase in apartment living could be turning it into a nostalgic memory.
Across the country, people are moving into higher-density areas, due to the cost of housing and inner-city growth.
For people like 20-year-old Elle Flint-Robinson, the fear of a noise complaint is preventing her from hosting parties at her new apartment.
"I don't want to upset my neighbours," she says.
As most of her friends have small apartments, she says they hang out at the bar instead of one of their places.
"Either it's a small thing at an apartment and you don't spend that much money – or you go out to a bar and be prepared to spend lots of money – which I don't want to do that often," she says.
That sentiment rings true for 20-year-old Ezra, who says the cost of living and space are obstacles to hosting parties in his Carlton apartment in Melbourne's inner-north.
"I have people over but never more than five or so," he says.
"With the cost of living it's tough. Not having enough space is an issue for sure.
"It's expensive to go out, it's expensive to have a nice place for people to come over to.
"It's a bit of a hard situation."
Sustained rise in Australian apartment living
Ezra and Elle are just two of the 2.5 million Australians living in apartments, according to the latest round of census data from 2021.
The increase in apartment living accounted for almost one third of the increase in private dwellings since 2016.
While most apartment dwellers are in Greater Sydney, a further look at the data suggests Greater Melbourne isn't far behind.
Melbourne overtook Sydney with a higher population density in April, according to CoreLogic's analysis of ABS statistics.
Its analysis found Adelaide ranked second highest, and Sydney was third, likely because its statistical area includes Blue Mountains and the Central Coast.
Darwin had the lowest population density, measuring about 10 times smaller than Melbourne's.
ABS statistics also found in 2022-23, Melbourne had the highest growth rate in the country, and its CBD was the most densely populated place in Australia with 38,400 people per square kilometre.
With the Victorian government planning on making the city even more compact by growing the established areas with medium-density housing, realising how apartment living is changing the way we socialise is becoming more meaningful.
How does this change the way we hang out?
Deakin University housing researcher Fiona Andrews says people often struggle to develop social connections in high-rise developments due to their design.
She says recent research found some families felt "claustrophobic" and "kind of trapped" when living in small apartments.
"They had a real desire to get out and actually talk to other people and have a bit of freedom and space," Dr Andrews says.
Her research found young families would instead socialise outside their apartments, due to a lack of space or noise concerns.
That meant they had to be creative about how they got together, compared to young families in the suburbs who tended to rely on their homes as their social hub.
Architect says design can help make socialising easier
Dr Andrews says there's still some way to go to make small spaces more effective for socialising.
"You can have a small space, but if it's really well laid out, and all that space is maximised for things like storage and preparation services, you can actually cook up a meal that can serve up a few people as opposed to just one person," she says.
"So it's not always about size. It's also about the way things are designed."
Joachim Quino Holland directs a Melbourne-based architecture practice. He says often living in an apartment can be an isolating experience, and the communal design is an afterthought.
"We need to find ways to densify but in a way that doesn't lose that opportunity for community," he says.
"If we want to design for resilient communities, it's absolutely critical that we invest in this sort of time."
He believes apartments with this focus can be scaled up and rolled out across Melbourne to make the environment more social.
Dr Andrews says these considerations must also be made to designing apartment complexes.
For example, while most apartment buildings have a gym, a communal area — like a rooftop or balcony — could be beneficial for a more diverse group of people.
"I think there's no problem with higher-density living, providing people can access these kinds of spaces," Dr Andrews says.
Meanwhile, some people have mastered the art of hosting in apartments.
After scouring Melbourne's CBD for the perfect studio apartment, 23-year-old Von Artini says he now has friends over every week.
And his secret to keeping social? Solid walls.
"I have really good speakers, but thankfully my walls are good. No one can hear sh*t."
