But if Ben Walker had his way, these forgotten spaces would be transformed into thriving ''pod communities''.

The 32-year-old architect has won the New Push 2009 architectural competition, which is run by Faction, the Australian Institute of Architects ACT Chapter, a network for emerging architects and architecture graduates.

One of the challenges this year was to revitalise the Sydney and Melbourne buildings. Mr Walker, who works for Townsend+Associates Architects, designed the ''Pod Market'', a series of glass and steel 3m by 3m ''pods'' that could be stacked ''on top of each other, side by side, back to front'' in the laneways and courtyards.

''And all you have to do is remove the panels in between the connecting walls of the pods and it becomes bigger,'' he said.

The pods also have sun shades and louvres but were still ''stripped back''.

''They're meant to be cheap, easy to fabricate and very robust. Because they're in grungy laneway service spaces, I don't want to put something in there that is trying to be the rose between the thorns: they blend into the environment,'' Mr Walker said.

He imagined the pods could be used as artist studios, live music venues, bookstores, tattoo parlours.

''That's the beauty of them, they could be used for just about anything and everything,'' he said.

''And on a Saturday morning you could have a series of market stalls, a book club that sells or exchanges books, a little pastry stall, a little coffee stall, so that's the way you build up that market atmosphere.''

He also hoped the pods would be used by different social and recreational clubs, such as filmmakers or dance groups, who in return for free rent would keep the area clean.

Mr Walker said he believed that that area of Civic did need a makeover.

Nightclubs, clothing stores and a sex shop line the frontages of the Melbourne and Sydney buildings.

''It needs to have more pedestrian activity and you can see that by the [high] changeover of tenancies along the Sydney and Melbourne buildings frontages.''

He hoped the pods would encourage people ''to get back on to the streets in Civic''.

''Some of the big-scale development that's happened recently is more of an internalised mall-style development and while retailers typically love it, it disadvantages the street-based shops that are already there,'' he said.