Affordable Eco-Housing, Whitmore Sqare (Ivaritji), Adelaide, SA, 2011

 AIA (SA) Multi-Residential Award Commendation, 2011
 AIA (SA) Sustainability Award commendation, 2011

How to balance ‘affordability’ with a very-public corner-of-a-City-Square setting? And still with the screws on, how to bring back the street-verandah, add in personal car+bikes parks, community workspace and gardens, slot in public art? How to affordably fund user-wins green initiatives?  

How to promote eco-architectural values in the centre of an energy&water guzzling city?  How to get solar-passively excellent solar-access to every unit on a City medium-density site?  How to build 4.5-storeys in a 2-storey setting with a 4-storey Development-Plan cap?  

How to work,revise,work,revise to meet State/City/Agency-and-back-again-and-around-to-just-City control of ‘affordable’?  How to value-manage ‘eco-ness’?  How to hold onto a street-corner-cafe concept with no tenant on the horizon?  

In the end, after a national competition win in 2004, 26 1&2 bed units with basement ancillary spaces, a corner cafe, and a community garden are delivered - all within an ‘affordable-housing’ equation, whilst delivering best solar-passive-design, green servicing and promoting eco-values - and affording public verandahs, and a strong new corner for a City Square.

Affordable/ Eco/ very-Public (with a friendly face).

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