Affordable housing wins architects’ award
The James and Jessie Brown Affordable Housing redevelopment, supporting people at risk of becoming homeless including the elderly, has won the Australian Institute of Architects South Australia Chapter Newell Platten Award for Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing Award.
“This project is one of those with a brief which calls for all the things architecture should bring to our community such as supported housing with respect, residential character, private space and also sense of community, contribution to the streetscape, environmental responsibility and human delight,” said the Institute of Architects’ jury.
“It is also one of those which invariably does not offer the budget for easy solutions and so too often ends up being a composite of project housing. This project is different.”
The James and Jessie Brown Cottages at Mansfield Park is an affordable housing program operating across five metropolitan Adelaide sites and is owned by the James Brown Memorial Trust.
Trust Board chairman, Brian Waite, and architects Douglas Alexander and Luke Willis from Flightpath Architects Pty Ltd accepted the award. Pascale Construction, built the project within budget and on-time.
The project was funded from the James Brown Memorial Trust’s own reserves and supported by the state government with a grant from its Affordable Housing Innovations Fund, and is eligible for the Federal Government’s National Rental Affordability Subsidy scheme.
This development also won the Aged and Community Services (SA&NT) Inc 2010 Award for Excellence in Design announced last month.
The Trust’s Chairman, Brian Waite said, “This housing project is a great example of how the Trust approaches its commitment to quality and yet affordable housing; it’s truly amazing what can be achieved when the community and the key stakeholders all works together in partnership”.
“The twenty new units have become home to people who don’t yet have stable and secure housing and will give them a solid foundation to go on and achieve other things including education and employment.”
Each unit is environmentally efficient with innovative design including rain water tanks, storm water retention, drought tolerant landscaping, solar hot water, solar-voltaic cells for electric power generation, polished concrete floors and wide eaves and reverse brick veneer to keep units cool in summer and warm in winter. Recycled products have also been used for fencing.
