Affordable seniors housing rewarded

When a person says they would be dead if it wasn’t for the service provided by South Australia’s James Brown Memorial Trust, chief executive Dennis Chamberlain can’t help but feel humble.

James Brown Memorial Trust owns and operates six affordable housing sites, The James and Jessie Brown Cottages, which provide low cost rental opportunities for those on a disability or age pension, making it an affordable housing program which supports people at risk of becoming homeless and operates across five metropolitan Adelaide sites.

The James and Jessie Brown Cottages housing redevelopment in Adelaide’s north eastern suburb of Campbelltown (pictured) recently won the Aged and Community Services 2012 Design Award for Excellence.

It is the second time James Brown Memorial Trust was awarded with the design excellence award, the first being in 2012 for another affordable housing development for homeless people in Mansfield Park.

Mr Chamberlain told DPS News the 24-unit Campbelltown development was for “people with little possessions”.

“So, it has to be liveable immediately. We furnished the units and there needed to be the ability to access doors and there had to be no uneven levels of steps,” he said.

Each unit is environmentally efficient with innovative design, including a 50,000 litre underground water tank; separate stormwater retention and detention; drought tolerant landscaping; hot water heat pumps; 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.

The judging panel said the development was a “fresh and simple planning solution” and the design had a “nice domestic scale and relevance, providing a good level of amenity”. Other judges stated the design was “simple, neat, elegant and well thought through with nice detailing”.

The Trust Board Chairman, Brian Waite, who accepted the award last week, said the housing project was a “great example” of how James Brown Memorial Trust approaches its commitment to quality and yet affordable housing.

“It’s truly amazing what can be achieved when the community and key stakeholders all work together in partnership,” Mr Waite said.

Mr Chamberlain added: “One of the reasons we were awarded is because we’re environmentally-friendly and have been doing this for 50-odd years. We need to make sure flexible, sustainable and durable materials are use, and that it’s affordable to live in and rent.

“There are many people out there in desperate circumstances who have told us we have saved their lives. It is very humbling and rewarding,” he said.