Jump to Latest Plans below (April 2022)

Our Design

Our proposal includes four attached buildings, including two covered car parking spaces. The design is comprised of a shared facilities building presenting to Angas Street and three attached living units located to the rear of the communal building. Private garden spaces are proposed to the north of each residence with entry access and private courtyards along the southern boundary.

If you have been here before, you will notice that the design of our small cohousing project has been modified over time thanks to input from community members and experts. The consideration of the Development Application has also led to some changes.

• Where will the design be built?

• Is this an approved development?

• Will this development fit with the local neighbourhood?

• Density

• Is this a sustainable design?

• Latest plans

The site, Block 6 Section 25, Ainslie, (Google map) has an area of 1090m2 and is located within an RZ1 Suburban Zone. The site is located in close proximity to the Macarthur Avenue and Ipima Street light rail stops on Northbourne Avenue and approximately 350m from bus services on Cowper Street.

Yes. Finally. Our Development Application 202139685 was approved on 20 April 2022 and Building Approval was issued on 10 November 2022. See our Process page and our News section for more details of the approvals. With our DA approved, the variation to our lease finalised, the Building Approval issued, we went through a modified tender process and in September 2023, selected Alliance Building Group - ACT to build our new home.

We designed our small community to fit into the neighbourhood. From the street our building would present itself as a single structure and fits well within the solar envelope. We have designed our development to ensure maximum green space on the site. Our plot ratio is around 40% which is less than what is accepted for single dwellings in RZ1.

The intended design and land usage complements the RZ1 desired character. The proposal is within an established suburban neighbourhood, and consistent with single residences, will have only one street address with one letterbox. The proposed density, scale, height, materiality, and area dedicated to private open space also conform. The front and side setbacks, building envelope and solar fence are all respected and comply with the current codes. The scale, height and bulk are appropriate in established Angas Street streetscape, suburban RZ1 renewal and the surrounding and adjacent sites.

The buildings are of a scale, massing and bulk which directly respond to the principles that underlie design for ageing in place, flexibility of occupation and living in a garden city. The proposal engenders a firm commitment to wellbeing in design.

The central idea of our cooperative housing model is to establish three 2-bedroom units for private households and a communal building with shared facilities. The number of units is restricted by the size and orientation of the site. Passive solar principles and integrated garden space are fundamental to the development, the resultant built form and to the community it will house.

The proposal has a plot ratio of around 40% and three 2-bedroom residential units replace an existing three-bedroom house. By comparison, in RZ1 a plot ratio of 50% is acceptable. In this design, the main house is 148m2 and each attached living unit is 100m2. It has 1 m2 of garden area for each 1 m2 of living unit - i.e. each 100 m2 dwelling has 100 m2 of garden.

This proposal will uphold garden city principles to further enrich suburban and social assets in established precincts.

Definitely. The buildings will include photovoltaic (PV) solar panels with battery storage, high-efficiency electric appliances for hot water (heat pumps), heating and lighting, and rainwater harvesting. We will share all-electric vehicles charged from the PV/battery system.

Passive solar design principles will be employed including insulation, thermal mass, double-glazing, shading, natural cross-ventilation, minimal areas of external paving and cool-garden design utilising deep watering methods. Solar access will be controlled through the careful design of building elements, seasonal shade structures and plant species selection.

Introduction of a vegetation corridor on the full length of the north and south sides of the site along with a diversity of under-storey plantings will develop native bird habitat. All site boundaries will be marked by green transition zones to meld the development with its neighbouring sites. Stepped open-ended gutters will be utilised to harvest rainwater and retain on site with in-ground storage tanks for extensive use in the planted landscape and wicking beds for vegetables.

Click on the images of our latest plans (as at April 2022), or view the full PDF documents - Site Plan, Floor Plan, Sections, Elevations, Roof Plan, Landscape Plan.