The innovative features of this co-housing paradigm are: strata titled home units on a constrained property size, small duplexed homes augmented by common facilities, innovative building materials, very high energy ratings, integrated power/water/communiations system, and building through a development company limited by shares owned by future residents.

While collaborative housing is not new, particularly in cities or on large rural properties, and such housing has taken a more sustainable focus over the years, the context DecoHousing demonstrates is ecological housing within the heart of a small town, an eco-village within a village.

The opportunity to develop the project on a smaller area of land than would be expected in rural Australia allowed the possibility of siting the project close to the centre of the town. This enhances sustainability in that the resulting community is walkable to shopping, schools, medical facilities and entertainment, and readily contributes to the social and environmental fabric of the town.

Although individual dwellings are designed to be self-contained – each having its own kitchen, bathroom and living areas – they are unusually small for rural Australia, and duplexed; this improves footprint, energy efficiency and effective aging in place. The substantial common house and common gardens held by the Strata Company complement the autonomy of private dwellings with the social health advantages of community living.

Modest home sizes in a small building envelope, shared facilities and no profit margin to development costs has made the project more affordable than the build quality and sustainability features would suggest.

On an 82-acre run down block, the vision was to design & implement a comprehensive whole farm plan aiming to blend the best of land-care & permaculture principles with state of the art sustainable productive & community landscaping principles; enhancing the potential of the existing riding school & associated grazing & bushland areas.

This land was originally Banksia woodland, growing on B1 Bassendean sand, Perth’s poorest quality sandy soil (officially declared the most unproductive soil on the planet by the FAO**).  Once it was cleared, in the 1930s, it quickly began to degrade having little or no traditional agriculture value from that point on.

From 1989 to 2002, 30,000 trees & shrubs were planted, 3 hectares of perennially pasture was established & 5 hectares of remnant vegetation (bushland that hasn’t been cleared) was retained, fenced off & treasured. The riding school thrived & accommodated residential riding camps & all facilities to support it.

In 1992 the design of the ecovillage began in earnest with final approval coming in 2003. This process was lengthy due to the Planning Departments struggle with approving a proposed concept that had never been done before. They required constant justification that this style of development could accommodate residents & the land; economically, socially & environmentally.

The premise of the ecovillage was to reverse the traditional idea of flattening peri-urban land with all its inherent ecological, social & environmental attributes to make way for banal R15 urban sub division & create community.

70 homes were envisaged, among this undulating farm scape, in 6 discrete clusters to create a community that could build, nurture & support the existing Riding School, a conservation category wetland & highly productive grazing & cropping lands.

Ultimately the project was never realised due to: the age of the owners & their need to retire combined & the fact that developers were shy of the project, which as for three main reasons:

1. they were risk averse as this had not been tried before
2. the project consisted of 65% public open space (POS) not the standard 10%. They couldn’t understand why so much land would be used for POS and no for housing. Interestingly it was argued then (& is still believed now) that the overall return on investment would be similar as a premium could be attracted for the lot prices: less lots but more return per lot!
3. they felt more land was needed to make it work & at the time services were just too far away!

Fast forward to 2019 & would this project get off the ground in these more ‘developed’ & accepting times?

This project did pave the way for framework changes in planning, utilising a special land use zone (community cluster rural settlement), for similar styles of land use in these peri urban* areas.

* Peri urban land is land on the urban fringe, traditionally rural or vacant land, often in limbo before it gets swamped with housing.
** Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations

There is a way to live in your city and be really active and engaged in the place you live, a place where you feel connected and a place you can find sanctuary.

Community is one of the essential characteristics of a good life. Unique to Nightingale are the features that support a community in the making, a rooftop laundry and garden. A place where you can mix with your neighbours’, share produce from your edible garden, and enjoy the view.

“Living in a place that’s beautifully designed, where you feel safe, where your neighbours are friends and are courteous, really makes coming home from work and weekends like living in a sanctuary.”

It’s got light, it’s got air, homes built for people. Avoiding the cookie cutter approach with a thoughtful selection of sustainable materials, architect designed kitchens with high quality Fisher & Paykell appliances, high ceilings and acoustic separation from your neighbors, these are apartments in which you will want to stay.

Nightingale delivers housing at cost. With an optimised thermal envelope, double glazing and a substantial photovoltaic array (solar panels) which all aid in the reduction of your living costs for long-term economic sustainability.

Located just a 12 minute walk from the heart of Fremantle and surrounded by parks, cafes and the lifestyle Fremantle has to offer.
What we do and how we choose to live can positively impact the urban environment, and promote better health and well-being.

Nightingale Fremantle – a new standard in medium-density living.

‘Housing for People’ is a grassroots network that has launched in Perth’s inner north to gather those interested in deliberative housing models that can better meet our needs, preferences and budgets.

We’re wanting to hear from anyone who is interested in participating in group projects in this part of Perth (roughly the City of Vincent area – Leederville, North Perth, Mt Hawthorn, Highgate, Northbridge and parts of Perth 6000).

We think this particular site has a lot of promise for a first project, and are trying to find out if there is enough interest to form a group that can properly investigate the possibilities and potential costs and negotiate with the landowner.

The selling agent indicated some months ago that the asking price was around $1.3-1.4m. Given the amount of time on the market, it’s plausible that they would accept a lower offer, however we don’t know what other interest they’ve been getting. He also indicated there may be the potential to acquire the small section of Water Corp land separating the two lots, in order to fully amalgamate and build across the whole site.

Inspired by cohousing projects from around the world, we are a group of people who work towards achieving a cohousing community in Albany, the South West of Western Australia.

Cohousing, a concept well established in Denmark and the US, is a citizen led development whereby households enjoy the combination of private home ownership within a community neighbourhood that they help to create. Individual homes are clustered around shared spaces such as gardens, recreational areas and a common house. Cohousing communities are examples of true sustainability, in both the built and social fabric. They understand that the difference is people.

The group is a place for anyone interested in cohousing in Albany, to connect with and stay in contact with one another. We have a Facebook page where we invite you to join the group and share relevant information and discussions on cohousing. We also host events from time to time to connect in person.

We love to hear from you if interested in going in this exciting journey with us.

Vicki is caring for her partner Michael, who is living with younger onset dementia. Life has changed considerably for them with the loss of independence and a significant reduction of income. The future is unpredictable and further complicated by the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), changes to My Aged Care and home support, as well as the difficulty in accessing short term respite care. Moreover, recent revelations regarding concerns over the standard of care and abuse of people in care that has led to a royal commission to investigate and report on these matters is disturbing.

They consider cohousing to be an affordable care and living option that will give them more control over their future with the ability to meet their changing needs as time progresses as well as enhance their lifestyle with the added social, economic and environmental benefits. The hope is to avoid the prospect and agonsing decision of placing Mike in a care facility.

The distinguishing features of this model are the willingness of residents to support one another with their care needs and the inclusion of a low rental residence for a support coordinator who can assist with care planning, access to services and coordinate group activities.

Key Principles

• Intentional community; connection, engagement and participation
• Compassionate community; caring for each other is a shared responsibility
• Deliberative development and codesign with additional regard for therapeutic needs
• Shared common spaces and activities
• Respectful relationships and effective communication

The project is intended to be self-funded with each resident (single or couple) required to invest no more than $500K. This project will be a prototype with the potential for scalability in the future. It is hoped that the innovative and distinctive care component of this project will attract inkind support and/or discounted rates from government and non-government sources to help offset costs and provide some incentive for early adopters to join the project.

I’m looking for the right people to buy in & share this beautiful, sustainable lifestyle property. Residents who buy into the project can retro-fit to meet their own needs & budget. 3 existing buildings to choose to retrofit:

• Studio; large 10x6m room (includes bedroom & living), separate dining room, sm kitchen & bathroom. Room to expand floor space.
• Addition to main house; 1 large bedroom with ensuite & smaller bedroom already retrofitted with double glazed windows. Opportunity to build up.
• Main House: 3 bedrooms, 2 separate living areas, good sized kitchen, laundry, big bathroom & separate toilet. Only basic retrofitting required. Beautifully located with lots of windows for natural light.

Option to co-share ‘main house’ & ‘addition to main house’ depending on peoples needs.  All works will be in consultation with other residents.

Imagine waking to bird chorus, enjoying pure rainwater, living off solar PV’s with their own battery storage system, growing vegetables & daily bush walks while living only 30 km from Perth CBD.

Once we’ve found the residents our next step for this project is to form a Cooperative, which would become the sole owner (suitable with Shire’s ownership requirements of the block). There is also the possibility of using the Co-housing Model which most commonly is based upon ‘Tenants in Common’ regulations.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY – contact me to rent any of the available spaces, check out my Air BNB listings for the house or studio & see all there is to enjoy.

The Green Swing’s first development, Genesis was unique & ground breaking. The development consists of a combination of two apartments &  two town houses & used different construction materials for each building, including double brick with cavity insulation, reverse brick veneer & straw bale.

Its custom design restricted car access to the periphery, providing quality open & green spaces between the dwellings & at the rear.

Passive solar design resulted in 8-10 star energy ratings; the 10-star 2-storey townhouse is thought to be a first. Solar PV, hot water & the like were a given for the developers. Implementing water saving measures were challenging; an exemption was granted for the use of rainwater & grey water dispersal in a strata development.

Life Cycle Design analysis was conducted for each building with results ranging from carbon neutral for one of the townhouses, to a 56% saving for the two apartments.

The team also set an example by revegetating the neighbouring sump,  converting it into a community garden, beautifying to create more green space in our urban areas. The sump garden is maintained by the neighbours with support from the Local Community Garden Association.

The Green Swing was founded by two couples, Helmuth & Eugenie Stockmann & Mark & Alana Dowley with the aim of contributing towards a more sustainable community. The couples both live in Genesis & with the development of The Siding, the creation of the sump community garden & planting of the urban orchard, are making a different in their street & the wider Victoria Park community.

We are deeply disappointed that the proposed Harmony Park Housing Co-operative has been unable to proceed.

We were looking for 6 to 12 households of people who were interested in sustainable community living. We were proposing to do development differently by cutting out the developer profit & re-investing this into long term quality & sustainability, with additional cost savings.  We call this ‘resident-led development’, where the project is co-designed with the future residents, so what is ultimately built depends on the residents, tailoring it to their budget & needs & creating a unique place to live that is friendly, safe & sustainable.

Throughout the development journey residents would of been supported by a team of passionate & experienced professionals; including project management, planning, architectural design & sustainable community experts.

The proposed housing development would of been based on a Co-operative organisational structure & shaped by the Co-operative values & principles (see Co-operatives Blog for more information).

The owner of Lot 9524 was patient enough to grant us 6 months to find future residents. Unfortunately this was not enough time & the owner is not willing to give us an extension. All is not lost though as the project has taught us a great deal, in particular the need to allow at least 12 to 18 months to find residents, given that most people in Australia do not know about the this housing model.

‘Green Swings’ second development is a continuation of their vision for sustainability & community. It provides an opportunity for people to own or rent a smart, comfortable & healthy home, live with like minded people of all ages & from all walks of life, & be part of the swing toward a thriving sustainable community.

The Siding consists of a cluster of 7 unique homes; 2 townhouses & 5 apartments (1 dual key). Entry to homes is on foot via the central courtyard. Each home has their own private outdoor courtyard for retreat in peace & quiet. Shared spaces include BBQ & picnic area, productive gardens & bicycle storage while gardens connect you to nature, providing a space to relax & enjoy.

Each home treads lightly on the earth & is built to withstand the test of time with workmanship to the highest of industry standards. They provide comfort; are cool in summer & warm in winter with good indoor air quality.

Energy from the sun provides electricity & heats your water. Each homes parking bay is fitted with a 15AMP power outlet for charging electric bikes & vehicles. Together, these energy & water saving measures provide a real opportunity for low-cost living.

Life Cycle Design analysis was used to assess the sustainability impact of the whole of the development, showing an 80% saving in carbon emissions.

A road reserve sump next to this project has been transformed into an urban orchard with the support & help of the Town of Victoria Park, Victoria Park Community Garden Assoc., residents of ‘The Siding’ & ‘Genesis’ as well as the bringing together the broader community in this area.

Stroll to shops, cafés, restaurants, parks & playgrounds & with commuting a pleasure – will you walk, ride or catch the train? Saving money on owning a (second) car is a real option.

7 Quarry Street, Fremantle, was to be the poster child for cooperative housing in Western Australia.  The site is owned by the City of Fremantle & this opportunity was to be a community led development; designed by the occupants & for the occupants.  It was to comprise of 25-35 apartments of 1-3 bedrooms, with a strong focus of sustainability, affordability & community.

The City of Fremantle invited expressions of interest from groups willing to develop the 1,500 m2 site into a collaborative, affordable & sustainable housing project in October 2016.

Green Fabric, in partnership with NGO Cooperation Housing, architect Sid Thoo, researcher Elizabeth Cheong, town planner Melinda Marshall & development manager Anthony Rizzacasa, were facilitating a group of people interested in being part of this exciting opportunity.

The City of Fremantle wanted to see a project that follows the Baugruppen (building group) model.  A German concept where it self-organised groups coordinate the design & construction of their own homes together.  Financially, cooperatively designing & building can cut around 20% of the costs.  Socially, these projects result in tighter-knit communities & lots of shared skills & resources.

7 Quarry Street is located on the eastern side of Fremantle, in walking distance from the train station & centre of town.  It’s the perfect location for a pioneer cooperative housing project.

The city is currently looking at amalgamating the site with neighbouring properties. We hope that, once that process is complete, the city will proceed with the co-operative housing project and reengage with us.