Project details
In June 2018 we purchased lot 1 at 490-492 Victoria Street Brunswick West, a 787 sqm vacant lot on the north eastern corner of the One Planet Living eco-village Westwyck. This site had been intended for stage 2 of the Westwyck development.
We originally planned on developing the site into 6 dwellings, however in early 2019 the opportunity arose to purchase of the neighbouring property at 488 Victoria St West Brunswick. In late 2019 we bought the site which allowed the Collective to expanded the size of the project from 6 to 10 homes.
The initial members of the collective were keen to use our deliberative joint venture model to create an multi-generational intentional community and deliver high performance buildings at cost.
They were keen to create a project that were sympathetic to the ground breaking built form and community outcomes that Mike Hill and Lorna Pitt were able to achieve with Westwyck stage 1.
To achieve this we:
- appointed Zen Architects to the project after a thorough selection process. The collective were keen to appoint an architect with extensive experience in designing and building homes with the highest environmental performance. We have managed to achieve an average NatHers star rating of 8.7 with the lowest rating being 8.1 and highest 9.2 stars.
- engaged RMIT Senior Fellow Alan Pears a pioneer of energy efficiency policy in Australia since the 1970s.
- partnered with Bank Australia to assist with project financing. Bank Australia were keen to support this project as it aligned with their objectives of wanting to support affordable housing models and projects that will deliver outstanding environmental performance.
In February 2021 we received unanimous Moreland City Council support for our scheme. Maven Builders were appointed in 2022 and construction was completed in 2024.
These homes are unique for a medium density development as they feature:
- An average NatHERS rating of 8.7, with the highest receiving 9.4.
- Electric Only site (zero fossil fuel)
- Maximum floor to glazing ratio of 20% and north-facing aspect
- All living areas have dual aspect north/south orientation delivering exceptional natural light and cross ventilation qualities
- Thermally-broken windows double glazing with low e coat and argon filled with sun-control hoods that allow full winter sun into the apartments whilst excluding summer sun
- Centralised Energy Recovery and Ventilation systems
- Additional air tightness measures (building wrapping) with air blower tests that achieved no greater than five air changes per hour – almost passivehaus standard
- Ceiling fans
- Sanden CO2 refrigerant heat pump hot water units
- A 30kW communal photovoltaic array managed by Allume Energy Solshare system
- Individual trickle-charge ev charging points
- Shared communal garden of approximately 300m² plus around 100m² productive garden and on site composting
- Shared rainwater harvest and re-use 15,000 litres
- On site storm water retention system to slow discharge to council assets. Permeable paving systems. STORM rating of 117%
- Green Travel Plan to achieve a waver from the statutory car park numbers. 20 on site bicycle parking spaces
- LED lighting with lighting master switch at entry to each apartment to ensure all lights are off when leaving
- External communal lighting on daylight and movement sensors
- Water efficient toilets, taps and showers throughout
- Low VOC content natural materials selection for healthy interiors
- Low ongoing energy, water and maintenance costs
If you’d like to find out more about the project below are links to our:
- town planning submission – click here
- sustainability management plan – click here
Advisory Team
John Lim
Tim Richardson
