PROJECT NAME:

REAL Challenge (Regional Environmental, Affordable Living)

PROJECT OVERVIEW:

Can you design an affordable home around the elements? That was LandCorps brief, June 2009, to architects and builders through the innovative REAL Challenge Regional Environmental, Affordable Living, a competition that would see some of the most innovative housing designs emerge for extreme climates in regional Western Australia. This was as a result of LandCorps role to find solutions to complex issues and a commitment to invest considerable effort and cost to seek affordable, practical and viable solutions that can be replicated. Many regional households are facing rising costs because their homes could have been better designed and built to cope with the local climate. Higher power costs combined with high construction costs meant regional Western Australians often struggle to enter the housing market at an affordable level. LandCorp was looking for houses that demonstrated innovative use of natural heating and cooling systems and construction materials, and which best suited the year-round climates in Kununurra, Karratha and Collie. Importantly LandCorp believes where homes and estates respond to their individual climates, communities will grow, encouraging a larger permanent local population. This leads to more sustainable and robust local communities contributing to savings to home owners, government and town infrastructure providers.

WEBSITE:

www.landcorp.com.au/sustainability/Real-Challenge-Winners

FURTHER CONTACT DETAILS:

Barton Williams, Business Manager Design and Sustainability, LandCorp. Ph (08) 9482 7566 or barton.williams@landcorp.com.au

CORE AREA OF SUSTAINABILITY ADDRESSED BY THIS CASE STUDY: OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT RELEVANT TO CORE AREA:

Building Design: Energy, Comfort and Economy

The REAL Challenge (Regional Environmental, Affordable Living) was conceived by LandCorp to further support the State Governments commitment to finding innovative solutions in regional WA for: affordable housing and climate responsive design

IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES/ KEY INNOVATIONS:

The REAL Challenge competition sought to bring architects, designers and builders together to design a three bedroom, two-bathroom home that could be sold within a set affordability range, and that met robust sustainability and design criteria of three very different climatic regions: The South West, Pilbara and Kimberley. LandCorp stipulated homes would meet key environmental sustainability criteria including a 6 star energy rating as well as meeting a cost per house

in each region as close as possible to: $190,000 in Collie, $300,000 in Karratha and $250,000 in Kununurra. This was based upon the best available data and the assessed affordability threshold for each town. As part of its commitment to the competition LandCorp provided a free serviced lot to each of the winners to build a demonstration home. Once completed, each home needed to be open for public display for up to four months. An expert judging panel (LandCorp, Housing Industry Association, 3 Executives from the Regional Development Commissions and 2 representatives from the WA Institute of Architects) shortlisted three designs from Karratha and two each for Kununurra and Collie, with each of the preferred designs awarded cash prizes of $15,000. Each community voted for the design it believed best achieved affordability and climate-responsiveness known as the Peoples Choice Award. The winning designs are now being built in LandCorps Baynton West Karratha, Lakeside Park Kununurra and Buckingham Way - Collie developments. LandCorp also contributed $20,000 towards documentation for development approval. In addition there is also a commitment, on a first option basis, to provide further land where available to ensure continued success for each business partnership in replicating the REAL Challenge winning design on other LandCorp lots. The winning designs were:

South West Winner

Wing House Design Entrant: Copraxis Architects and Samson Homes Demonstration Home: Lot 270, Buckingham Way Estate, Collie Construction Completion: Proposed December 2010 Open to the Public: For a period of four months post construction

Key Design Features: Impressive integration of innovative initiatives. Features include an internal water wall that not only stores rain water but captures winter sun, radiating heat into the bedrooms and hall. Also includes a wind turbine, photo voltaic cells, an expansive roof space that can incorporate another room if required and extensive use of native landscaping.

Pilbara Winner
Oasis Design Entrant: Copraxis Architects and Samson Homes Demonstration Home: Lot 92, Stage 1 Baynton West Estate, Karratha Construction Completion: Proposed December 2010 Open to the Public: For a period of four months post construction

Key Design Features: Architecturally conventional, but featuring a high level of integrated design features, well suited to the realities of a Karratha lifestyle. The L shaped living plan, accommodating both families and other household types, separates living spaces from bedrooms. The design allows for cross breezes to most spaces, but also offers the ability to shutdown areas in very hot periods, with shutters reducing heat load. It also includes a composting facility and greywater system.

Kimberley Winner
K1 Design Entrant: SIA Architects and Northern Aspect Construction Demonstration Home: Lot 244, Stage 4 Lakeside Park Estate, Kununurra Construction Completion: Proposed September 2010 Open to the Public: For a period of three months post construction

Key Design Features: Unusual and effective plan that provides large areas of indoor and outdoor living all under the main roof. The design capitalises on predominate cooling breezes whilst shielding from hot desert winds. Modular construction system provides flexibility in the design of spaces without compromising on cost or liveability, and outdoor decking is made from recycled materials.

OUTCOMES/ RESULTS:

LandCorps REAL Challenge has been successful in many ways. More than 30 entries were received from teams throughout Western Australia. This exceptional response demonstrated the intense interest within the home building and design industry to seek new ways to provide affordable, climate-responsive designs. It also showed that LandCorp had tapped into a business model with enormous potential to deliver real results. Professional bodies such as the Housing Industry Association, the Australian Institute of Architects WA, the Master Builders Association, the Building Designers Association of WA and the heads of each of the Regional Development Commissions for each town demonstrated clear enthusiasm and promoted the REAL Challenge among their members. They were also represented on the judging panels. The competition received broad media coverage throughout the State, demonstrating acceptance of the need to explore new ways to provide affordable, contemporary, sustainable housing in regional towns. The impact and reach of REAL Challenge has already achieved international recognition, with an entrant recently invited to speak to a conference in Dubai on the design of homes in extreme climates. In addition to the number of visitors to each display home, the ultimate measure of success will be the take up of the designs in future developments. Already one design has received more than a dozen inquiries from potential purchasers. However the challenge is how to keep the house sale price at a level still affordable to the market whilst labour, materials, transportation and accommodation costs escalate markedly in boom conditions.

The strategy to challenge architects, designers and builders to design and build affordable, climate responsive housing for the regions within a specific price point is delivering quantifiable results. These results are in part already realized whilst others are envisaged to bring about a range of outcomes including: developing an enduring business model of collaboration between builders, designers and/or architects; establishing clear parameters for affordable, climate-responsive housing in regional WA; creating strong interest among home buyers for affordable, sustainable and contemporary, climate-responsive designs; strengthening links between LandCorp and the private sector and other areas of government; increasing demand for homes that are comfortable and less energy intensive; promoting greater community cohesion and encouraging a larger permanent local population compared with the Fly-in Fly-out model evident in recent times; and provision of accessible and adaptable spaces not normally provided in standard home designs.

LESSONS LEARNED:

The competition process and reward was sound and widely endorsed by the industry and demonstrates that it is possible to challenge architects, designers and builders to design and build to affordable, climate responsive housing for the regions within a specific price point. However as stated earlier it is difficult to keep the house sale price at a level still affordable to the market whilst labour, materials, transportation and accommodation costs escalate markedly in boom conditions. There is willingness by the industry to develop affordable and climate responsive housing but the profit margin and risk profiles are challenging. To reduce the risk profile, greater certainty could be provided by the land developer by increasing the number of available lots for affordable and climate responsive housing. In addition it would also be prudent to ensure contracts between the builder and land developer for future house and land packages lock in a fixed price for at least 12 months to achieve certainty for potential consumers and the land developer. It is also acknowledged that whilst the intent was to ensure home buyers are within the affordability bracket and will be owner occupiers for a period of time to mitigate profiteering the complexities of achieving this require a level of flexibility from the land developer.