Canberra Cohousing
Craig Downsborough (Convenor, Canberra Cohousing Association). Urban Ecology Australia. 2005.5
Canberra Cohousing Association is a group that plans to create intentional communities in urban Canberra. We are currently negotiating to obtain a suitable site for our first cohousing development, which will contain 26 environmentally friendly townhouses. The houses will be mostly two and three storey, with a couple of single-storey houses for people who have difficulty with stairs.
The site we are looking at is in Gungahlin, a relatively new suburb in north Canberra. It meets many of our criteria, being close to the Gungahlin Village shopping centre and public transport, affordable and sited on the edge of some heritage grasslands, looking out towards the Brindabellas.
To be ready to move quickly once we get offered the land, we have hired two architects to start working on concept plans for the site. A couple of weeks ago, we looked at the first pictures of what the project might look like — a very exciting moment after years of hard work!
Paul Downton of Ecopolis Architects has developed a draft site plan and preliminary floor plans for the two and threestorey townhouses. The plans are at the very early stages but provide us with a good idea of the sorts of things that can be achieved on the Gungahlin site. Paul visited Canberra recently to discuss these concepts and present his ideas to a public meeting organised by Canberra Cohousing.
Paul should be well known to Urban Ecology members through his work on Adelaide’s Christie Walk project. We engaged Paul because of his skills in attractive solar passive design and his success in building a community at Christie Walk. Building something that encourages a wide range of interaction is critical to our cohousing, and we are excited by the possibilities the drafts present.
As the project progresses, Paul Downton will be working with Canberra-based architect Paul Barnett, of the Paul Barnett Design Group. This company has done some innovative work around Canberra, particularly for the Orana Steiner School. The ‘Pauls’, as they are known by Canberra Cohousing, have complementary skills and are keen to work collaboratively.
Our group will use the draft designs to inspire and attract members, and to help in discussions with the ACT Government. Now that we have some basic ‘building blocks’ to work with, we also plan to involve builders or developers in moving the project forward.
Paul Downton took some time out of his trip to Canberra to visit Paul Barnett’s backyard and see his waterharvesting system under construction. The system involves using the landscape itself as a ‘bio-filter’, directing, filtering and collecting rainwater, dew and grey water from the house. Filtered water is collected in a tank and can be stored or directed back into the landscape. The water-harvesting system is the brainchild of Paul Totterdell of Clearwater Environmental Design (yet another Paul!).
We are very interested to see whether such a system might be a way to harness the grey water at the Gungahlin site and grow wonderful integrated gardens, as has been achieved at Canberra’s Orana school.
We look forward to more work on design, planning and costing with our team of architects, and exploring the many possibilities for green technologies.
2007.10.6