A housing development fit for a prince

Prince Charles wound up his Australian tour recently, but not before turning the first sod on what is said to be Australia’s most sustainable housing development.

Known as The Prince’s Terraces and located in Bowden in Adelaide’s inner west, the townhouse development is the result of joint collaboration between The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community (PFBC), the South Australian Government and Defence Housing Australia (DHA). It is the first residential development in Australia to achieve a 6-Star Green rating by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).

The townhouses will feature a number of locally sourced, low-carbon materials, including local concrete made with fly ash, local granite and recycled bricks sourced from Bowden’s old industrial buildings. The development will be oriented to minimise summer solar gain and maximise natural cross ventilation, while the terrace facades have been designed to maximise natural daylight and manage glare.

Other features include solar photovoltaic panels to generate renewable energy and reduce the building’s peak power demand, low-energy LED lighting, ceiling fans and high-efficiency water fittings, with the toilets and laundry fittings to be supplied with 100% recycled water. The combined design and fixtures are expected to reduce water and energy use by more than 50% and cut tenants’ carbon emissions by more than 40% compared to a typical house.

The foundation is one of the Prince’s charities, set up to address the global challenges of urbanisation and climate change through sustainable building practices and architectural design befitting local climates — challenges which the DHA is similarly working to overcome.

“Over the years, when we’ve talked about sustainability we’ve been very focused on energy and water,” noted DHA Development Manager Shaun Barber.

“This broadening of ideas to include materials which are local and low embedded energy is really akin to what the foundation is trying to achieve.”

The homes will be on display for a short period to show consumers the sorts of things they might consider in designing a sustainable home. After that, six of the 12 homes will be used by Australian defence personnel and their families.

Image caption: Artistic impression of the Prince’s Terraces.

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