Arafura Medium Density Housing, Darwin, NT, 2009
NT Government Year of Built Environment Competition, Winner, 2004
AIA (NT) Multiple Housing Award, 2009
AIA (NT) People’s Choice Award, 2009
17 attached dwellings and an adjacent park at the former Arafura Bowls site. The architectural expression responds directly to the Darwin climate and lifestyle. Adaptable and operable façade elements filter the environment to allow privacy and outdoor living. Internal living areas have single skin timber walls. The 2-storey dwellings have solid bases of blockwork as cyclone refuges that also serve to ‘ground’ the architecture. The upper storey is lightweight construction with a layering of rooves that promote air flow and heat reflectivity.
Master-planning of the site layers public space, landscape and architecture. Footprints and juxtaposition of individual buildings is carefully considered to enable breeze paths and privacy. The 2nd stage of the development is now in construction.