Sustainable House Day, Brunswick West, Victoria

Architect: Mills Gorman / Michael McKenna / Multiplicity

WESTWYCK IS A SMALL ECO-VILLAGE CONSISTING OF TWELVE DWELLINGS, SEVEN APARTMENTS WITHIN THE FORMER BRUNSWICK WEST PRIMARY SCHOOL AND FIVE NEW TOWNHOUSES ON THE FORMER SCHOOL GROUNDS.

WESTWYCK COMMENCED AS A CAMPAIGN TO SAVE A VICTORIAN-ERA BUILDING FROM DEMOLITION AND NOW CONSTITUTES A DEMONSTRATION MODEL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.  THE HOUSEHOLDS LIVING AT WESTWYCK AND THE OWNERS’ CORPORATE WELCOME ORGANISED VISITS THAT ARE LIKELY TO ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF SUSTAINABLE LIVING.

THE WESTWYCK DEVELOPMENT IS ABOUT HALF-COMPLETED, WITH A FURTHER EIGHTEEN DWELLINGS YET TO BE CONSTRUCTED.  PLANNING FOR THIS IS NOW WELL ADVANCED.

THE KEY FEATURES OF WESTWYCK ARE:

•    IT IS A VILLAGE WHERE THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DOMAIN ARE BEING TURNED UPSIDE DOWN, WHERE SHARING IS ENCOURAGED AND SHARED USE OF SPACE AND FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT IS DESIGNED INTO THE DEVELOPMENT

•    THE WATER OBJECTIVE IS TO REDUCE RELIANCE UPON POTABLE WATER FROM THE MAINS SUPPLY AND TO REDUCE THE DISCHARGE OF UNTREATED WATER FROM THE SITE

•    MATERIALS ARE USED EFFICIENTLY AND AVOIDANCE, REDUCTION, RE-USE AND RECYCLING ARE ALL IN PLAY.  HEALTHY BUILDING PRINCIPLES ARE ALSO APPLIED.

•    ENERGY EFFICIENCY REACHES A HIGH LEVEL IN THE NEW TOWNHOUSES WITH A RANGE OF METHODS BEING APPLIED IN ALL DWELLINGS TO ACHIEVE THE BEST OUTCOME.  THE TOWNHOUSES HAVE GRID-INTERACTIVE 1 K/W PHOTO-VOLTAIC SYSTEMS AND ALL DWELLINGS HAVE RESIDENT-ACCESSED SMART METERING.

•    LANDSCAPING HAS INVOLVED A LANDSCAPE ARTIST AND PLANTS APPLIED ARE BASICALLY LOCAL NATIVE WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS.  WATER SENSITIVE DESIGN PRINCIPLES DRIVE THE LANDSCAPING ALTHOUGH THE GARDEN FEATURES EVAPO-TRANSPIRATION TREATMENT BEDS AND COMMUNAL PRODUCTIVE GARDENS.