this project is for a self-contained village within the rural township of nimbin in nsw. whilst the area is well known for its alternative lifestyle and experimental housing on larger sites, this design inverts the paradigm with tightly designed courtyard housing, providing 45 houses in clusters, centred around a village green. these houses have access to a range of external spaces: a private courtyard within the house, a communal village green that links the village back to a commercial centre and beyond to a third area of high-intensity agriculture and food production. in this way the project provides a complete level of sustainability for the occupants. the houses have extraordinary performance values for energy - demands are dramatically reduced and are provided for by an on-site power generation system; the village affords highly efficient water systems that manage rainwater, freshwater and all grey and black water needs in a total recycling system and a complete food production syste is integrated into the design of the village, that combines both town and country in a unique reworking of ebonesa howard’s garden city proposals. |
