Indigenous Prototype Housing

Most current forms of indigenous housing in Australia are not suitable to accommodate cultural and traditional values because western models are imposed upon the people with little community consultation. This triggers a host of issues including overcrowding, resource insecurity, vandalism, crime, social tensions, illness and emigration, only to name a few [see e.g. 1, 2]. In collaboration with PDT Architects, Net Zero Design developed a prototype housing model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander with the indigenous people at the centre of the planning process. The architecture itself is secondary compared to the site configuration, providing central spaces, indoor-outdoor connection, flexibility and adaptability to suit changing lifestyle, visitor flows and family traditions in order to revitalize traditional forms of living while future-proofing the community.

Our long-term goal is to create a low-cost version of our modular zero carbon house for indigenous people. We have been consulting with another community who is implementing a sustainable planning framework. Self-sufficiency is targeted not only in terms of resources (energy/water/food) - a main focus is on job creation among the indigenous people. Comparing these measures to the cost of inaction is an incentive to leverage change.