Lake Macquarie dWELL Design Competition

Lake Macquarie City Council was looking for an innovative, sustainable housing type to meet the growing development demand in the region, based on the WELL Building Standard benchmarks, which was an opportunity to develop our modular Zero Carbon House for temperate climate. Our design is informed by Council’s Housing Strategy 2020 and supports its goal to transform the region into one of the most productive, sustainable and liveable places in Australia.

Our concept was inspired by the iconic coastal rainforest landscape and the local wildflower anatomy. The layouts can change and expand like fractals in nature with connecting trapezoid shaped zones which balance the climate with thermal mass walls and -rainwater tanks. The system is adaptable to suit a diversity of housing types and ownership models across Lake Macquarie, responding to today’s rapidly changing society.

We worked in collaboration with WilDStudio Landscape Architects, using bushfire resistant, native vegetation, climate responsive watering and storage systems, a green wall and raingarden for stormwater filtration.

Collaboration: Nathalia Braga & WILDStudio Landscape Architects