Modular home and prefab system by Eco Cottages
Collaboration: Eco Cottages, Greg Phipps
Photos below: Eco Cottages workshop, Cooroy QLD
Year: Masterplan 2023
Modular Social Housing Pilot Project, Noosa Shire
We developed this Masterplan in collaboration with the cypress prefab manufacturer Eco Cottages as revised scheme of a previous Development Application, a pilot social housing project to address the housing crises in Noosa Shire by manufacturing small, affordable homes on 200-250m² lots. Close to Cooroy township and a flooded gum forest, 15x 1 to 2-bedroom units are arranged around a central access road with plazas, a sportsfield, permaculture garden, playground and an existing residence converted into a community centre.
The modular homes are customized through varying assemblies and mirroring of parts, optimising site access and solar aspect. The project aimed to create local jobs in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and further develop Design for Adaptability (DfA) and and Design for Disassembly (DfD).
The small community is planned self-sufficient in energy/water use and on-site wastewater treatment in an Advanced Enviro Septic (AES) system, which identified substantial cost savings compared to a sewer infrastructure upgrade. The forest on site with nature walk and adjacent rehabilitated creek reserve strengthen ecological linkages with the surrounding koala habitat. Asset Protection Zones (APZs) and a second emergency evacuation route address bushfire risk.
Eco Cottages’ cypress prefab system
Eco Cottages’ director Greg Phipps was an inspiration for many in the building industry as an advocate for social housing, environmental stewardship of native cypress pine and innovative technology development. After his passing in 2023 the workshop had to close with him as a key person missing, however his life’s work has great potential to be continued. We continue to promote cypress as a high-quality, native resource and a chemical-free alternative to plantation pine. Read more about Eco Cottages’ work in the book chapter in ‘Sustainability and Toxicity of Building Materials’.
