Contemporary Architecture: The Village – Design Canberra Festival

The Village by Light House Architecture & Science. Photo: Ben Wrigley
The Village by Light House Architecture & Science. Photo: Ben Wrigley
Past event

Contemporary Architecture: The Village

DESIGN Canberra presents a tour of The Village, an inter-generational, multi-family, co-housing project by Light House Architecture & Science.

Winner of the 2020 HIA Australian GreenSmart Multi Dwelling Development, this project has taken a suburban block which previously had one poorly oriented, extremely energy inefficient dark and pokey home and turned it into a beautiful example of solar passive, multigenerational, co-housing.

Where one family once resided, miserably disconnected from the sunshine and the adjoining greenway, there are now three households including nine people (and four dogs) thriving.

The approach with this home was to demonstrate what can be achieved with readily available, affordable technologies to deliver an excellent and beautiful high-performance home. The houses are stylish and inviting both inside and out. Each has its own personality, while very much being part of the bigger integrated whole.

The individual homes, and the co-housing village are exceeding the expectations of our delighted clients.

Their quality of life, their comfort and their physical and mental health are being enhanced by their new homes and living arrangements. Chores and cooking are shared between households and the family members often come together to dine and socialise. However, everybody appreciates that they can retreat to their own private and comfortable sanctuary if they wish.

Project team:

Architect: the Light House architecture team
Scientist: the Light House science team
Builder: 360 Building Solutions
Landscape design: Michelle Elvins
Joiner: Affinity Kitchens and Joinery
Photography: Ben Wrigley

DESIGN Canberra acknowledges the Ngunnawal people as the traditional custodians of the ACT and surrounding areas. We honour and respect their ongoing cultural and spiritual connections to this country and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region. We aim to respect cultural heritage, customs and beliefs of all Indigenous people.