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City West Affordable Housing

City West Affordable Housing introduces a new benchmark for public housing, blending contemporary architecture with heritage conservation and sustainable design.

Old and new This project, in inner-Sydney Ultimo, required delicate balance between conservation and innovation. Several heritage buildings, including a stonemason’s cottage and six nineteenth-century terraces, needed restoration and modification to current building standards. Existing buildings were carefully brought up to code with the installation of new stairs, bathrooms, kitchens, laundries and services. Additionally, twelve innovatively designed, sensitively integrated new residential units were added to the complex. Conservation works were carried out in collaboration with Design 5.

Environmental sustainability The new units embrace ecologically sustainable design via several creative features. Optimally arranged for solar access and natural ventilation, the units are fitted with glass louvres, allowing residents to minimise energy use. Rainwater is collected in large tanks for watering gardens and washing cars and bikes. Further energy-saving measures include low-energy lamps, clothes-drying balconies and solar-boosted heat pump water.

• Date
  1995
• Cost
  A$2.4 million
• Cottage
  1
• Terraces
  6
• Units
  12

• Awards
• 1995
  Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA), NSW Merit Award for Multiple Housing
• 1994
  The Architecture Show Magazine (TAS), Green Home Merit Design Award
• 1994
  The Architecture Show Magazine (TAS), Unbuilt Home Design of the Year