Scenario Generation
A Micro-Community Approach to Foster Place Attachment in Adelaide Hills.
A diverse group of four friends (personas generated by Chatgpt), in different stages of their lives, have come together to invest in a 3265 sq m. land in Blackwood, Adelaide, to build a sustainable community. Each individual brings a unique background and perspective, but they share a common commitment to Social and Environmental Sustainability.
Michael Nguyen
Interiors
Coming Soon
David & Rachel
Interiors
Coming Soon
Site Analysis
Zoning Regulations: Hills Neighbourhood (Z2405) – HN;
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Max site coverage – 40%
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Minimum side boundary – 3m
Environmental Considerations: Bushfire Zone (High Risk)
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Fire truck clearance – 3m wide.
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Vegetation clearance - 4m.
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Slopes no steeper than a 1m rise for every 4m.
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Driveway bends – Internal 9.5 m radius and external 12.5 m.
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Space Programming
Initial zoning with landscape design considerations.(Amanda Balmer - Wax design)
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Light Touch - Elevated boardwalks
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Connecting with the country, fewer modifications to land
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Align with the contour
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50% in 50% out (if not using light touch approach)
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1/20 gradient path - gentle slope and ramps
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Stormwater collection
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Swales - Detention for passive cooling
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Community garden, green waste, and composting
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Native revegetation
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Bushfire zone - flame proof construction - (20m clearance)
Bushfire Zone!
EARTH ARCHITECTURE
Rammed Earth
Stabalised Rammed Earth (SRE)
Unstabalised Rammed Earth (RE)
Source soil on site
Modular formwork
Low embodied energy
Low-tech construction
Key Takeaways:
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​Form work reusability
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Unstabilised rammed earth crumbles if correct soil mix composition is not used.
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Inflexible - Services
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Damp proofing
Designed for scalability
Module Based Home
Standardisation
Multiple Sites
Focus - Adaptability
Services
Stone retaining walls for foundation
CLT Slab Floor
Large eave over hangs
Wall Protection from erosion
Future Expansion
Cut outs - Plumbing
Rammed earth wall grooves design
- electrical
STRATEGIC DESIGN APPROACH
Light touch approach - conserving trees - module-based homes that can adjust on site - bare shell for customisation - unstabilised rammed earth/natural fibre reinforced SRE/ Lime stabilised rammed earth
300mm cavity rammed earth wall assembly used for design.
Wall assemblies designed for nfr-SRE construction in Australia. (Ramezannia et al., 2024)
Services Layer - 7 - 15 years
Using continuous datum lines pre planned in rammed earth wall to be able to run wiring throughout the space.
Adaptable + opportunity for design elements - Trims, mouldings
Will incur more material costs, long term benefits outweigh initial costs
Space Plan Layer - 3 - 30 years
New Business Models!
Curved Partition
wall system.
Designed for Disassembly
With Adaption of Earth panels (internal thermal mass) - min 90mm
Solutions: Achieving goals and addressing the challenge?
Module designed from the inside out, with an Interior design perspective. Achieves environmental and economic sustainability through earth architecture and adaptability. The design allows for expansion and growth. However, the design developed in isolation doesn't address the social sustainability goals and also ignores site specificity.
Furthermore, collaboration with architects and landscape designers is necessary to adapt this module-based design to the sloped site, with a greater emphasis on program design for social connections.
Interrogating the approach!
Light touch approach
Soil not sourced on site
Transport and operational carbon emissions may prove this to be a less sustainable option.
Sourcing soil on site
Bury homes - greater thermal massing
Will require cement as a stabiliser to build due to the hygrophobic nature of unstabilised rammed earth
Greater connection to site and landscape design
Walk on green roofs
Further design development and application of LCA thinking are required to determine which approach is more sustainable. The current research and designs have the potential to be turned into a PhD project. Following sustainability frameworks and a strategic vertical top-down thinking approach has stifled creative aspirations for this project. Further abstraction and lateral thinking is required to develop a more engaging and innovative design outcome.
Back to the drawing board!
