You don’t often find an ecologically sustainable cohousing
development within a stone’s throw from the centre of one of Australia’s major
cities. Christie Walk is such an example and we are keen to visit and learn a
little more about it. We have detoured to Adelaide to catch up with work and
have taken the opportunity to meet up with a few of our local contacts who have
been involved with this project.
Sue, a board member of Urban Ecology Australia, whose vision
resulted in this innovative project, gives us a personal tour. Designed by “architect,
writer and urban evolutionary” Dr. Paul Downton, the project provides housing
for 27 households on 2,000 sq. m (half an acre). Christie Walk is certainly a
high-density development with a difference.
A beautiful mural greets visitors on what would otherwise
have been a long blank wall. The mural
tells a story about the development and some of the ideas of the residents and
those who initiated it. There is limited parking for residents but some of the
people who live here don’t own a car because it is so close to the city centre
and Central Markets. Most of the waste
is composted in the numerous bins or recycled so garbage bins for waste going
to landfill are minimized.
The outside areas are a fabulous mix of paved pathways and
edible landscape. Flowering plants, a vegie garden, fruit trees and a beehive
not only provide food but create a microclimate to contend with the dry
Adelaide summer. Straw bale and Hebel block construction provide a passive
solar design for the dwellings keeping the indoor temperature stable all year
round. A green roof four storeys up offers a great outdoor space with views of
the City.
The outdoor seating is located at the intersection of
pathways to deliberately encourage community interaction. This is a development
that adopts many ideas from Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language, often regarded as a bible by many who are
re-imagining the city. Christie’s Walk is a great example of community activism
and the commitment of individual Australians prepared to work together to
achieve a great space to live that creates social capital and has a positive
impact on the environment!
There is a mix of accommodation from town houses to
apartments of varying sizes and like all co-housing developments provides as
many shared spaces and assets as possible. Shared community spaces that can be
booked for personal use, informal arrangements for the sharing of cars, solar
panels for generating electricity and underground storage for rainwater. Recycled and non-toxic material has been used
in the construction of these houses. Sue tells us that all the outdoor spaces
have been designed and created by the residents and they maintain it during
their monthly working bees.
Over a few hours we develop a good relationship with Sue and
agree to come back in the summer and offer a presentation to the Urban Ecology
network.
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