DecoHousing Denmark – Family Homes 2019

House Notes – DecoHousing Denmark – Family Homes

An urban village right in the heart of Denmark, DecoHousing aims to bring about strong community through purposeful design. Just a short walk from the town centre, twelve strata dwellings were completed in 2018 (4 x 3 bed family homes and 8 x 2 bed homes), with a light footprint for a range of ages and family groupings.

Designed by H+H Architects, the homes are small but spacious, light, airy and warm, and carefully grouped to provide acoustic, visual and spatial privacy for all. By sensitively linking private homes and small private courtyard gardens to common spaces and facilities, spontaneous social cohesion is integral to the design, not unlike living in a vibrant, friendly street or neighbourhood.

The Family Homes are fully self contained 130m2 double storey duplex with kitchen, living area, bathroom and toilet, main bedroom and second bedroom/study. Up stairs are two bedrooms, a sitting/study area and toilet/shower.

  • Energy efficient heat pump hot water system
  • Shared integrated 49kW solar power generation with battery backup.
  • Shared rainwater system
  • Greywater system connected to each home
  • North-facing courtyard
  • Separate storage area
  • Close access to communal kitchen garden and orchard.

Common resources include gardens and orchards, a large workshop and a common-house with kitchen, guest accommodation, library and indoor-outdoor dining space for shared meals and events.

Central to the development is its commitment to sustainability, including dwelling energy ratings between 8.8 and 9.3 stars, common gardens and orchards, rain-water harvesting, a grey water system, vehicle access peripheral to the housing cluster, comprehensive passive solar design and an integrated solar PV/battery storage system. Primarily built from hempcrete, DecoHousing adds weight to the growing push for this innovative material to be widely used in the building industry.

Drawing on common principles of affordable and sustainable housing, co-housing has become a successful model for neighbourhood development in many towns and cities around the world. Construction of the twelve strata dwellings, common house and shared facilities was primarily funded by resident shareholder investment, with additional financing from Social Enterprise Finance Australia. Having shares in our own development company cut out a substantial developer profit margin, and ensured that homes were designed, built and managed by residents, with the assistance of professional architects, planners, builders and other specialists.

DecoHousing is home to a diverse, intergenerational community of residents (ranging in age from one to eighty), drawn by a shared vision of “an eco-village within a village”, in what is believed to be a first for regional WA.

Also open this year are DecoHousing Denmark – 2 Bed Dwellings & Common House.

Chat to a member of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) about EV’s they will have their Mitsubishi iMiEV on display for SHD.

 

This house achieved a NatHERS rating of 8.8 stars using NatHERS accredited software (AccuRate). Find out how the star ratings work on the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) website.

Sustainability Features

Years Open
2017
2019
ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT FEATURES
    • Energy efficiency:
    • Draught proofing
      Efficient lighting
      Efficient appliances
      Energy monitoring
      Smart home features
    • Passive heating cooling:
    • Cross ventilation
      Passive solar designed home
      Shading
    • Active heating cooling:
    • Ceiling fans
    • Water heating:
    • Hot water heat pump
    • Water harvesting and saving features:
    • Above ground rainwater storage
      Grey water system
      Stormwater management
      Low flow shower heads
      Drip irrigation
    • Above ground rainwater storage Type:
    • Large rainwater tanks
    • Above ground rainwater storage Size
    • 184,000L
    • Energy Efficient Lighting
    • Natural daylight
      Tubular skylight
SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS
    • Sustainable materials:
    • Recycled kitchen in Common House
    • Recycled and reused materials:
    • Timber
INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS
    • Insulation Type:
    • Ceiling
    • Ceiling Type:
    • Batts and Anti-con under roof
    • Ceiling Rating:
    • R6.0
RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS
    • All-Electric Home?
    • Yes
    • Energy star rating:
    • 8.5-9.1
    • Renewable energy used:
    • Solar PV grid connect
COSTS AND COST SAVINGS
    • Total cost of home when constructed:
    • $465,000 includes cost of all common areas, workshop and gardens
HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
    • House Size
    • 130m2
    • Roof
    • Metal (Colorbond)
    • Wall Materials
    • Hempcrete
    • Window and Door Types
    • Double glazing
    • Universal design accessability
    • Multi-generational
      Universal access
    • Universal Design Features
    • 80cm minimum door opening width
      Flush thresholds (no lip) to all external doors
      No stairs/steps
      Ramps and path gradients must be less than 20:1
      Shower head on rail for various heights

    • Universal Design Features
    • Community clustering of homes
    • Number of bedrooms
    • 3
    • Number of bathrooms
    • 1
GARDEN AND WASTE REDUCTION
    • Garden / Outdoors
    • Bee keeping
      Chickens
      Community vegetable garden
      Composting
      Drip irrigation
      Edible garden
      Organic
      Permaculture
      Native plants
      Water wise plants
    • Waste Reduction Practices:
    • Compost all food scraps
      Recycle
      Swap with friends and neighbours
HEALTHY HOME FEATURES
    • Healthy home features
    • Chemical free cleaning products used
      Cross flow ventilation
      Lime render/wash
      Natural light and ventilation
Location
Denmark WA 6333
    • Housing Type:
    • Shared Community
    • Project Type:
    • New Build
    • Builder
    • AK Homes
    • Designer
    • H+H Architects Albany

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