[Greens-Media] Currong Competition

[Burmester, Tom]

ACT Greens
Amanda Bresnan MLA 
17 March 2009
 
Currong Competition

ACT Greens housing spokesperson Amanda Bresnan MLA will seek the Assembly support this week for the ACT Government to redevelop the Currong Apartments in Braddon for best practice sustainable living.

"I am calling on the Government to run a design competition for an environmentally sustainable social housing neighbourhood on the Currong site," Ms Bresnan said today.

"It's time our public buildings offered the lead in terms of innovative and worthwhile architecture rather than following in the footsteps of commercial housing development in the ACT."

"The ACT Government has been unable to sell the Currong Apartments, so we should take this as an opportunity to do something important with that site."

"One way to unearth innovative solutions is to run design competitions, as the Victorian Office of Housing and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects did in 2001. The resulting K2 Apartments in Melbourne are now home to 150 people living in 96 units, around half of which are designed for people with disability. These award winning units use less than half the usual energy and water, incorporate solar power and hot water, good air circulation, and attractive low water gardens, and are made from low emission materials."

"There are many other examples around the world.  The BEDZED development in London is a mix of public and shared equity homes. It generates its own power, is wonderfully innovative in how it uses energy and water, and is home to a diverse, proud and engaged community of residents."

"The sad thing for Canberra is that there are not yet any adventurous worthwhile developments like that here. But the Currong site, already owned by Housing ACT and close to the city and services, is the perfect place to build something special. A properly constructed design competition will show us all what is possible in terms of environmental, social and economic sustainability. It's much more than we are used to," Ms Bresnan said. 
  
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