Weddell Tropical Housing Design Competition
Weddell NT
Weddell is a large parcel of land to the south of Darwin that has been set aside by the Northern Territory government as a greenfield site to cater for Darwin‟s regional growth, complementing infill development in Darwin and the City of Palmerston. The land is about 10 kilometres south of Palmerston and eventually will incorporate 20 000 allotments and house around 50 000 people.
Weddell was identified in 1984 as the next major area for urban growth. The 2030 Strategy Plan, released in February 2009, included the vision for Weddell to be a “world-class green city that will be a model for tropical cities and towns of the future”. It was the subject of an Enquiry by Design Forum in Darwin in September 2010, when it was explained that Palmerston is ex-pected to be fully developed by 2018. At current growth projections it is expected that the first lots of Weddell will be turned off in 2014, complemented by in fill development and densification in Darwin and Palmerston. As the Territory‟s newest city on a greenfield site, Weddell provides a unique opportunity to design a „tropical, sustainable and liveable‟ township where Territorians will aspire to live, that meets Northern Territory Government‟s policy objectives such as its 2030 Strategic Plan and that meets the highest design standards. It will be a model for cities of the future, with environmentally sustainable buildings, the integration of broadband and communications infrastructure, public transport links, affordable and appropriate housing incorporating community spaces, gardens and parklands.
The Weddell New Town Urban Design Competition and Tropical Housing Design Competition will set the scene by inviting registered architects and members of the Planning Institute of Australia to submit designs for the first stage of Weddell.
Competition entries were invited to create a central activity district or regional township based around five walkable adjoining neighbourhoods and a community centre. They will explore the opportunities and constraints of locating the neighbour-hoods adjacent to Bennetts Creek while showing how this first stage might link to a future Weddell City Centre and suburbs such as Zuccoli, Johnston and Virginia. Entries should also demonstrate creative responses to issues such as car-free zones and alternative public transport, such as water-based transport.
The Tropical Housing Design entries covered five house types including: two-storey, three-bedroom house with a target construction cost of $410 000 a single-storey, three-bedroom house with a target construction cost of $310 000 a two-storey, two-bedroom terrace house with a target construction cost of $260 000 a three-storey, three-bedroom townhouse with a target construction cost of $660 000 an open criteria with a block width of up to 18 metres.