Neighbourhood design
The design (subject to final plans) falls into two categories:
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Landscape design
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Building designs
Landscape Design
The overarching landscaping concept takes its cue from the early pioneering period in Mt Barker when most houses were embraced by a village mosaic of productive small scale, mixed agricultural plots - with their any exotic plant introductions, all side by side with patches of the original indigenous species referring to earlier and wilder bush "bones".
The aims of the landscape plan are:
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To establish a mosaic of diverse destination pockets with distinctive characteristics, responsive to existing landforms and plantings, and related to function.
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The Car park- remains predominantly indigenous open woodland in character, with tall trees for shade and low grassy leaved ground-cover to maintain traffic and pedestrian visibility.
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Use the idea of forest treescape to integrate the diverse areas into a single sense of nourishing and peaceful place to be.
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To reference local indigenous dwelling places characterised by seasonal creekscapes with modest rock faces,
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To ensure all plantings are drought hardy and low maintenance, mainly indigenous - established with deep mulch and minimal drip feed systems for fortnightly high summer watering.
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Ensure plant choices are suitable for public spaces- non toxic, safe and hard wearing.
Building Design
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A people centered development with a balance between public and private, security and safety, and integration into the local neighbourhood and the Mount Barker community as a whole.
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Dwellings with easy indoor – outdoor accessibility and transition between private and community spaces with “soft edges” of verandahs, decks, and screens.
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Double storey dwellings are planned. All dwellings are oriented and designed for energy efficiency and natural climate control using passive solar design.
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Natural materials are envisaged including natural stone, rammed earth, hempcrete, render, timber boarding or plywoods, corrugated steel wall and roofing , overhanging eaves , verandahs, and pergolas. The emphasis will be on materials with low toxicity and low embodied energy sourced from sustainable supplies. The use of recycled materials will also be a priority.
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The houses will have articulated plans with varied wall planes, stepped roof planes with high level windows as appropriate.
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The development will as far as possible be an ‘inter-generational village’ and include a range of household types to meet the different needs of children, teens, parents, singles, the disabled and the elderly.