Mallorca Ct

PROJECT NAME

Mallorca St Project

TYPE PROJECT

Accommodation

Independent Living Homes

SECTOR

Accommodation

Accessible Housing

CLIENT

Cootharinga North Queensland

With funding from the Australian Government through its Supported Accommodation Innovation Fund (SAIF), Martin Locke Homes was the successful tender chosen to build two unique, purpose-built and architecturally designed (by Ken Tippett) homes, which were the first in Australia to be built to Platinum level, as outlined in the Livable Housing Australia Design Guidelines.

The Livable Housing Design Guidelines outline 16 design elements that contribute to a livable dwelling. All 16 elements are necessary in order to achieve Platinum level accreditation, with this project actually far exceeding the Platinum level requirements due to the client’s needs.

The client, Cootharinga North Queensland, is a not-for-profit charitable community organization with a long history of supporting people who live with disabilities.

“Smarter, green and accessible”, was the clear vision of the client for the pavilion design project, consisting of two homes, both with two bedrooms, as well as a self-contained staff sleepover dwelling with a single bedroom.

On top of being the first ever Platinum Level-built project in Townsville, there was a ‘behind the scenes’ race to see who would finish first nationally. We achieved success in both through extremely good scheduling and on-site supervision.

As well as the need for millimetre-perfect finish to all doorways and thresholds for a smooth transition between different floor finishes. The same precision was required for heights and finishes for all bathroom fixtures and fittings, electrical switching as well as custom joinery to kitchens, laundries to meet very specific needs of the client and architect.

The project was not only fully accessible, but it also adopted many ‘green’ features with solar hot water, solar grid system, water tanks, extremely high insulation qualities through the walls and roof to name a few.

The contract was delivered through an ABIC, Simple Works Contract, under the supervision of the Architect Ken Tippet, with a six-month contract build time. The contract was delivered prior to contracted date with some savings even being passed back to client. The relationship could not have been more supportive or productive, and resulted in the desire to complete many more projects together.

While the project has fully-disabled access features, it does not have the appearance or feel of what is traditionally envisaged when describing such a project.

This project resulted in Martin Locke Homes developing further its vision to help meet the needs of not only those with special needs, but our growing aging population who will be requiring homes that are functional, accessible, safe and enjoyable to live in.