Jury comment
Travel to the outskirts of almost any Australian city and it’s clear we are desperately in need of alternative models for residential development. Witchcliffe Ecovillage provides just that. An inspiring model of sustainable residential development, the project aims to collect, retain, produce and store as much as possible onsite. Water, power, food systems and waste are built on or around the landscape as intertwined, closed-loop systems. Each residential cluster has its own productive community garden, and the entire village is surrounded by small-scale intensive farms. The jury was particularly impressed by the way that the site design and supporting infrastructure are complemented by governance and strata arrangements. The courage and vision of the project team has resulted in an on-ground outcome that should inspire others around Australia.
Witchcliffe Ecovillage is built in Witchcliffe, Western Australia on the land of the Wadandi Boodja people.
Project credits
Developer and principal Sustainable Settlements Developer Perron Developments First Nations cultural collaborator and cultural heritage consultant Undalup Association Landscape architects South West Landscape Collective, Topio Landscape Architecture, William James Landscape Architects and James Stephenson Civil engineers Wayne Prangnell and Peritas Electrical engineer 3E Consulting Engineers Images Niall Browne, Sustainable Settlements and Scott Bauer
To view all the winners of the 2023 National Landscape Architecture Awards, go here.
